Life is a Lovely Dream: Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge

Showing posts with label Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge. Show all posts

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Eleven

If you are just joining us, feel free to catch up by clicking on "Twelve Day of Fitness Challenge" under the labels section on my right side bar, as well as checking out the Fit Armadillo Blog HERE! Want to join in on this challenge? Awesome! Check out our group page HERE! :D

Day Eleven is actually pretty boring.. because I took a rest day! I know.. I know, I can hear you already. But when it is -10 degrees outside, you go into instinctual hibernation mode. At least that's the story I am sticking to!

I hope you have all enjoyed your week nonetheless!

XOXOX

Labels:Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | 2 comments

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Ten

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

Hi'ya my lovelies! Tonight was such a great night. Know why? Hubby and I had a hot date and it snowed to boot! :D

Follow me on Instagram HERE!

As I mention in one of my previous posts, hubby has a super unpredictable schedule, which in turn makes it kinda hard for us to get in some free time. So yesterday when he asked me if I would like to go on a date, I happily said YES!! In little ol' downtown Casper, Wyoming there is a neat little Italian joint called Botticelli Ristorante Italiano (view website HERE) and every time we pass by we say, "Hey, lets eat there sometime!" and tonight we were finally able to make that a reality!

Being in adventurous spirits we both tired something we have never tried before! Hubby ordered duck and I ordered lamb. Holy smokes you guys, they were both amazing BUT the duck.

Out. Of. This. World.

We were blown away actually! (sorry no photos, I was being a good girl and left my phone out of our dinner date.. as much as I could.) To end our dinner we shared a slice of New York style cheesecake over some yummy coffee! ...Even the damn cheesecake was amazing, in fact I am prepared to say that it was THE best I've ever had in my entire life, and that is a bold statement! (har har ;))

After we left we were both in a food induced coma and didn't feel like hitting the gym.. SO we completed this!

... and I also completed today's workout for another challenge group I am participating in!

Feel free to join in, don't forget to follow along on Facebook HERE. :) MWAH

I completed 4 sets for this challenge group and officially feel like a bad-a$$!

Well tis all folks, tis all.

XOXOX

hopefully I will be able to get out of bed in the morning, or brush my own hair. :)

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Nine

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

Tonight I decided to take another day off from running to allow my knees and ankles more time to recover. I am still feeling slight pain even after resting this past week.. So instead of running I completed the Daily Burn - Yoga 1: Surya A routine and got my stretch on. View a segment from this video HERE.

In order to relax and enjoy this yoga routine fully..I did not wear my heart rate monitor. So I won't have a photo of it to share with you guys tonight.

Speaking of Yoga...

Guess what I found on tumblr?

Got tumblr? Follow Sun and Strength HERE!

POSES

Tree Pose
Tiger Pose
Downward Dog
Wheel Pose
Wide Squat
Uttanasana III
Half Lotus
Upward Dog
Baby Crow
Your Favorite Pose
Reclined Goddess
Half Frog
Toe Stand
Three-leg Down Dog
Half Moon
Grasshopper Pose
Camel Pose
Wide Squat Twist
King Dancer
Your Least Favorite Pose
Humble Warrior
King Cobra
Monkey Pose
Wild Thing
Pendant Pose
Supported Headstand
Corpse Pose
Eight Angle Pose
Standing Backbend
Your Favorite and Least Favorite Poses
Upward Facing Two Foot Staff

if you want to share please tag your post with #januaryogis or #sunandstrength

XOXOX

Labels:January Yogis Challenge,Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge,Yoga | 6 comments

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Eight

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

If you are just joining us, feel free to catch up by clicking on the "Twelve Day of Fitness Challenge" under the labels section on my right side bar, as well as checking out the Fit Armadillo Blog HERE! Want to join in on this challenge? Awesome! Check out our group page HERE! :D

Tonight I completed the Strength - Pull video through Fitness on Demand by Daily Burn! Check out a segment from this workout HERE

Sorry for the short post tonight, I am not feeling well. :(

Until tomorrow lovelies.

XOXOX

Labels:Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | 2 comments

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Seven

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

Enjoy this song that I dedicate to the year 2013 while you read this post!

So here we are at the close of 2013 and as I look back through my photos from this past year, to my travels, to drinks with friends, to girls nights, to date nights with my sexy husband, to family gatherings filled with love and laughter, I am filled with peace and gratitude. Though not everyone I made memories with will be making the leap into the new year with me, I am still honored to have spent whatever amount of time with them I was able to. Everything has its own time. That is one of the many lessons I will be bringing with me into 2014.

Happy New Year, to you all, whoever you are, wherever you are!

If you are just joining us, feel free to catch up by checking out Day One HERE, Day Two HERE, Day Three HERE, Day Four HERE and Day's Five & Six HERE as well as checking out the Fit Armadillo Blog HERE! Want to join in on this challenge? Awesome! Check out our group page HERE! :D

Day 7 and last workout of 2013! WOOT!!

Tonight I ran then completed a 15 minute "Quick Core" session through Fitness on Demand by Daily Burn! Check out a segment from this workout HERE.

While running I began feeling shooting pain in my left ankle and in both shins.. so I listened to my body and cut my run short. I have a hunch that I have been overdoing it by putting in an intense leg workout on non run days, so tomorrow I plan to give my legs a break and only work on upper body in order to avoid possible injury or muscle strain. I don't need to be out of commission for an extended amount of time for pushing my body too hard too fast. No way! I have had to do that once before and I absolutely hated it.

My advice to anyone training hard is to make sure you are paying close attention to your body. If you feel any sort of pain or extreme discomfort, you may need to back off a bit. It's certainly better to be safe than sorry!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

UNTIL TOMORROW

XOXOX

Labels:Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | 4 comments

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Five & Six

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

If you are just joining us, feel free to catch up by checking out Day One HERE, Day Two HERE, Day Three HERE and Day Four HERE, as well as checking out the Fit Armadillo Blog HERE! Want to join in on this challenge? Awesome! Check out our group page HERE! :D

So.. since I hate being behind, I asked Catherine of Fit Armadillo if I could combine workouts to get caught up with the challenge and lucky for me she said sure, as long as this is a one time thing of course! She is awesome. You really need to go check out her blog and join our challenge if you aren't already participating. All of the ladies involved are so supportive of one another and make this entire experience so gratifying, so a BIG thank you to Catherine and ALL of the ladies who are participating in this challenge, you are all so amazing and I am so glad I decided to join.

Tonight I focused on legs and upper body!

Since I loved the routine so much I went ahead and began with Lethal Legs, and I must make a correction, on Day Three's post I said this routine was eleven to fifteen minutes long.. I fibbed. It is actually just over 30 minutes long. I honestly loved this routine more tonight than I did the first night I tried it. Why? Because it is just as challenging the second go-round, if not more due to already sore muscles. And I don't know about you, but I LOVE being sore from a good workout, it lets me know that I am doing it right. :)

To end the night I worked on my arms, using the Fitness on Demand program Strength - Push which is a few seconds shy of 35 minutes. Check out a segment from this video HERE! Boy oh boy.. I felt that one. :)

Until tomorrow, my loves.

XOXOX

Labels:Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | 2 comments

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Four

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

If you are just joining us, feel free to catch up by checking out Day One HERE, Day Two HERE and Day Three HERE, as well as checking out the Fit Armadillo Blog HERE! Want to join in on this challenge? Awesome! Check out our group page HERE! :D

If you are a runner you have possibly heard, or read, the phrase "you will have your good runs and your bad runs". Well folks, tonight I had a bad run. I fought tooth and nail tonight.. It took me almost 36 minutes to run 3 miles. I even stopped to walk at least 3 different times. BUT I got it done, and to me that is all that matters! :)

Once I completed my run, I headed on over to complete a 15 minute "Quick Core" session through Fitness on Demand by Daily Burn! Check out a segment from this workout HERE.

XOXOX

Labels:Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | 0 comments

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Three

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

Phew.. It feels so good to sit down and relax. It's 1:50am here in Wyoming so I will try and keep this short and sweet, that way I can scoot off into sleephood! :)

If you are just joining us, feel free to catch up by checking out Day One HERE and Day Two HERE, as well as checking out the Fit Armadillo Blog HERE! Want to join in on this challenge? Awesome! Check out our group page HERE! C'mon... You know you want to. :D

Prior to taking on this challenge I would take a rest day in-between my run days to ensure my legs and muscles get proper recovery. Tonight I decided to hold up my end of the bargain and skip my rest day! At the gym I am using here in Wyoming (Snap Fitness) they have a small fitness room with a projection screen so you can use their Fitness On Demand programs, it's actually pretty freaking cool. I never even knew this sort of thing existed until today! Did you?

Since I have been pounding out the miles lately I decided to do a total body circuit, with the main focus being on strengthening my leg muscles. Why? Two reasons! 1. I felt I would be overdoing it by putting in another run session tonight. 2. I am hoping that if I keep strength training my legs in-between run days it will aid in my endurance and overall performance level!

Tonight I started with upper body in which I completed a program called 5/10 in Nine, click HERE to view a quick segment from the video. This was a great workout and it only took NINE MINUTES to complete. Don't let that fool you! It was tough nonetheless. In this video you are instructed to use a set of 5-pound dumbbells while cranking out sequences of punches, jabs, uppercuts and hooks followed by a completing the sequences all over again only this time using a set of 10-pound dumbbells. This may seem like a breeze, but once you go through a few of the sequences, your arms are on fire. I absolutely loved it!

I then followed up with the Lethal Legs program, and man.. It was exactly that, lethal! Click HERE to view a quick segment from this video. This routine was only ELEVEN - FIFTEEN MINUTES LONG! The entire time you are giving it your all, trust me, I was sore by the time I reached the middle of the video. Lunges, dead-lifts, squats, single leg everything, jumping single leg everything, resistance band booty and leg workouts, you name it.. we did it. I enjoyed it so much that I will most definitely be completing this routine again on my next rest day!

Goodnight my love bugs, or.. in your case, Good morning or afternoon! See you soon.

XOXOX

Labels:Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | 0 comments

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day Two

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

Hi my lovelies!

It's day Two of the Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge (read day One HERE) and I am so freaking pumped. Why? Because I reached another goal tonight. :D I was able to run 4.27-miles without slowing down or stopping to walk! My next goal is to be able to run 5-miles without slowing down or stopping. I know I can do it!

According to my heart rate monitor.. I guess you could say I got evil on that treadmill. HAR-HAR Did you get your workout in today? If so, way to go! Tell us what you did in the comments section, we would love to know. :) Until tomorrow kiddies.

XOXOX

Labels:Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | 4 comments

Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge | Day One

Posted by lifeisalovelydream

First off, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! I sincerely hope that you all have / are having THE best Christmas yet and are surrounded by the people that nourish your soul and bring abounding joy to your heart. :)

Onward

I was scrolling through the ol' newsfeed on The Houston Bloggers Social Club and noticed a post from Catherine Basu, blogger over at Fit Armadillo, encouraging members to join her Twelve Days of Fitness Challenge! I immediately wanted to participate and here we are. If you have your own blog and would like to join us, feel free to join the group HERE, we would love it if you did!

Please excuse the not-so-great quality of these photos as all but one were taken with my phone.

Hubby and I started out by jogging 1-mile, then moved on to the incline press.