Elizabeth 8K

Last weekend I ran my very first 8K race!  The Elizabeth 8K is the oldest road race in Charlotte and goes through my beautiful neighborhood.  This year was it's 31st year!  I really wanted to run it last year, but my extreme morning sickness during the early weeks of my pregnancy meant that I was nowhere near being ready to run it.

For whatever reason I was SUPER nervous for this race.  As I mentioned, I had never raced an 8K before and actually in my post baby #2 running the farthest I had run was 4 miles.  So this was going to be a new experience all around.  I couldn't sleep the night before and couldn't even finish my coffee the morning of!  I was a jumble of nerves during my 10 minute walk to the starting line.  (Yep, a 10 minute walk to the starting line, that was awesome!)  Soon enough about 700-800 other runners were lined up and we were off!  By comparison, the Shamrock Shuffle had under 200 people so I am glad I started with such a tiny race to get my feet wet again!

I had some technical difficulty when the gun first went off.  My Apple Watch wouldn't connect with my iPhone so I had to get my phone out while running to start my running app.  Of course that never happened before so it figures it would happen during the race.  Then I accidentally paused my playlist and had to get my phone out again.  I was a mess!  Once I got myself sorted, I fell into a quicker pace than I had run my previous 5K.  I was consistently running 9:55/9:56, which I was happy with, considering my absolute current lack of running shape.  I found a girl who was running the same pace as me and didn't let her out of my site.

The second half of the race though, holy hills!!!  I mentioned in my last blog that I haven't incorporated any specific hill training into my running yet.  I'm just working on building up a base and very gradually increasing my weekly mileage so I don't get injured.  The hills kind of killed me in this race. Every time I thought they were over, another one was around the bend.  I still managed to sprint past a few people at the very end so that always feels good!  I felt awesome when the race was over!  I was, however, sad not to see my family at the finish.  My almost 4 year old was taking too long to leave the house so they missed my whole race!

I ended up having a 10:16/mile pace for this race.  Much like the Shamrock Shuffle 5K I ran a few weeks ago, I went into this race with zero time expectations.  I only have the goal of finishing these races without walking and attempting to stay consistent with my splits. Now next year I will have times to work on beating, which I have no doubt will happen because I will have more than 2 months of running under my belt!

I'm specifically training for the my next race:  the Spartan Sprint (next week!!) so I used these two races to check in on my progress.  Last year's Spartan Sprint in Charlotte was 6 miles.  You don't run the whole distance straight through though because you have obstacles (and burpees when you fail the obstacle) all along the race. I'm working on my running so I can cut off some time from last year's race.  I actually do have a time goal for the Spartan in mind and am already getting slightly nervous for the obstacles I think I will see in my race!

Return to Running and Shamrock Shuffle 5k

As most of you know, I'm a former runner who suffered an injury related to having my first son.  I spent months in physical therapy, years doing Beachbody programs to get my body strong again and started slowly running Dec 2015 only to get pregnant the following month and have to stop running again.  This January, after another round of weeks of at home physical therapy and weeks of Beachbody workouts, I started running again.  I began with the Couch to 10K app to slowly ease my body into running.  It quickly became apparent that I was in MUCH better shape than I had previously thought.  I worked out my entire pregnancy up until 3 days before I went into labor and got started again with a very modified version of 21 Day Fix at 5 weeks postpartum.

I have been doing 4 runs per week:  longer runs on the weekend and shorter runs with the jogging stroller on Tuesdays and Thursdays while my son is at preschool.  I am also doing the resistance workouts to P90X 3 days a week and keeping up with my regular hot yoga practice.  It's important for me to build up my strength as well as improve my running.  Plus I just love weights!!

My Spartan Sprint is coming up on April 8th so I decided to set myself a shorter goal before the Spartan to see if I could actually run a whole 5K without stopping.  I decided on the March 11th Shamrock Shuffle 5K about 10 minutes away from my house here in Charlotte.  That race seemed small and no pressure and would offer me a good chance to get my feet wet in the racing world again.  Race day weather was colder than it had been down here for a few weeks (of course) so I bundled up a bit in warmer clothes instead of the cute Shamrock leggings that I had planned to wear.  I arrived with plenty of time to pick up my packet, hit the bathroom and stretch.  Then suddenly we were started and in my nervous excitement I had my Beats wireless headphones on backwards!

Prior to the race I had been running about 11:30 minute miles.  Yes, very slow, but remember I had only been running for about 6 weeks after basically taking 5 years off, two pregnancies and lots of PT.  When my running app told me that my race day pace was 10:30 after the first mile I was like "what!"...I was going much faster than I had anticipated.  The race was lots of fun and I felt GREAT.  It was such a shot of adrenaline to participate in a race.  I forgot about that!  I'm happy to say that I did in fact run the whole thing, despite the hilly course.  Towards the end I started using my old high school cross country tricks of focusing on a person in front of me and passing them.  By the end of the race I was blowing past all of my targets.  I finished with a time of 32:30.  Not great by any means but better than I had anticipated.  I can see plenty of room for time improvement at upcoming races too!  Plus I haven't even done any speed work or hill work, which I know will come once I get a good endurance base going.

Up next: I have an 8K on Saturday!  www.elizabeth8k.com  I am excited for this challenge because I having run this distance yet either in my post baby running life!  I look forward to letting you guys know how this one goes!

T25 Beta & Gamma Review

T25 has been my main workout throughout the second half of my pregnancy.  You can find my review of the first 5 weeks here:

http://www.crashintofitness.com/2016/08/t25-alpha-review.html

Those first 5 weeks, or the Alpha phase, was all cardio based.  Some body weight resistance moves were used (tricep dips, pushups, etc) but weights were never used.  This changes as you enter the Beta phase.  Like the Alpha phase, Beta is still 25 minutes per day, 5 days a week.  Fridays are still an optional doubles day and you also have an optional stretch day in the program.  Instead of doing the stretch day, I just did my yoga.

Beta consists of 6 workouts:  Core Cardio, Speed 2.0, Rip't Circuit, Dynamic Core, Upper Focus and Stretch.  Before I started Beta, I checked out the 2 core workouts to see if they were something I could do while pregnant.  I decided against Dynamic Core because it was a lot of straight forward core work and I would probably end up substituting the entire workout.  Instead I skipped that day on the schedule. My workouts still ended up being 5 days per week thought because I split up the doubles day into 2 different days.  Core Cardio did have some ab work that I could not do.  I found that I could follow the modifier for most moves.  If I still wasn't comfortable with the move, I would just jog in place instead.

The Speed 2.0 workout was definitely more challenging than Speed 1.0 from Alpha.  I was also bigger and less coordinated as my pregnancy progressed so I have no doubt that played a role in my difficulties.  For a non-pregnant person, I could see how Speed 2.0 would easily build on Speed 1.0 while offering you a new challenge.  But for anyone doing the speed workouts, or any workout really, it's important to remember that you don't HAVE  to keep up with the moves on the screen.  Go at your own pace and you will be fine.

My favorite workouts from Beta were the 2 weights based routines:  Rip't Circuit and Upper Focus.  I love using weights and that was something I really missed during Alpha.  The lifting style in T25 is much more similar to something like P90X3 as opposed to Body Beast or the original P90X.  Shaun T focuses more on lighter weights and compound movements.  I stuck with 5 lbs the entire time.  Honestly, I feel like I could have gone heavier but I was really conscious of not putting too much extra weight on my pelvic floor while it already had so much extra with the baby.  When I do T25 post baby, I will start with 5 lbs again but plan to up my weights as I move through the program.

After 5 weeks of Beta comes the Gamma phase.  I absolutely love Gamma.  Gamma is 4 weeks instead of 5 and focuses much more on weights than the Beta phase.  I love how Alpha, Beta and Gamma all build on each other.  My enjoyment of T25 greatly increased with each phase.

Gamma has 4 different workouts:  The Pyramid, Rip't Up, Extreme Circuit and Speed 3.0, plus the stretch day.  These workouts are more challenging than Alpa or Beta so Friday is no longer a doubles day.

The Pyramid, Rip't Up and Extreme Circuit all use weights pretty much nonstop.  Of course, resistance bands can be used and 1 of the workouts also offers the option to use a pull up bar instead of certain moves.  I loved all 3 of these workouts!!  A couple had ab moves while I could not do, so instead I just jogged in place.  Sometimes I marched in place because I jogging got harder and harder the more I progressed through my pregnancy.  Speed 3.0 was crazy fast and I just went at my own pace.  I actually really loved that workout too, despite the lack of weights.

Gamma does not offer as many modifications as Alpha or Beta, but it did have some.  When it came to a move I could not do, I would either march in place or pull out a modification move they demonstrated in a previous phase.  I'd assume most people would have greatly improved their fitness over the prior 10 weeks so they would not need as many modifications as they did at first.  Being pregnant, I loved Gamma.  It did not have any workouts that I needed to skip and it had a lot of great moves with light weights that were safe to do while pregnant.  Plus the 25 minutes were absolutely perfect for me.

T25 also has the option for a 4th month of the program:  Pure Strength Hybrid.  This calendar mostly uses strength workouts from Beta and Gamma, but it also includes Total Body Circuit from Alpha and Speed 3.0.  I have not yet had the chance to do this month and probably will not for awhile, but plan to once I am given the clearance to workout and move through Alpha, Beta and Gamma again. I will have a review of that month once I can get to it!

As I mentioned above, I liked each phase of T25 better than the last.  Alpha is an adjustment for somebody used to using weights but it really sets a foundation for the rest of the program.  Each phase builds on each other and I think a clear next step after finishing T25 would be Insanity:  Max 30.  I am looking forward to returning to T25 after baby comes and I am given the clearance to workout.

You can actually do the first 4 weeks of T25 for free on Beachbody on Demand, so if this is something that interests you, drop me an email at Lauren.madara@gmail.com

T25 Alpha Review

I recently finished the Alpha phase of T25.  As I blogged previously, I had doubts about doing T25.  I always thought it was "easy" and didn't compare to my usual fitness routine (typically lifting with either Body Beast or P90X, running, hot yoga and HIIT cardio like Max 30).  Since becoming pregnant I found that I was struggling with finding the motivation to workout when I was so exhausted all of the time.  While I did complete Hammer & Chisel and then did a hybrid of Body Beast/Hard Corps, I needed something new and short.  That's when I thought I would give T25 a try.  It's Shaun T but not crazy Insanity style Shaun T.

The T25 workouts are 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Including the cool down/stretch every workout is under 30 minutes (they usually clock in around 28 minutes). Fridays are doubles day which is intended to fire up your metabolism.  You can also do an optional stretch day as well, but I already go to yoga so I felt like I was covered there. However, if you are sore I would highly recommend doing the stretching day!  The regular T25 schedule has an Alpha and Beta phase (5 weeks each) and the deluxe package includes and extra month of a Gamma phase.

I started T25 when I was 21 weeks pregnant and it took me 7 weeks to complete the first 5 week phase.  The thing about doing T25 while pregnant or postpartum or just generally when you are out of shape is that it has an AMAZING modifier who makes the entire workout low impact.  Even while following the modifier I worked up a sweat and my leg muscles were burning!  Another cool thing about the program is that it can be hard for any fitness levels.  If you are doing it without the modifier, you can jump high and really move to get in a killer workout.  It honestly is something that anybody can do!  I also think it progresses your fitness level in a way that anybody would be able to do something like Insanity Max:30 when they are finished (that has a modifier too).

Alpha workouts include:  cardio, total body circuit, lower focus, speed 1.0 and ab intervals.  I skipped the ab workouts, for obvious reasons, but did everything else.  I think my favorites were cardio and speed 1.0.  They both get you moving and sweating.  Both workouts have similar moves but speed 1.0 is done at a faster pace, hence the title!  Total body had me on the mat planking and doing pushups (the modifier had me on my knees the whole time, which was perfect for me). The lower body KILLS your legs.  So many squats and lunges!!!  I swear at one point Shaun T says "your legs should start burning now" meanwhile I'm over here thinking "what?! They have been burning for 5 minutes!!"

The Alpha phase is all strictly cardio and body weights.  You never pick up a weight and the only equipment you may need is a mat. I absolutely use a mat because I do the pushups on my knees on a hard wood floor!  I just started the Beta phase and so far this one does incorporate weights in a few of the workouts.  I will have a review of that phase up once I am finished.

After doing Alpha and now starting Beta and seeing how it builds on Alpha, I definitely plan to have T25 be my first postpartum program once I am cleared to workout this winter.  The quickness of the workouts combined with such an excellent modifier make that a no brainer for me.  I really think it will help me lose weight and improve my fitness level so I can move onto a more difficult program.

T25 is available on Beachbody On Demand so anyone interested in doing the free 30 day trial of BOD, email me!  lauren.madara@gmail.com

Fit for Fall

How is it already August?!?! It's already less than a month until I send my son to school for the first time! Now that the school year is quickly approaching, it's time for all of us Moms to take some time for ourselves and focus on our health and fitness. I've decided to run a

"Fit for Fall" accountability group starting on August 22nd. You pick the fitness program...I can help you choose one depending on your goals/time/fitness level. The current program I'm doing is 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for example.

Whether you need to lose weight, gain muscle, or just get in slightly better shape, you will definitely benefit from the simple combination of fitness, nutrition and support.  Most people quit fitness programs because they are trying to do it alone, without support. This is where the accountability group comes in! 

My fall accountability group will have:

- One on one support from me, your coach, whenever you need it

- Fitness program of your choice (something for all fitness levels & your time availability)

- 30 days of a superfood shake (not some gross "diet" shake)

- 30 days of a variety of workouts/meal plans On Demand 

- Special gift pack from me for anyone who hasn't worked with me before (and of course anybody who had worked with me before is more than welcome to join!)

If you invest in yourself and meet me halfway by eating healthy and getting in your workouts, you will be successful! 

I want to keep it small and intimate, so I only have room for 5-10 women. Let's take some time for ourselves this school year.

Email me at Lauren.madara@gmail.com for more information!

Second Trimester Fitness

If you missed my blog on first trimester fitness you can find it here:

http://www.crashintofitness.com/2016/05/first-trimester-fitness.html

Ahh, the second trimester!  The time during your pregnancy when your energy levels somewhat returns, your nausea goes away (hopefully) and you aren't yet so big and uncomfortable as you will be later on in your pregnancy.  Absolutely take advantage of the energy and get in some workouts!! As I said before, walking, light weights and prenatal yoga are all great workouts for those who were not regular fitness addicts before pregnancy.  I have days, especially after I travel, where I feel SO tired.  I really do feel better when I can get off of my sofa and get something done that day.  For those who were active pre-pregnancy, definitely keep going with your workouts.  Of course, you will probably need more breaks, modifications and lighter weights, but you can still go for it!

My current routine is hot yoga about 4-5 times per week and T25 about 4 times per week.  Some weeks I have more energy than others so I take advantage of that energy spurt.  And on those days where I'm tired, I rest.  No big deal.  I've learned not to beat myself up about it taking longer to get through a program.  Phase 1 of T25 is supposed to last 5 weeks but it took me 7.  It's ok!  Something is better than nothing!

I am still sticking with the hot yoga, I just end up in child's pose a lot more often.  I have also noticed that my balance is really starting to get terrible and the standing balance series is such a challenge for me.  I started adding some deep stretch classes into my yoga routine.  They are less intense than power yoga, and more stretching my body out.  I think at some point in my third trimester I will switch to just deep stretch and prenatal yoga (I'm so lucky that my studio offers that too!).  Doing so much yoga has absolutely been beneficial to me.  I am still pain free, and if you follow my posts you know that I had pretty bad sciatic nerve pain during my first pregnancy.  I am really hoping that I can hold any pain off for as long as possible!

For cardio I have been doing T25.  This is something I switched to during my second trimester.  If you are looking for a cardio workout to do, I would HIGHLY recommend T25.  Shaun T, creator of Insanity, does T25 but it's a much, much less intense version of his Insanity-type workouts.  The workouts are 5 days per week, 25 minutes per day.  I always shrugged T25 off as too easy for me, but I decided to give it a try 7 weeks ago when I was having trouble getting motivated for longer workouts.  I fell in love instantly.  Each workout has an awesome modifier who makes the workouts low impact.  I love it!  I always follow the modifier.  I just started the second phase of T25 today.  That was a bit more challenging, but, again, I stuck with the modifications.  I plan to do a T25 Alpha (first phase) review on the blog next, so if that's something you are interested in, check that out in a few days.

My main goals this pregnancy are to try to stay in good shape.  Nothing crazy, I just don't want to have to start from absolutely zero afterward like I did last time.  I'm trying to be the middle of the road between the people who do nothing during their pregnancy and those who are doing crazy CrossFit workouts at 40 weeks.  So far I think I am succeeding.  I'm taking it day by day and really listening to my body.  I just entered my third trimester so I am really hoping I can keep up my workouts for these next 12 weeks!

If you have any questions about pregnancy fitness, feel free to reach out to me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/crashintofitness or send me an email at lauren.madara@gmail.com or you can always join my totally free ongoing accountability group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/865878936823860/

Summit!!

Late last night I got back from my first ever Beachbody Summit in Nashville, TN.  Summit is the annual Beachbody convention where 25,000 coaches come together for a weekend of working out, trainings/workshops, parties and celebrations.  While I understood that 25,000 coaches would be there, I was not quite prepared for what that would look like!  I arrived on Thursday with plenty of time to sign in a receive my wristbands and badge before my 5pm workout with Tony Horton.  It was amazing and overwhelming just how many people were there walking around in Music City Center!  After my quick and easy sign-in, I decided to go to The Core, a MASSIVE store they had there selling exclusive merchandise for all of the Beachbody programs, live formats and supplements.  Basically they were selling anything and everything you could ever imagine involving Beachbody.  I wanted to buy everything but I held myself to just three shirts and a P90X baby onesie!

My first day there also had one of the highlights of my trip:  a Hard Corps cardio workout with the man himself, Tony Horton.  All of us coaches could sign up for a workout with a celebrity trainer.  Turbokick or PiYo with Chalene, Hard Corps cardio or resistance with Tony, the brand new country dance program called Country Heat with Autumn, Body Beast workouts with Sagi or workouts with the 2 newest Beachbody trainers.  My workout was 45 minutes and seriously fantastic.  I have been working out with Tony in my living room for six years so having him right there in front of me was mind blowing.  His workout was hard but he had modifiers which made it easy for me to follow along, even being six months pregnant!

Thursday evening we had Opening Ceremony at Nissan Stadium.  This was so much fun!  I was there solo and sat in the upper section where I could stretch out and relax.  I actually spent most of my time solo since everyone on my team was staying in a house together but I opted to stay with my family in a hotel.  Opening Ceremony is where they announce all of the new and exciting things coming down the pipeline for Beachbody.  These include:  A reality competition show called The 20s based on searching for the next Beachbody trainer on Beachbody on Demand (BOD), Autumn's new cooking show called Fixate (also on BOD), a new 3 week yoga program coming in September (again, on BOD) and the November release of a new kickboxing program called Core de Force with the newest trainers.  It all looks SO exciting, especially Core de Force and the yoga program.

Friday was all about the trainings. We could sign up for a few different tracks, depending on what we wanted to focus on.  I feel like I learned SO much during my trainings/workshops.  Honestly, my main goal for Summit was to workout with the trainers I love, but I really enjoyed soaking in all of the information we were given in our trainings.  Part practical advice and tips for running our business, part full on life motivation - everything was great. Chalene (TurboFire and PiYo) spoke to us during our Friday general session. I love her and listen to her podcast so I really enjoyed what she had to say.

Another highlight of the weekend was the Saturday morning Super Workout.  The workout started at 6am so I arrived at 5am to try to get an okay spot.  We worked out with each trainer for about 15 minutes.  They all had modifiers, which was awesome for me because I'm obviously not doing any crazy jumping around while pregnant.  Our workout started out with Chalene and PiYo to warm up and stretch out.  Then the new trainers came out and we did some of the new Core de Force.  They were followed by Sagi and Body Beast without weights.  Next was Shaun T and Insanity.  I really love him so I was extremely excited to be able to workout with him!  He was SO motivating, especially since we were all pretty tired by then.  Shaun T was followed by Tony and Hard Corps (a different workout from my Thursday workout).  By that point we had been working out for an hour and still had to do 21 Day Fix with Autumn.  90 minutes after we started we were done!  I'm so thankful I had my Hydrate with me to drink during the workout!

Post workout was followed by more training sessions.  Shaun T spoke at our general session that day.  I also listen to his podcast and really loved his entire talk.  Summit ended back at Nissan Stadium with closing ceremonies where they celebrated coaches and the  $100,000 winners of the Beachbody Challenge.

As you can see, the weekend was extremely busy!!  I didn't even mention the stuff I didn't do such as the live instructor certifications for Insanity, P90X, PiYo and Country Heat on Wednesday, the elite coach parties, private Billy Idol concert, photos with celeb trainers and the Beachbody Classic (physique competition).  Being 6 months pregnant and running on little sleep and lots of intense workouts, I made sure to pace myself, pack snacks, stay hydrated and take naps!  I also brought my husband and son along on the trip and met up with them for mealtimes.  So many people had kids or babies there.  You could not walk into the hallways during a training and find a father taking care of his tiny baby while his wife was in trainings.  I also saw quite a few women babywearing and nursing in the trainings.  I love how family friendly this company is!

Next year Summit will move from Nashville to New Orleans and I cannot wait!! I have big plans for my second summit:  get Insanity certified, compete in the Beachbody Classic and take my business to Diamond!  If you are a current Beachbody coach or thinking about becoming one, I highly recommend Summit.  Heck, even if you just enjoy working out, I'd recommend you go and experience once-in-a-lifetime workouts with world famous trainers!  Email me at lauren.madara@gmail.com if you are interested in going and check out all the info at www.coachsummit2017.com