ZR5K

To start with, I should probably explain a bit about what I’m doing exercise-wise these days. My leg muscles are much stronger now than they were before and the arthritic knee pain has mellowed so that I can push harder. Knee braces are a thing of the past. Ice packs are used sparingly (when there’s a hint of pain but there isn’t usually). Life is good physically…for the most part. I won’t go into the details.

Point is, I’ve started running again. After a bit of slow training on my own (and a week or so with the ZR5K app), I signed up for a Total Solar Eclipse Virtual Race to see where I stood with my abilities.

My 5k finishing time was 40:12. Considering I hadn’t dealt with hills or headwinds on my treadmill workouts and I hadn’t managed a full 5k distance before then, I was quite proud of myself. It also gave me a solid time to beat in October when I do the Halloween Virtual Run from the Zombies, Run app.

Because I don’t put the best thought into safely running on my own, I’m using the ZR5K app (Zombies, Run! 5k Training). It’s an 8-week running program. The first 3 weeks are free but you have to pay $4 for the rest. I was worried I wouldn’t like it but I knew it would help get me in running shape so I kept an open mind and loosely did the first 2 weeks when I had time. Yeah, those 2 weeks actually took me about 3-4 weeks. I’ve buckled down though and have a set running schedule that works pretty well. Today I bought the rest of the app (because I LOVE it!) and started Week 4.

Each week they give you a running routine that you have to do 3x (on 3 different days of course).

Week 3:

• 5 min Walking
• 5 min Free Form Run
• 1 min Run, 1 min Walk, 10r Knee Lifts – REPEAT 5x
• 8 min Free Form Run
• 2 min Stretching
• 8 min Free Form Run

I don’t stop to stretch during that 2 minutes. I slow to a walk to rest and give myself a break. I hit the full 5k each run for Week 3. By Week 2 I was able to run the full 10-min free form run at the end. Week 3’s 8-min free form runs were harder but I still managed to run both of them with the help of that 2-min bout of walking in the middle.

Week 4:

• 5 min Walking
• 5 min Free Form Run
• 10r Knee Lifts, 1 min Slow Walk, 1 min Fast Walk – REPEAT 5x
• 1 min Walking, 30s Running – REPEAT 5x
• 15 min Free Form Run

When I saw the routine for today, I thought it would be easy and it was…until the end. I knew that 15-min run at the end would be difficult but I thought I could push through at least most of it because of how well I had been doing in the previous weeks.

My speeds had increased the last couple weeks. My walking was 4.0mph and my free form running ranged from 4.5-5.5mph. Today my Slow Walk was 4.0mph while my Fast Walk was 4.5mph. I had tried to walk at this speed before, yes, but can only keep it up for a short period of time. My shins get super tired and it’s easier to use that speed as a jog. But for 1-min intervals it was doable. And the walk/run intervals were almost too easy.

However, when I got to the 15-min run at the end, I felt at once that I couldn’t keep up my normal 5.5mph. Not even a minute had gone by before I started drooping so I switched to 5.0mph for awhile. 3 minutes later and I switched to 4.5mph which is normal for me but I was struggling more than I should have been. I try to scale through those speeds in an effort to keep going. If I’m running at 5.5mph for 2 minutes, 5.0mph feels easier so I can then keep that up for another 2 minutes. Then moving to 4.5mph is almost easy so that, by the time I’m done with those 2 minutes, I have the energy to shoot back up to 5.5mph and do the whole thing again. Obviously I couldn’t manage that plan this time.

By 5 minutes my energy was shot and I still had 10 minutes to go. I slowed to a 4.0mph walk. I started up again at 5.0mph but could only last about a minute before I had to slow again to 4.5mph. I spent the rest of the run at a 4.0mph walk and a 4.5mph run. Around 10 minutes my head felt detached and my body felt strange. Probably the first time I’ve ever noticed this precursor to being lightheaded. I tried to walk more but I still pushed myself to run when I felt I could.

I hit 5k before the end of the routine. It was my slowest 5k (in this training) at 43:12. My run by the end was 3.55 miles at 49:54.

Yes, the routine was long. But why I would feel so tired/weak and have such trouble with the final run when I hadn’t been working very hard beforehand, I don’t know. I had an Isagenix shake for breakfast and it powered me through Week 3 Run 3 last week beautifully. Was I expending more energy than I thought with those initial walking intervals? Because my initial 5-min free form run in the beginning was at my normal speed and almost at my normal energy level.

Maybe my body was overheated? I try to turn the treadmill fan on when I run but the treadmill today didn’t have a fan and the extra big fan wasn’t on. I should’ve paused my run when I first felt overly sweaty and turned it on, but I thought I was being silly and that I should tough it out. I wonder now if that wasn’t the case and I should’ve turned the fan on.

If anyone has any other ideas as to why I was so much weaker toward the end than I usually am, please feel free to comment. I’m learning as I go and I want to train smart so I can stay healthy and injury-free and eventually help others do the same.

Classes Galore + Training

I’ve been pretty quiet here because I’ve been concentrating on being prepared for my POP Pilates classes and I was too busy stressing about my class numbers. They’ve been pretty low but that’s to be expected when a brand new class comes out and it isn’t advertised. As of last week, though, the class is being advertised in other classes.

Last week was difficult. My schedule was as follows:

• Monday – Labor Day – Y Closed
• Tuesday – POP Pilates: 30 min
• Wednesday – Body Pump: 1 hr (student), Total Body Toning: 45 min (sub)
• Thursday – POP Pilates: 30 min
• Friday – Body Pump: 1hr (student), Total Body Toning: 45 min (sub)

At the start of the week I was all,

The end of the week was a different story…

I cut out the cycling class I was wanting to incorporate into my schedule to take it easy on my knees because Cycling was also Wed/Fri. I subbed yesterday for Total Body as well but after a restful weekend my body was ready for action again.

Subbing went well. I put in a 45-minute version of POP Pilates. I know there are only 2 official versions – a 30-min and a 55-min – but I used my best judgement and I thought it turned out pretty good. I added in The Hundreds, Obliques, and Back Work in their respective positions. A second round of cardio wasn’t an option as that class doesn’t do cardio. It worked out really well. Next time I do that, I may take out Hundreds and stick in Abs & Thighs though as our legs don’t get all that much work overall.

We’ll see what happens when it happens.

Numbers increased last week. We’ll see if they hold steady or perhaps increase a little more.

As for the Training section of my post, my husband and I were talking about running because I had recently read an article about a woman I used to work with – Brianne Lippoldt. She’s a professional runner and is beyond awesome at it. The fact that Brianne started running later in life and was getting better and better with age sparked my husband’s interest. He said I could be the same way and start running again. While I have no delusions about my running skills and have no desire to be a professional runner (my knees would probably never handle it), he had a point.

I thought my knees were shot before and that my running days were over but I’ve started training my legs again and trying to get the muscles around the knees stronger. Slowly though so the backs don’t get injured again. He also mentioned that he was curious about doing a 10k race. I suggested he try a 5k first because of his back and then told him about the Frozen Turkey Trot I had read about the day before in an e-mail from the Y. He jumped at the idea of all of us running together in that race. I was surprised because he’s never wanted to run a race with me before. At one point I practically begged him to run with me but no. He always used his back as an excuse against it. It’s a good excuse as he does have chronic back pain. Pain that could probably be remedied if he strengthened his core muscles but whatever.

So this weekend we were super psyched about running a 5k together. He even agreed to put me in charge of his strength training regime and guide him in POP Pilates workouts. All of that ended Monday. Of course. While I was a good little girl and ran for 30 minutes before teaching a 45-minute POP class, he skipped his very first day of training. I’ll let it slide it though because, while his shoes are fine enough for walking, they’re not running shoes. He talked to a guy at his work who runs a lot and the guy suggested a couple places to go to get a good but cheap pair of running shoes.

Rather than let him waste his first day, I made my husband do some ab work. Even then, it was pretty light but he’s just starting and he said he felt awful the whole day, like he was getting sick, and that his back hurt so I took it easy on him. He still complained it was hard. It’ll get easier the longer he does it. In a week or two if he’s kept up with everything, maybe I’ll throw the POP 4 Ab Challenge at him and see if he can take it. I’ll even do it with him as encouragement.

 

February – Week 4

Almost done! And this is supposed to be the short month! Oh wow. How I’m going to survive March, I don’t know. One day at a time I suppose, like with any month. But let’s finish Feb before we start thinking about March.

Actually, if I’m going to be honest, I’m thinking about April right now…

#MoreLoveLessFear – Day 4

2/21/16 Booty Time:

• Fun Indoor Cardio – 6 min
• Swimsuit Slimdown: 8 Min Bikini Butt Workout – 8 min
• Lower Abs & Booty Blast – 10 min
• The Ultimate Butt, Back, & Arms Challenge – 3:18 min
• 5 Best Butt Exercises to Sculpt a Cute Booty – 9 min

#YogalatesLove – Day 22

2/22/16 Strong Arms:

• POP Pilates: Back Attack – 8 min
• 6 Min to Sexy Arms – 6 min
• POP Pilates: Backless Dress Workout – 10:30 min
• Jogging/Walking – 30:48 min 2.3 mi

OMG. My arms want to fall off. Can I get some new ones please? My shoulders are SO sore! I felt so good right after lunch today and the weather was nice so I went out for a run instead of doing the 100 Burpee video scheduled for today. EW! I hate that video. I’ll do burpees when I have to. They’re awesome for getting results. They’re definitely not my favorite thing in the world of fitness though. But 100??? Yeah, no, not right now. I’ll run thanks.

I got to listen to a zombie app while doing so too. I paid more attention to keeping a lookout for rattlesnakes. Yeah, so not a fan and it’s like every area around here is rattlesnake country. I even saw one on that trail! It rattled it’s tail at me and I totally freaked and sprinted away. Nothing like imminent poison danger to give you a fresh spurt of energy.

My stamina/endurance/strength isn’t what it used to be so instead of trying to run the whole way or sprinting at times, I gave myself songs to run and walk to on the way out (ie: jog all through this song without stopping) and then on the way back I’d pick out a landmark and tell myself, “Run to that tree,” or “Walk to that sign.” I increased my speed doing this and was completely pooped by the end.

Good news though – no rattlesnake sightings! Woo!

#YogalatesLove – Day 23

2/23/16 Cardio Core:

Missed. I had intended to work out but it just never happened. Errands got in the way. I had a number of them. Skipping the core day seems to be a common occurrence though. Not a good occurrence. But I can’t admit that my core isn’t getting a workout because Cassey works, like, the whole body pretty much every day. Still, if I did my core work when I was supposed to, my core would be much stronger. I need to stop slacking on core days.

#MoreLoveLessFear – Day 7

2/24/16 Luscious Legs:

• “Hot Summer” POP Cardio – 12 min (breakdown of moves included)
• 5 Minute Long Legs – 5 min
• Killer Legs Challenge – 3:30 min
• Legs on Fire – 11 min
• Quick Leg & Butt Sculptor – 3:20 min

Woo! I totally rocked it today! I always plan for 3 videos each day but this day I just felt so good. After each workout I thought, “I can do another.” And then I only had Legs on Fire (saved it for last) and I thought, “Oh why not.” I’m glad I did because it worked my inner thighs while the other videos hadn’t concentrated on that area. Very awesome day!

#MoreLoveLessFear – Day 8

2/25/16 HIIT Me Up!:

• Fat Burning Ladder for Toned Thighs and Sculpted Abs – 6:40 min
• Pumped Up Cardio Warm Up – 6 min
• HIIT My Abs HARD!!! – 5:20 min
• Jogging/Walking – 24:24 min 1.67 mi

I love that Fat Burning Ladder video. It’s so awesome! Because I skipped that Cardio Core day before, I tried to focus on really working my abs today. My core isn’t sore but boy did I get tired! I did my fav 3 HIIT videos from today’s schedule and then decided that, since I was feeling so energetic, I’d go for a run instead of doing the last 2 HIIT videos. I really didn’t want to do them anyway. Best to end when I’m still having fun and continue with something similar that’s also fun.

Followed the zombie app again. If there really had been zombies following me, I would’ve wanted to kill them! There were only 2 major hills but both times I started up, I’d get a zombie warning.

As soon as I reached a massive hill, I had to run up it as fast as I could?? REALLY??!! And the second hill was at the end so I was already really tired and the back of my left knee was stiff and achy. That hill has been my nemesis ever since my family moved there when I was in high school. And I had to sprint up it…at the end of my run. Evil. Pure evil.

I ended up quitting halfway and walked to the top (zombie somehow evaded). When I got there I almost threw up. It was awful. But I breathed through it and successfully held in my guts. Then had a good stretch and did my yoga/pilates poses for the 2 IG challenges.

Oddly enough I did enjoy myself…

#YogalatesLove – Day 26

2/26/16 Rest + Relax:

OMG. Ew. Last night my knees swelled up like watery melons. Totally NOT awesome. This just goes to show that you can love a workout even if it proves to be bad for you later. You know that quote, “‘I regret that workout,’ said no one. Ever.” I’ve always wondered about it. Is it true that no one’s ever said that? Well, if it was true or not, it’s no longer true now. I REGRET THAT WORKOUT. It’s been like walking on stilts today. My knees have very little strength right now and they’re still a bit swollen and very stiff.

#YogalatesLove – Day 27

2/27/16 Total Body Torture:

So today was a lot better but both knees still got stiff again. Not swollen I don’t think, just stiff. Walking weakened them, sitting stiffened them. It was a no win situation. So I did my best to rest with my legs up and ice them again today. Icing feels soooo good!

3rd Week of January

1/18/16: Skipped

1/19/16 PIIT & Snow Shoveling:

Cassey’s first brand new PIIT workout! It’s called Booty PIIT. I did 2 rounds of this in order to hit both legs equally. This kicked my butt! My butt and legs were so sore the next day. It was so much fun though! Took 14 minutes to go through the video twice.

I started the day off with shoveling snow for about 20 minutes. Then the snow came out halfway through the day and melted everything. Lovely. Actually, it was way too bright for the rest of the day and it gave me a nasty headache.

1/20/16 Cardio:

I ran! OMG! This was the first time I’ve been out running since early last summer (2015). It was super difficult and I’m pretty much back to where I was when I first started running – unable to run even 1/2 a mile. But that’s okay. We all have to start or restart somewhere. I was able to jog/walk for 3 miles! That at least is better than I was when I was first starting. So at least I haven’t lost my long-term endurance.

It felt good to experience “rungry” side effects again. I was SO hungry! I was good about my snack but still hungry. Then not so good about dinner and I was still hungry. Yes, I was a hungry hungry hippo.

Rather than eating more though, I drank water and waited till my stomach caught up with the food and realized it wasn’t as hungry as it thought it was.

1/21/16 Rest:

OMG. How effing stupid can one person be??!! At the time of yesterday’s run, I felt fine. Tired but good. Hours later my muscles had completely cooled off and stiffen into one giant painful mess. There was a nerve in or near my hip flexor that sent nasty pain shooting through my groin so my legs started to crumple (like when I was in my last month of pregnancy and it would feel as if my son was sitting on my leg nerves so my legs would crumple).

Add to that the tendons or ligaments in the back of my right knee had decided that they wouldn’t work anymore so I had to keep icing the back of my knee and resting so I could eventually walk again with a semi-straight leg. The knee cap itself was not happy with me but that’s a preexisting injury from years back that will probably never go away so I wasn’t surprised about that one.

I’m broken.

1/22/16 Cardio:

I iced the back of my right knee most of the morning and would lightly stretch it out by bending and unbending the leg to keep it from stiffening back up. By lunch both legs felt completely fine.

I really wanted to go for another run and both of my legs felt great so I got my Zombie Run and Charity apps ready and headed out. I’m not entirely stupid (or so I thought). I figured I’d walk unless the zombies were chasing me and then I’d jog.

Luckily I didn’t have the zombie app set up right so no zombies chased me. I was seriously disappointed but I say I was lucky because the back of my LEFT knee was then having problems.

I wanted to rest it, but I was a mile from my car. I should’ve paused the apps and sat down till the leg felt better, but I thought it was another injury and that it wasn’t going to feel better. So I stuck it out and concentrated on not limping. I stretched as well as I could afterwards and then drove home. By the time I got home, both legs felt totally fine.

wth?

I iced the backs of the knees and rested while watching The Martian (awesome!).

So what have I done to the backs of my knees? That is the question. I mean, I was just walking! And not fast either. It was the most boring walk ever. After some googling, I believe I’ve strained the tendons in both knees. Story of my life. It should take at least 7 days to heal.

How boring.

This isn’t the first time this has happened but it is the first time in a long time. I’ll stick to the recumbent bike for cardio next week. This would be boring but I have some apps I want to try out with it so I’m looking forward to it.

What 5k for Colombia Taught and Reminded Me

I went to the run for fun and to support my husband’s church. It was more professional than I thought though I later found the course length wasn’t accurate.

I was wrong about a number of things that day.

• Don’t judge a person by their appearance
• Drink a butt load of water on hot days
• Take it easy on hot days
• Be prepared for the tinkles if you’re a woman who’s given birth at any time in her life and has drunk said water
• Stash chapstick in that hidden pocket in your clothes if the day is hot
• 4pm on any given day in June (even early June) can be too hot to run

It was a perfect summer day complete with the sun being strong enough to bake your bones. The backs of my legs felt like my face when I open the oven after baking a dish for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. And that was just standing with my back to the sun.

Luckily running creates your own personal breeze so I never felt too uncomfortably hot. My mouth was dry except for sticky mucus and my lips felt shriveled. My skin was covered with a nasty coating of salt. I was sweating but not much. When I looked in the restroom mirror about 2-3 minutes after I crossed the finish line (had to walk a little ways to get there), I didn’t look sweaty; I looked baked.

Lessons Learned: Drink water and take it easy on hot days; stash chapstick on person; early early morning is better for running in June than 4pm.

Like always, I picked up speed when I neared the finish line aaaaaand was passed literally 1 second before crossing the line.

The look on my face made everyone laugh and shout out “OOOOH!” They felt my pain.

No worries. I felt no pain. When I had safely crossed I was laughing. I recognized the lady as someone whom I had occasionally played leapfrog with since the start of the race. She came up to me afterwards and apologized (while laughing). Her son had slowed her down at times and she had been using me as her goal for the last mile or so. She had been determined to get ahead of me before the end of the race. And boy was she bookin’ it to meet that goal. I’m sure my increased speed at the very end didn’t make her too happy. She was sprinting.

My time: 29:04

This 5k time is false as the course was .5 miles short of a full 5k. However, my speed was constant so had it been correct, I would’ve finished close to 34 minutes which is back to my pre-winter speed. Yay!

Lastly, I’m ashamed to admit that I judged a fellow runner based on her appearance. This was a humbling lesson to relearn.

I took one look at her large hips/butt and thought she would be a slow walker huffing and puffing long before the race was finished.

Not once did she walk. Not once did she slow down. This woman was ahead of me the entire race. I even lost sight of her when I stopped for my son in the last mile.

I made an epic fail and judged her. I am ashamed that I did this but I welcome the shame because it’s put me back in my place and re-opened my eyes.

She did an awesome job and deserves respect.

Lesson Learned: Don’t judge others on their appearance.

Those are my lessons. But I have one last thing to touch on. My son. He’ll be turning 5 years old July 3^rd and has wanted to be race with mommy for the last 1-2 years. I didn’t sign him up because I knew, even on a bike, he wouldn’t make it through the whole race. My husband took charge of him and they biked along the course on their own.

Almost 10 minutes after I crossed the finish line, I saw my son pedaling his little heart out (he managed 2 miles!). I thought he’d stick to the pavement but he veered off toward the finish line. Everyone cheered him on. When his bike got stuck in the grass he jumped off and ran, crossing the finish line to loud cheering and a huge hug and congratulations from his mom. I gave him the cold water provided for the runners and told him it was “racer’s water.” He was so excited.

I also got a water bottle to commemorate my participation.

Do you run for fun or to compete? If you compete, do you compete against others or yourself?

5k Run for Colombia

Today’s the day for the charity run!

It’s not too late to register. You can bring friends and family and sign up just before the run at Walla Walla Point Park.

I’m not running for time this…time. Just for fun. My brain and emotions have been seriously addled this last week so I’m just trying to enjoy life. Enjoy each day as it comes.

It’s a beautiful day! I hope to see lots of people joining the run even if they’re walking instead of running.

OMG! I’ve just spent the last 10 minutes surfing through Pinterest “funny” photos. The people around me probably think I’m nuts but I know I’m prolonging my life with a good laugh. Woo!

Here’s a good laugh for those who need it:

What do you do when life gives you lemons?

Reforming Old Habits

I’m trying to get back into the habit of exercising every day. It’s been difficult because I’ve had so many other things on my mind. It doesn’t look as if those things are done yet (in a good way) so this next week might prove to be difficult as well, but I have at least made the attempt.

In the past I’ve used ActivTrax to help me stay on task and get a great workout. I stopped for a long time because I had a class I loved that left me super sore every time. Since I no longer have that class, I’ve started up my ActivTrax regime.

Let me remind people that if they stop exercising for longer than 3 days they will start to lose muscle. I’m going to add to that by admitting that, due to various illnesses, I stopped pushing myself as hard as I should have been.

Yep. My old AT plan was way too much for me.

Way too much.

After messing with my personal settings etc on the AT website, I’m able to use it again. I did upper body one day and was super sore the following 3 days. I had planned to do lower body the next day but that didn’t happen due to a lack of gym time (my fault). I was, however, able to start my new running plan.

Fitness Magazine’s Your Fastest 5k.

And then life got in the way and I went to the Write on the River conference. I’ll be posting about that later on my writing blog.

I’ll continue running on Monday. I know the plan says to rest on Monday but whatever. My days don’t usually correspond to the plan’s days anyway. It’s always been more convenient to have Sunday as a rest day and silly for me to rest on Monday.

There’s a charity 5k happening on June 1^st that I wanted to participate in. It’s being hosted by my husband’s church.

Should be fun. I’m not active in the church but I thought this would be a good way for me to support it.

Oh yeah. I’m up to 14 push-ups in my push-up challenge. I missed yesterday and today. Oops…But I’ve missed plenty of days with the other two as well. What can I say? I got bored. Let’s shrug it off and concentrate on the fact that I can do 14 full push-ups! Woo!

Do you stress when you fall behind in your fitness or do you go with the flow?

Tips for Running

Am I a runner? Sometimes I think yes, sometimes I think no.

Times when I think yes:

• When I’m running
• When I’m training for a race
• When I’m wearing my awesome running shoes

Times when I think no:

• When I’m not running

It started out as way for me to lose weight but, when I stopped pushing myself to the puking point every time and started taking it easy, I started to enjoy it. It took a really long time and I swore after my first 5k that I would never put myself through that hell ever again. I thought, “Running is good exercise but I am definitely not a runner because I never want to do this again.”

About a week later I was back on the treadmill and planning for my next race.

For me, running is relaxing, energizing, and therapeutic. That sounds contrary, I know. How can it be relaxing and energizing when I push myself to sprint at times and to run until I literally feel as if I’m going to puke? Afterwards I’m exhausted and that can last the whole day if I’ve pushed myself hard enough. But it makes me feel GOOD!

Zumba and running. Two things I cannot live without.

After awhile I asked an experienced runner friend (who also happened to be a personal trainer at my gym) to judge my running form while I was on the treadmill.

Things I was fine with by that point:

• Loose fists
• Straight back
• Relaxed shoulders (had to consciously work on that one)
• Butt in

Biggest problem:

• Legs crossing in front of each other

Oops! Very bad. Given enough time that would wreak havoc with my knees and they’ve already experienced enough damage from my childhood.

She ran a half marathon some months later and eventually had to go to the doctor to see what was going on with her legs. I forget what it was but the doctor told her she needed to change her running form to land on the balls of her feet instead of her heels (or thereabouts).

It seemed like a good idea considering my own knees so I endeavored to learn toe running. It was a lot harder for her than for me. This could be due to my habit of walking on my toes as a kid. Being on my toes comes naturally to me. After awhile my calves kill and I can only last about 5k before my calves are too tired to continue but it’s becoming less and less of a problem.

Finally, here are some good rules to remember when you run so you don’t get frustrated with your progress or speed and so you don’t get injured.

Do you like to run? Why? Do you do races?

One Song Workouts and Running Intervals Playlist

I love workouts that I can put to songs but I never bother to make them myself because I don’t want to put the time in for the creativity. More than likely I’d make it a lot harder than it needs to be anyway.

These workouts are from Buzz Feed. I’m not familiar with the Kanye song (or maybe I am and just don’t know it because I don’t know most song titles) but it looks like a good workout for those out there who do like Kanye.

Those Macklemore and Icona Pop songs are great to run to actually. I have those in my running playlist from Self.com. Icona Pop was a warm-up song while Macklemore was a running-almost-sprinting song. Self.com gave lists of songs for a running intervals routine.

I’ve changed my playlist with a couple songs that weren’t offered on Self.com but it’s basically the same kind of playlist that they were featuring. The point of their feature was that listening to fast-paced songs (that you like) help you run faster longer. The playlist lasts about 37 minutes and is absolutely awesome. It’s true that the faster songs make it easier for me to run faster and keep it up longer.

What kind of music do you listen to when you exercise?

*Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any injuries sustained while trying any of the routines found on my blog. Talk to your doctor when trying new exercises and always listen to your body. If you feel pain, stop what you’re doing. Injuries are no fun.*

Don’t Get Left Behind—Strengthen Your Glutes: A 30-Minute Glute-Building Bodyweight Workout

Don’t Get Left Behind—Strengthen Your Glutes: A 30-Minute Glute-Building Bodyweight Workout.

This is an awesome post from blogger Candies & Crunches for working your butt. Let’s face it, most of us need a good butt lift. It tends to droop more and more the older we get. Traitorous Tush!

It includes moves likes deadlifts, hip raises, hip extensions, and squats. Looks like your core and shoulders will get a good workout at the same time. You have to scroll down a ways to get to the routine. Happy burning!

*DISCLAIMER: You do these moves at your own risk. Always consult your doctor before trying new exercise programs. Listen to your body at all times; if something hurts in a sharp way rather than the good sore way, stop. Injuries are no fun.*

via Don’t Get Left Behind—Strengthen Your Glutes: A 30-Minute Glute-Building Bodyweight Workout.