Ready to Run BIG PICTURE idea: How much do you sit?

One of the "big picture" ideas from the book Ready to Run (that I have been reviewing) is that the average person sits way too much.

Dr. Kelly Starrett says:

"If there's one critical takeaway from this book, it's that every minute you spend sitting is a minute spent with your hips turned off and positioned in a state of lazy flexion. Your hip flexors shorten as a result, and all that tremendous power that you should be funneling into your running gets diminished to a trickle."

"I want you to adopt a warrior stance when it comes to the amount of time you spend sitting each day. Cultivate an awareness that each minute you tick off sitting is doing damage to your body and your running."

I know I sit too much. I sit whenever I can. As a teacher, I do have to stand and walk around the classroom a lot, but I must admit, if there is a class that doesn't require as much... should I say, proximity, I will sit on my chair in the front of my room. Just to give myself a break when I can.

When I am at home, I of course stand and walk around when I'm doing housework. But when I'm teaching piano lessons, on my computer, or watching TV, I am either sitting or laying down. I convinced myself this was a good thing. I was letting my body rest by staying off my feet.

Wrong.

I decided to do an experiment this two Saturdays ago. I wanted to try to sit as little as possible! So here is more detail than you ever wanted to know about my day, and whether I was sitting or standing/walking around for it...


8:20- Got up, said hello to the kitties, ran the dishwasher, ran a load of wash, made my coffee.

8:32- Ready to sit down at the island to fiddle around on the computer, but I decided to stand instead. Normally, I would sit during this time.

8:51- Sat down to use the toilet. Does that count? Probably not. I will no longer tell you when I take a bathroom break.

8:52- Back at my computer, standing. My legs felt stiff so I did a little walk around the house and said hello to the kitties again. I would normally be sitting during this time.

9:52- Sat on the couch for 92 minutes watching Survivor.

11:24- Up and at 'em... getting ready for my run, doing some warm ups, etc. Then I ran, showered, stretched, foam rolled... didn't sit down the whole time.

1:36- Couch and more Survivor!

2:32- Up and at 'em again... blogging, getting ready to go run errands, etc.

3:58- Drove Paul to his friend's house and ran some errands. I was probably sitting in the car for about 45 minutes, total.

6:34- Home to relax. I tried standing at my computer but just wanted to SIT so I did! I got up once in awhile throughout the night to do various things, (maybe a total of 30 minutes) but I was sitting on the couch the entire rest of the time until I went to bed at 11:00!

Overview:

Time spent sitting: 7 hours and 15 minutes!
Time I WOULD have spend sitting if I hadn't consciously tried not to: 9 hours and 15 minutes!

So I only eliminated about 2 hours of sitting but consciously trying not to. Not that great.

How often do you sit?

Do you ever purposefully try to sit less?

Why Don't You Have Kids?

I was featured in a Shape Online article titled Exactly How to Answer The Question "Why Don't You Have Kids?" (I'm #11 if you want to skip forward!) It was written by one of my blogger friends, Charlotte Hilton Andersen.

Not many people I know ask me why I don't have kids or if I'm going to have kids. This is probably because they already know that I don't and I won't!

While there are a million reasons I don't want kids, I think the main reason is simply this: I just don't have any desire at all. There is not a single bone in my body that wants to bring a human into the world and be it's mom for the rest of my life. It actually grosses me out to even type that sentence.

The only people that really bring up the subject anymore are people I don't know very well at all. One of the only times I get asked if I have kids is when I'm getting a hair cut and the hairdresser is trying to make small talk with me!

I used to get asked more often. There were a couple things people would say that really freaking annoyed me....


"Oh, you'll change your mind!" <---- Really!? How would you feel if I told you that you'd change your mind about wanting children?

"Someday you'll regret it!" <---- Again, what if I told you someday you'd regret your decision about having children?

"I just can't imagine my life without children." <---- Great, glad you are happy! I am happy too!

"It must be nice to not be busy." <---- I have a full time job, 2 part time jobs, take care of a house, a husband, and 2 cats. You're right, I'm not busy at all!

"Not having children is selfish." <----- OMG STFU!!!!!!!


These comments haven't been thrown at me in quite awhile- probably because it has become more socially acceptable for couples to make the decision to not have children. This is a good thing. My mouth is a lot more sassy than it was several years ago, so if someone were to say something judge-y to me about not having kids, I feel like they would get a lot of snark coming from me!

Well, I can't always do whatever the hell I want... but I kind of can!

Do people ask you stupid questions about your lifestyle choices?
How do you respond?

Weekend Wrap Up! (MLK Day Expansion Pack!)

I had a great 3 day weekend! Best one in awhile....

I went for a lovely 3 mile walk in the morning. The walk was nice, but I would have rather been running for 45 minutes than walking for 45 minutes.

The students had an early dismissal from school, which means all of my classes were shortened from a half hour to twenty minutes. It really makes for a whirlwind day! But I was good. I didn't get stressed, I didn't try to be a hero and get ALL THE THINGS DONE. I just accepted that it was not going to happen and didn't stress over it.

That evening, we had a birthday party for my dad! We went to my brother's house and celebrated with pizza, shoo fly pie, and games. I love my family!

Dad and his granddaughter, Clementine

Uncle Paul and Ellie

Dad, Tyler, Debby, and Paul play mindless games

I taught Grandma what a selfie is!

Paul shaved! What youngin'!

Found this on my camera... sorry little bro, now it's on my blog!

I had an awesome workout at Planet Fitness! I lifted back, stretched, did some core, and of course, mobility work. When I got home, I went for a 3 mile walk.

I take pre run selfies, so here is a pre walk selfie. Hey, you can't drink coffee on a run, so walking isn't that bad.... not!

A book I ordered off Amazon came in the mail today! It is called That Terrible Halloween Night and I remember reading it as a child. When I found it online, I had to get it. Reading it really brought back childhood memories!

We spent the day running errands and cleaning the house because Bob and Rachel came over for a small game night!

Da crew

Buzzword... We lost!

Rachel and I got in an argument with Bob about feminism.

We were not happy.

I had Diet Mountain Dew.

Why is it in the house?

PAUL BOUGHT IT.

Now I must practice self control.

I walked 9 miles on Sunday! I went for a 4 miler in the morning and then a 5 miler with my friend Bree.

Walking that much actually made me very tired! Jelly and I spent some time on the couch watching Fashion Police.

You can't even tell which end is which end on Jelly!

Kathy Griffin has replaced Joan Rivers as a host. I know some people hate Kathy but I love her and I think she is hilarious! I am definitely going to keep watching Fashion Police, even though I do miss Joan!

Paul spent a lot of Sunday watching football and I went to bed really early... walking 9 miles in no joke!

MONDAY!!!!

An extra, wonderful day off! We began the day watching Survivor...Then I did an at home workout and mobility work.

(Some of my mobility work I did in the morning and then I did some in the evening.)

For lunch, we got sushi with a gift card we got for Christmas. It was DELICIOUS.

Then we went to see American Sniper with a gift card we got for Christmas! The movie was really good, but also very gut wrenching. Bradley Cooper is AMAZING.

This is the outfit I wore ALL WEEKEND.

I wore it to my brother's.

I wore it for game night.

And I wore it to the movies.

We finished out the day the same way we started... more Survivor! (We just finished Season 6. I think Season 2 is next!)

What is the most you have ever walked?
Do you watch Fashion Police?
Did you see American Sniper yet?
Ever wear the same outfit all weekend?

"Weekly" Workout Re-Cap

I DID NOT RUN THIS WEEK!
Don't worry, that was one of my goals.
But that doesn't mean I was sleeping in and being lazy...

1/12- My main workout was lifting chest and shoulders. I also did some glute activation exercises (think clam shells, glute bridges, etc.) and 15 minutes of mobility work. Then I did the squat test, which is one of the standards in Ready to Run. I basically had to do 1 tabata round of deep squats with perfect form. It was difficult, but I did it! This whole workout was going to be done at the gym, but school was closed due to icy road conditions, so I stayed home and watched the Today Show while I worked out. It was all Golden Globe coverage. Man, those actresses are gorgeous!

1/13- I went to Planet Fitness to lift back. I also incorporated some glute activation exercises and mobility work into my workout. Oh, and I warmed up with a 1 mile walk on the treadmill. I have been walking a lot these days...

1/14- I warmed up with a 2 mile walk outside. (Walking in 20 degrees is way better than walking on a treadmill.) Then I did some glute activation exercises, mobility work, core, some push ups, and some pull ups. I finished off with one of the jumping/landing tests in Ready to Run. Kelly wants to you be able to do 30 jump rope rotations on 1 foot. My right leg was awesome- no problems at all. It took me several tries to meet the standard with my left leg. On my first try I only did 3 rotations. After some warming up, I was able to get to 30 rotations... BUT my left leg felt so weak. I need to get my left knee strong again!

1/15- I walked 2 miles outside again! It was a lot warmer today. For some reason, when I walk, the earbuds on my mp3 player shock me. I don't get shocked when I run. What the heck am I wearing when I walk that gives me so much static electricity? (I guess that is what is causing it!?) I worked out in my living room lifting chest and shoulders. I did some core, glute activation exercises, and mobility work. My muscles were tired when I was done but boy am I craving some CARDIO!

1/16- I walked 3 miles and did some glute activation exercises and mobility work. I was going to lift back but figured it would be more fun to do it tomorrow (Saturday!) when I have a lot of free time to spend at the gym.

1/17- Another 3 mile walk, and then a LONG gym session. It was nice to be able to take my time at the gym!

(My first mile was on the treadmill so no picture. I did the last 2 miles in my neighborhood.)

This is the couch stretch. (Scroll down to the second pic- the "good" pic with the girl in the booty shorts!

This is the Voodoo Floss Band.

I will write more about these two things soon, as they are recommended by the book Ready to Run and I have been doing them daily!

Do you think it's silly I'm including Garmin pics of my walks?

What's the longest you ever went without doing cardio?

Why I'm Drinking 100 oz of water a day.

**I think the title should actually say Why I'm TRYING to drink 100 oz of water a day!**

One of the standards in the book Ready to Run is HYDRATION. Kelly recommends drinking 2-3 liters of water a day to keep your tissues, muscles, joints, and lymphatic system hydrated. 

I know, I know, that's a lot of water. 2 liters is about 67 oz and 3 liters is about 100 oz. 

Before chasing this hydration standard, I was drinking about 50 oz of water a day. Not too shabby, but it's only about half as much as Kelly believes I should be drinking. I decided to make a concerted effort to double the amount of water I was drinking in a day. That meant filling up 'ol blue boy 4 times!

Kelly also recommends spiking your water with a pinch of salt or other electrolyte tablet so that your body absorbs the water and you don't just pee it out! I opted for the salt as I didn't feel like buying anything special. I am still peeing A LOT, so I don't know if my body actually is absorbing the water, or if it is going to take time to get used to all the extra liquid...

Please note, that I am not recommending everyone drink this much water... I don't even know if I am going to feel any different drinking all this water. I am just doing it because, well, I am trying to chase each standard in the book, and this is one of them! Also, I am an all or nothing type of person. If I am really committed to following Kelly's advice on becoming "Ready to Run" then I can't pick and choose what standards to chase and which ones not to chase.

Here is how my quest for proper hydration (according to Kelly) is going...

Day #1: This was supposed to be a work day but school got called off because of snow. My water bottle is 24 oz so my goal was to fill it up 4 times and drink all it of. I managed to drink 3.5 water bottles, so that is not bad!

Day #2: Today was easier, as I drank one entire water bottle before I even left the gym in the morning. I slacked later on in the evening, so I didn't quite make it to 100 oz. I had about a quarter of my last bottle left.

Day#3: The day didn't start off very well. Instead of drinking water all morning, I drank a huge iced coffee! So I was severely behind to begin with. I had a chiropractor appointment in the afternoon, so I cut back on water because I didn't want to have to pee during my appointment. (I am not sure adding salt to the water is helping me absorb it.) So Day #3 was a bust, in which I only drank about 3 bottles.

Day #4: SUCCESS! I drank all 4 bottles before I even went to bed that night! I did a happy dance and then ate chocolate.


I'm going to keep chasing this standard and try to be mindful of hydrating properly. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to drink 100 oz every single day, but I think as long as I'm getting 3 in, that's an improvement from what I was doing before!

How much water do you drink a day?

My new NUTRITIONAL goals!

To go along with my new training goals, also wanted to write down some nutritional goals.

If I had to categorize my style of eating right now, it would definitely be intuitive eating. I don't count calories and I eat what I crave. I don't deprive myself of anything. The only "rules" I have are related to pre and post workout fuel.

However, I believe there are a few things I could improve upon, and I thought if I wrote them down and was mindful of them, I would me more likely to adopt some new habits. (Or readopt some old habits, in some cases!)

1. Eat veggies at 2 of my meals. I used to eat veggies at lunch and dinner, but I have kind of phased them out during dinner. I want to go back to the way I was doing it before!


2. Keep apples, Greek yogurt, and eggs on hand for snacking. I slowly stopped eating these foods on a regular basis and have started snacking on crackers, protein bars, and those peanut butter Nature Valley bars (the Aldi version!) because it just seemed easier.


3. Drink wine only when craving it. Sometimes I have a glass after work even if I don't really want it. I'm like, "Ooh, time to whoop Paul's ass in Jeopardy, I better get my wine!". And don't tell me red wine is good for the heart. It's full of sugar my body surely doesn't need.


4. Drink 67-100 oz of water a day. This is a recommendation from the book Ready to Run. I will be peeing a lot, but I think I can do it! (Spoiler Alert: I have already been doing trying this for several days!)


5. Stick to one dessert a night. I am the queen of hitting up the pantry right before bed for another cookie, a handful of chocolate chips... you name it. I eat a very substantial, satisfying dessert every night. There is no reason I need to be having something else right before bed. I am not even hungry I am just being mindless!

Do you have any nutritional goals for the year?

Any "rules" you follow?