So, what was the outcome for my February goals? I would say I did rather well. These were just goals and in no way include my daily to-do lists, which would be a nauseatingly long blog post to sit through. You can check last month’s recap here!

February Goals

finish blog redesign – hahahahaaaaa, yeah right
~~finish Into Thin Air~~ – done!
start + finish Eating Animals – started and about half way through
~~organize workout schedule~~ – done!
~~stay on top of house happenings + research products, etc for renovations~~ – done! well, still going on..but I kept up with things really well
~~focus + make better use of time~~ – done.done.done. I have been going nonstop and haven’t been nearly as distracted lately!

Today I’m going to share my basic workout plan and my thoughts so far, on the book, Eating Animals.

To start things off a little lighter, here is my general workout schedule. I have so many things I enjoy doing for working out, it’s hard to fit them all in. This will definitely vary a bit each week. Not so much the workouts, but what I do each day. I don’t always go to the pool the same days each week, etc. This is just what works for me. I’m not a qualified professional in this aspect, so I’m not going to suggest you follow the same routine.

Just as a note - I’m not in any type of weight loss mode. I haven’t lost weight with the detox and haven’t tried to. I’m working on my strength [lifting] and stamina [biking + swimming]. I would love to be able to decrease my body fat by a 1-3% but am not really concerned or focused on it.

Here is what a typical week looks like for me:

Monday
- swim – 1 out of 2 swim days per week, I incorporate aqua jogging. My workout looks something like this. It takes me just over an hour to do this fairly intense cardio workout. 1.33 miles total
  - 100m kickboard warm up
  - 500m freestyle
  - 250m breast stroke
  - 250m aqua jogging
  - 500m freestyle
  - 250m breast stroke
  - 250m aqua jogging
  - 50m kickboard cool down
  - stretch in the pool
- stretch – If I don’t have a million things to do [rarely], I’ll stretch more at home. Doesn’t always happen though!
- walk dogs – I walk the dogs just about every other day, hours after my main workout. It’s never directly after. They get a ton of exercise in the back yard, so they do well with this routine. I walk them separately for about 1.5 miles each. Total walk time is around 1 hour at an easy pace. This is sort of a rest day. When I’m walking Dakota, I typically run for part of the time, wearing my Vibram 5 Fingers of course. I’m trying to build of my stamina again! 1/2 mile running, feels really far…hehe
Tuesday
- bike – Throughout the winter, I’ve used my bike trainer at home or biked at the gym. When I bike at home, I either read or watch TV to pass the time. It’s a little uncomfortable to read, because I have to stay sitting upright and there is no backrest like at the gym. On days I bike, I also lift arms.
  - Ride for 35-50min - I work in high intensity intervals during one of my bike workouts per week. This would consist of, me pedaling at about 80-90% for about 1 minute, every 5min that I ride.
  - If I’m at home, I used the same resistance the whole time. I have to hop off the bike to change it, so I just keep it on the middle setting. It’s definitely not easy! I remember thinking it was really hard when I transitioned from biking outdoors to biking on the trainer. I’m sure it’s because you don’t always have resistance against you when you’re biking outside.
- lifting – Whether at home or at the gym, I do a combo of lifting biceps/triceps/shoulders and also do an ab workout. I’m sick + twisted and LOVE ab workouts. At home I use free weights, and at the gym I use a combo of free weights and cable machines. I typically lift 3 sets of 8-12 for each different exercise.
  - For abs at home, I use my stability ball or mix it up on the floor as well. At the gym, I use the decline bench, which is evil + killer + I love it so much.
- stretching – I incorporate a lot of stretches from a few yogadownload videos that I like.
Wednesday
- walk dogs – 45min-1hr, easy pace
- climb? – I haven’t climbed much this winter, but hope to get back into it again. The gym we belong to has a huge climbing/bouldering area. I hope to do this about twice/week.
- lift legs – I’m trying to incorporate leg lifting twice a week, but am just starting! We’ll see how it goes. I’m currently really sore!
Thursday
- swim – The second day per week that I swim, I don’t aqua jog at all. I also typically include some high intensity intervals. It actually helps me keep track of my laps better. Every 10th length [25m], I sprint. Here is an example of what this workout might look like. I typically swim about 70-96 lengths, which takes about 45min – 1 hour.
  - 100m warm up
  - 1000m freestyle
  - 500m breast stroke
  - 500m freestyle
  - 50m cool down
- stretch + abs – I do this once I’m home. The pool is at a different location than our gym and is just a pool. No stretching + abs in the locker room!
Friday
- bike – Again, this is done at the gym or at home and I’ll be back to road biking soon!
  - Steady riding for 35-50min.
- lifting – Same as Tuesday routine.
- stretching
- walk dogs – 45min-1hr, easy pace
Saturday
- rest day or snowboard – If I snowboard, Sunday is a rest day.
Sunday
- lift legs – I head to the gym for leg lifting. I do a wide range of exercises and keep it to 3 sets for each. I love using the bosu stability ball [well, it’s half of a ball] to help strengthen my ankles.
- light cardio – Typically about 20-30min of biking or this other cardio machine that is similar to an elliptical but much more like running.
- stretch + abs – Decline bench!!!

Like I said before, this varies by the week. I typically, fully rest 1 day per week and have 1 day per week where all I do is walk the dogs. Since I’m trying to reincorporate climbing + legs, it’s a little harder to have 2 rest days. Basically though, if I need a rest day, I take it. If I need a rest week, I take it. If I’m sick, I lay low. I don’t overdo it. And, I eat a LOT of food. :) Again, this is just what works for me!

I added in the dog walking, because it definitely is exercise, but it’s at a very easy pace. I usually call and talk my mom while I’m walking. :)

*For more swimming info, check this post.

This is WAY longer than I thought. I’ll get back to my thoughts on Eating Animals soon!

No photos??

Nope! :)

Ashley