Sharing the details on how to train for a half marathon and keep up a running routine while making time for strength training.

Hi friends! Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Since so many of my friends are taking advantage of outdoor workouts and planning fall physical or virtual races, I wanted to re-share this post about a somewhat tricky topic: training for a half marathon while strength training.

I think it’s SO important to complement your running with some type of strength training. It can help to strengthen and protect your muscles, particularly the ones surrounding your knee and hips, to help you run faster and more safely. It’s very common for runners to get injured during training because they push it too hard and don’t train efficiently. It’s very easy to overtrain, especially with the myriad of “training plans” that are out there.

When a good friend reached out about getting injured during her beginner’s half marathon plan, I took a look at it for probably 3 seconds before saying,

“That’s too much running.”

Of course, if you’re used to running and do it daily, it’s NBD to slowly increase mileage and keep running almost every day. If you’re an elite runner, of course you’re running a lot! If you’re a beginner or novice runner, it doesn’t make a lot of sense from going to “a few miles every few days” to “6 miles one day, speed intervals the next, 3 miles after that, and a 50-minute run the day after that.” It’s too much.

When you’re a beginning runner, you need to be strategic about how often you’re running (and the purpose of each run!) in addition to strength training or cross training to prevent injury and improve strength.

Please keep in mind that I’m NOT a running coach. I’m a certified personal trainer and weight loss specialist who has run a handful of half marathons. Some of them were great, some of them were roadkill. (Thankfully as time went on, I learned what worked for me and what would help me PR. In my case, it was only 2 strategic runs per week in addition to the classes I was teaching and my own strength workouts.) If you need a specific training plans for your needs, please reach out to a running coach near you, or hit up my friends Teri or Janae and see who they recommend!

I took the plan my friend sent me and tweaked it. I eliminated a couple of run days – instead of running 5-6 times a week, it’s 3-4 – and added in strength training workouts that I’ll post below.

Spoiler alert: she followed this plan exactly as written (a couple missed days because life) and ran a sub-2 hour half marathon! YESSSS!

(To download a full PDF version, click here.)

For the HIIT training, you’ll do 30 seconds of sprints and 30 seconds of rest for 15 minutes total. For your hill days, you’ll focus on adding resistance to really challenge your hamstring, core, and glutes.

In a time crunch? Eliminate the Monday 2 mile easy run or the bonus training on Tuesday.

Want to take a class? Add in spinning or another cardio class you love (dance, kickboxing, step) for cross training on Fridays, or try taking a barre workout on Tuesdays for your leg day. You can also skip upper body on Tuesday (only easy run) and do an Orangetheory workout on Tuesday. Please let me know if you need help shuffling things around! Instead of ADDING in more times and classes, see what you can swap for maximum effectiveness.

Strength training and half marathon plan:

These workouts use basic (but efficient) strength training moves. If you haven’t lifted weights regularly, I would make a personal training appointment to make sure your form is on point before venturing into strength training on your own. (The goal here is to keep you injury-free!) As always, talk with a doctor before making any fitness changes.

Upper body workout:

Lower body workout:

Core workouts for runners:

Barre ab workout

Standing core workout

Diastasis recti safe exercises

Hip strengtheners are in this post! I recommend adding these in on recovery days.

I hope this helps a little!

Are you training for any races this fall?

What fitness goals are you going after right now?

xoxo

Gina

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Anti-vaccination groups have already launched co-ordinated campaigns to foster fear among people who have questions about the safety of potential coronavirus vaccines, and public health officials need to start combating misinformation now, scientists say.

Hi friends! Hope you’re having a lovely morning. We’re just taking it easy here and looking forward to another tie dye blitz this afternoon. The girls have gotten so good at tie dye lately and have been dyeing pretty much any white article of clothing in the house.

For today’s post, I thought I’d share a WIAW-style post. To be honest, my eating hasn’t been very stellar since we’ve started this whole “stay at home” thing a few months ago. We’ve been cooking even more of our meals at home, which is a good thing, but I find that because I’m juggling so much more – it was even more intense when we were doing the distance learning thing – I’ll sometimes go for dips into the chocolate chip bag instead of real meals. When I feel stressed, I tend to feel pretty blah about food. I make the girls delicious and balanced meals, but when I need to put something together for myself, it just doesn’t sound as appealing.

I’m a believer in giving ourselves grace, especially during such an unprecedented time. In the future, I’m sure I’ll be back to my meal prepping and organized ways, but I’m just over here flying the seat of my pants most days. I probably should have taken pictures of the kids’ meals because they were a bit more exciting lol but here we are: a full day of eats.

8:30am: We all sleep until 8 (!) so I eat a few Enjoy Life protein balls while I start the coffee maker and make the girls their favorite fluffy pancakes with scrambled eggs and strawberries.

The Pilot is telecommuting today (wahoo!) so we sit on the patio and drink coffee together while the girls eat their breakfast inside.

(Decaf coffee with monk fruit, almond milk, and a scoop of Vital Proteins collagen)

10:00am: The downstairs is cleaned up, beds are made, and all of the animals are fed, so I head upstairs to catch a quick obé fitness Dance HIIT workout.

The girls are playing with their dolls and having fun together, so I get in a quick work blitz: I answer emails, respond to Beautycounter skincare surveys, respond to blog comments, and schedule four podcast interviews for the next month.

11:30am: I have official breakfast while I make the girls lunch. This is a smoothie with the girls’ leftover breakfast strawberries (I hate tossing fruit, so I just put their leftover breakfast fruit in the fridge until I make a smoothie at some point during the day), almond milk, chia sees, almond butter, frozen cauliflower rice (you can’t taste it but it gives it a great texture and nutrient boost), cocoa powder, maca, spinach, Truvani protein powder, and monk fruit.

For the girls’ lunch, they have avocado toast with a side of cotton candy grapes, hummus, and carrots

I also start the sourdough for the following day and let it rest.

12:30pm: We head to the pool and take our giant inflatable donut with us. We meet up with some friends and the girls all play in the water wearing mermaid tails, while my friend, the Pilot, and I chat in the tanning ledge area. I also practice a bit of swimming with P – she’s getting so good at swimming without her puddle jumper!

3:30pm: We’re at the pool for a few hours and since I haven’t officially had lunch yet, I’m getting pretty snacky and so are the girls. They split a cheeseburger with fries, while we all share chicken wings and jumbo shrimp cocktail. (The shrimp are the size of my hand and SO good.)

I originally planned to make a giant salad for lunch but when we get home from the pool, I know dinner will be pretty soon and don’t feel like chopping anything, so there ya go.

4:00-6:00pm: Another quick work blitz while the Pilot hangs out with the crew downstairs. I have a conference call, pre-write the meat of this blog post, answer emails (my inbox is a black hole of sadness), make a couple of quick workout graphics, schedule my coschedule content for the week, and brainstorm content for the following week.

6:00pm: Mexican food takeout from El Charro. I order the chicken tacos on corn tortillas with rice and beans.

and eat approximately 1400 chips with salsa.

We take a family walk, give the girls baths and do the nighttime routine, and they’re both crashed by 9pm.

9:00-10:30pm: I watch Tombstone with the Pilot while typing up the rest of this blog post and getting everything to go for the following day. Before bed, I sip on a golden milk latte and shape the sourdough loaves and pop them into the fridge.

We also go out to the balcony to take pictures of the fire. It’s moved east but has grown exponentially and isn’t even a quarter contained.

11:15pm: Lights out and ready to do it all over again.

What I liked about this day of eats: I really love the shrimp cocktail at the pool, so any day that includes that is a win. Also Taco Tuesday = another win. Even though I kind of skipped lunch in favor of snacks, I definitely would have hit my protein goal for the day. (I stopped tracking macros a while ago, but still try to make sure I have protein in every meal and snack.)

What I didn’t like about this day of eats: It was a bit lower on the veggies and nutrient front that I would have liked. I usually try to get in some type of fresh fruit and/or veggies with every meal, but lately, this hasn’t been happening as often. I’m just rolling with it and waiting until inspiration strikes again. Every week I say I’m going to make more of an effort, but some weeks have felt pretty blah, ya know? If you’re feeling the same way, please know you’re not alone.

What was the best thing you ate yesterday? Favorite place to get takeout right now?

xoxo

Gina

More:

More WIAW posts here, here, here and here.

Full day of plant-based eats

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Sharing my full review of the obé fitness platform, my favorite instructors, pros, cons, and if the workouts are good.

Hey friends! Hope you’re having a good morning. It’s the usual routine over here – catching a virtual barre class and then hitting the pool with the babies later if it isn’t too smoky outside. The fire in Tucson is still horrible and the smoke has clouded the city for the past few days. I’m crossing my fingers that it can be contained soon!

For today’s post, I wanted to share my thoughts on the obé fitness platform now that I’ve had some time to try different workouts and instructors. I mentioned before that signed up for obé was kind of an accident. I did the free 7-day trial because I wanted to take more of Amanda Kloots’ workouts (I’ve loved her dance cardio for years) and when I called to cancel it, it was over the weekend and the office was closed. Since I paid for a month, I kept trying more classes, and called to cancel it and they gave me a sweet deal for the following month. So, here we are, and I have to say, I’ve really enjoyed some of the workouts I’ve found.

obé fitness review

What is obé fitness?

It’s an online fitness platform featuring 26-minute workouts in three different segments:

Sweat – cardio-focused workouts, like HIIT training, dance cardio, choreography, and bounce (a trampoline-based workout)

Define- strength classes with light or heavy weights, barre, and Pilates

Flow- yoga and stretch classes

They also offer longer 45-minute classes for each section.

Similar to Peloton, they have a live schedule, where you can tune in to take classes live, as well as many On Demand workouts.

What to expect:

The vibe for obé classes is fun and fresh. The instructor leads class, surrounded by pastel-colored walls and the set-up is fairly simple; you don’t see any flashing lights or distractions. You can choose a workout based on your goals (I highly recommend the dance cardio classes) and follow along from anywhere. The platform feels very “LA” with the emphasis on dance cardio, barre, and yoga. These are classes that I personally love, so I was excited to have more options to try (and also learn some new teaching moves!) while we’ve been at home.

The cost for obé fitness is $27 per month or $199 billed on an annual basis.

Pros:

– No need for crazy equipment or space. Many of the workouts can be done either with your own bodyweight or a set of light or heavy dumbbells. I like how attainable this is, especially for those who are working out at home right now.

– Short workout time! I feel like 26 minutes is workout sweet spot. You can get in an awesome workout without feeling like you’re making a huge time commitment, and if you’re feeling up to it, you have the option to take a longer 45-minute class.

– Fun instructors. There are a handful of instructors that I LOVE. Walter K., Peter, Michelle B., and Amanda Kloots (of course) are my very faves. They’re motivating without feeling drill seargent-y or too intense.

Cons:

– I can’t help but compare everything to Les Mills, but I feel like some of the instructors/classes are lacking experience and/or concrete planning. I’ve taken a couple of classes that didn’t feel like they were effective or well-planned to me, and also lacked proper form cues or engaging motivation besides, “Good job!” but that’s just me being extra picky. At the same time, I’ve taken classes that were awesome and felt extremely well-planned. It’s just a little more hit or miss than I would prefer.

– Sometimes the 26 minutes feels TOO short, but that’s a good thing. The Dance HIIT classes with Walter K. fly by!

Will I keep my subscription?

I’m still trying to decide. $27 feels a bit high for me, especially when Les Mills is only $14.99 and the quality and amount of workouts is much higher. I’ve also been paying for Peloton (which we love!), Sweat App, and a monthly On Demand subscription to Barre Body (<— where I used to teach in San Diego!). These fitness apps add up lol. I think it’s definitely worth checking out obé during the free trial to see if you like it!

So tell me, friends: what’s your favorite app or online resource for workouts?

xo

Gina

More:

Sweat Fierce Program

Les Mills On Demand

Peloton App Review 

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This is a barre arms and core workout that you can do anywhere. All you need is a light pair of dumbbells, ranging from 2-5 lbs. 

Hi friends! Hope you had a happy weekend and that that those of you who were celebrating Father’s Day enjoyed the holiday with those you love. We had backyard dinner and swimming at my dad’s house, stopped by my mom’s to say happy Father’s Day to my stepdad, called up Tom’s dad, and made a stop at the cemetery to tell my Tata how much we miss him.

We got brunch takeout from Commoner &. Co (SO good),

and spent the day with our favorite guy.

For this morning, I’m coming atcha with a new upper body and core workout. This workout uses some of my favorite barre-based exercises, and focuses on muscular endurance for the weights segment. I threw in some cardio blasts for good measure. It’s easy to related barre to the lower body and core benefits, but we can often forget that it can also help to strengthen and lean out the upper body muscles. Endurance exercises are so important to include in your routine. Not only do they help to change things up – we need to adjust the demands on our body to continue to achieve results – but also because it’s functional for life. What muscles are you using when you carry 18 bags of groceries from the car into the house and it takes you a few minutes because dogs and kids are trying to trip you? Endurance muscles.

Here’s a workout I put together using some of my favorite upper body arm exercises and a core blast at the end!

Barre Arms and Core Workout (video)

Remember that even though the weights are light, you can always switch them or ditch them. Feel free to use cans, water bottles, wine bottles, whatever you have on hand.

Here’s the full follow-along video:

Please let me know if you give this one and try and what you think!

If you’re looking for a longer workout, combine this one with the barre booty workout I posted a couple of weeks ago.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel here if you’d like to be notified when I post new videos.

Have a wonderful day and I’ll see ya soon!

xo

Gina

More barre workouts:

Total body barre workout and video

10 barre workouts you can do at home

Barre for everyone

Cardio Barre workout

Yoga barre fusion

Barre Bootcamp 4-week workout plan + videos

The post Barre Arms and Core Workout (video) appeared first on The Fitnessista.

Marathon Training Day 2 – journal update. It’s a rest day because I ran long(ish) yesterday. Here’s my run rest day report and what I’m eating…   Follow @RunEatRepeat on Instagram for more runs and fun! See you there!! What I ate for breakfast and dinner…   Keep Going with these: Lorena Ultra Runner Netflix Doc ... Read More about Marathon Training Day 2

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