Favorite Indoor Workouts

I’m linking up with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia from You Signed Up for WHAT?!, and Mar from Mar on the Run. This week’s Friday Five theme is Favorite Indoor Workouts.

Favorite Indoor Workouts | FrenchFryRunner.com

I really like a lot of different types of exercise, so I thought I would share a few that I’ve been loving lately as I try to own the day every day.

  1. Body Pump. I’ve been going to pump classes for about a month and a half (I think), and I’ve fallen in love with it! It’s a great way to get started with weight training, and the class atmosphere is just fun and not intimidating at all. I’ve seen major results in my short experience with it, and I really recommend it to anyone looking to dive into more strength training.
  2. Yoga. Well, I just love yoga. It’s a great workout, especially Ashtanga or power yoga, and it’s a great way to work on your flexibility and your attitude. Yoga provides a way to slow down and focus on the moment with no judgment and to just be where you are.
  3. Treadmill. Yeah, I know. A lot of people hate the treadmill, but I don’t really, especially when I make my workout interesting. I like to warm up with 5 minutes walking and then move into my workout. Lately I’ve been doing shorter easy runs (30-40 minutes) and then picking up the speed by .1 mph each 30 seconds to one minute of the last 5 minutes before a 5-minute cool-down. Good stuff. It also helps that my favorite treadmill at the gym overlooks the pool, which distracts me from the feeling of not actually going anywhere. Nothing like watching older folks do Aqua Zumba, eh? 😉
  4. Swimming. I’m a fairly new swimmer, so my workouts aren’t anything crazy. I don’t have a tri on my schedule right now, so I haven’t been swimming a ton, but I do love it when I get to the pool. I swim for about 30 minutes and call it good. It’s short but effective since I’ve been trying to focus on form.
  5. Cycling/elliptical. I’ve been having trouble with my plantar fasciitis, so I’ve been interspersing cycling and elliptical into my training to cut down on my chance for injury. I just hop on the bike or elliptical crank up the resistance and go for 30-45 minutes. And the ellipticals at my gym have built-in TV, so it’s fun to watch The Chew or whatever while I’m plugging along. Good times.
Incline elliptical
How many times can I use this photo, I wonder.

 

Do you watch TV while you exercise?

Do you have a favorite treadmill/machine? Favorite running route?

Favorite dessert?

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Sharing my favorite indoor #workouts for #FridayFive with @eatprayrundc @yousignedup & @marmaone1. What's your favorite? Share on X

 

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I’m also linking up with Jill Conyers’s Fitness Friday and B.J. for #FitGeekFriday. Be sure to check out the hosts’ pages and find other fun blogs to read!

 

I heart swimming

Since I’ve been backing off of running for a little while, I’ve started swimming again. I went once last week, and I’m going to see if I can go twice this week. It’s a great workout, and I feel like a rock star after my workout. Okay, I feel like a rock star anytime I work out lately. Ha! And I’ve run a few times since my last blog post. I feel like I’m going to keel over after I run, but that’s just fine. It’s how it goes. Work is still super busy and time consuming, which doesn’t help my exercise endeavors. But I’m still practicing yoga. Love. It. 🙂 I have a class tomorrow, and it should be great.

Question, though, what do you do to become and stay motivated? I’m having such a hard time, and just signing up for a race doesn’t motivate me enough. Also, what to you do to keep what you eat in check. I’m making some bad dietary choices lately because of how much I work. So, tell me, what’s your secret? 🙂

Workouts and French Fries

So last week’s workouts were awesome. I definitely feel more fit and focused–which is exactly how I’ve wanted to feel for a long time.

Sunday: Off

Monday: Easy run on the treadmill for 2.55 miles. I’m liking the whole “don’t push yourself too hard during workouts that aren’t intervals or tempo runs” thing. (Haha, you know what I mean!)

Tuesday: AM—My first spin class! I was feeling a bit wonky because I only had room temp water to drink, but it was definitely a great workout. I really like spin. PM—Yoga. Loved it as always. It’s nice to feel flexible. 🙂 Then I walked home about .6 miles.

Wednesday: Some crunches. I fully intended to do 30-Day Shred, but obviously that didn’t happen. I think I needed a rest from Monday’s and Tuesday’s workouts.

Thursday: I didn’t wake up early enough to run before work, so I took a yoga class in the evening and followed it up with 3.5 miles of running. I did a “Run through Germany” program on the treadmill (super high-tech one), and it was kind of hard and fun. Then I walked home.

Friday: Rest.

Saturday: Swimming lessons! I’m not as terrible at freestyle as I thought. I suck at breast stroke (I’d never done it before). Swimming was really fun, actually, and I look forward to more time in the pool. Swimming lessons were an hour, then I swam some laps after for about 20-30 minutes. Good stuff.

I also had some delicious french fries on Saturday at a local burger place called JCW’s. They might be worth a “Search” post soon. I need to find more great places. Any suggestions?

Did you have a good workout week?

What are your favorite forms of cross training?