Wow, I am wiped. Tomorrow will be my 10th day in a row working, combined with a couple late nights and early mornings. I’m seriously dragging my feet by now. I’ve also been feeling really dizzy all day. Although, that may have had something to do with the third cup of coffee I had around lunchtime. Ugh.
Regardless, I still got up this morning to do a heavy lifting workout at the gym. My biggest motivating factor was knowing tomorrow is going to rain and will be a rest day ;)
Started with wasa + PB + smooshed dates.
And a french press-sized iced coffee. Yup, I guzzled back a whole french press of coffee before hitting the gym. Technically, I think it’s only 20 oz… ish…
Back in my Starbucks days I was drinking six shots of espresso a day. Now I try to limit myself to 16 oz, which I clearly exceeded today!!
Anyways, caffeine nausea aside, I had an awesome workout.
Duration: 58 minutes
Max HR: 168
Avg HR: 142
Warm-up:
5 minutes easy on the elliptical with 15 minutes of 1-minute sprint, 2-minute recovery intervals. I did a pyramid thingy with the levels.
A1 – One-arm dumbbell snatch:
3 sets @ 20 lbs x 8 ea
B1 – Step-up:
3 sets @ 25 lbs ea x 8 ea
B2 – Underhand grip lat pulldown:
3 sets @ 50 lbs x 8
C1 – Back extension:
3 sets @ 8 kg x 8
C2 – YTWL:
3 sets @ 5 lbs ea x 4 (each letter, so, 16)
D1 – Horizontal woodchop:
3 sets @ 50 lbs x 8
D2 – Plank:
3 sets @ 60 sec
Click on the links if you want to see youtubes of the exercises :) Loved this workout!! I was gross and sweaty the whole time. Still a little bummed by how much I had to go down in weights compared to the last time I did some of these exercises. For example, I was doing two minute planks back in April. But I still find some comfort knowing my strength isn’t going to go anywhere but up so long as I keep doing these workouts :)
Came home and immediately made the quickest breakfast I could think of. Weight lifting makes me so hungry!!
Two Nature’s Path maple cinnamon waffles with almond cashew butter and yogurt mixed with frozen raspberries.
Chased down with some protein juice.
Aka PVL peach whey cooler. I’d already started gulping it back when I took this picture. And no, I did not eat on my living room floor, it’s just where the best light is. Looks surprisingly clean considering my vacuum cleaner is broken…
Only work eats pic is of my morning snack.
As far as the nut flavours go, cashew cookie is still best ;)
I hit up the grocery store after work and found a certain frozen food that I’m been dying to try. I seriously exclaimed with joy when I found it in the health food freezer section. It will likely make an appearance in the next couple days, all I can say is… I’m pumped!!
I also found some discounted salmon, so I ate it my favourite way.
Pan-fried in curry powder and maple syrup on a giant bed of spinach and assorted veggies. For the dressing, I just poured on some balsamic vinegar and sugar-free maple syrup (although, I used the real stuff on the fish).
I’ve laid off on the big salads recently because I don’t digest them well. I ate this against my better judgement tonight. Luckily, I’m not in pain, but my body is definitely working hard to break all that raw spinach down…
Dessert came about 90 minutes later, I put my fresh fruit to work.
I love summer!!!
Sweet, sweet sleep
I really wanted to do a post on sleep deprivation because I think it’s something that occasionally happens to everyone and has some not-so-fun effects. I read a lot of articles, but this Harvard Health list really summed it up the best.
The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get enough sleep:
- Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
- Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
- Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
- Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
- Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
- Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.
Every one of the articles I came across addressed at least one of these topics. Personally, I experience #2 & 6 the most. When I don’t get enough sleep I get hungry and sick. It’s like clockwork for me. Last weekend when I was at my cottage, I started getting a scratchy throat. I’d gone about 3 nights with ~6 hours sleep. Then on Saturday I slept for nine hours, and my sore throat was magically gone.
For me, sleep is the most important thing to keep my body healthy. I can eat well and exercise all I want, but if I’m not getting the sleep I need, none of it matters.
Unfortunately, I no longer sleep like I did when I was a teenager. It’s been ages since I’ve “slept in.” Instead, if I want to get in a couple extra hours, then I need to go to bed early. Because no matter what, my body is up and ready to go at 7am every day.
I’d really love to get your thoughts on the link between sleep and health. How does lack of sleep affect you? How much sleep do you get and how much do you need?
Personally, I need 7-8 hours a night. Something I haven’t got in a few days! So I’m definitely hitting the hay early tonight, then not getting up early to exercise tomorrow ;) It’s going to be glorious!!
