Half way there

Hey Yall, 

My weekend was exciting! At least for me anyways, my husband might say otherwise. Saturday we went to the horse show. What my husband probably doesn’t realize, is that was seriously the best date I’ve ever been on. He may not have enjoyed it but every time I think about it I smile. Seriously people probably will never realize how much horses mean to me. Everyone has their passion. For instance, my Hubby’s is golf or sports in general, my brothers is hunting, and mine is horses. Plus horse shows are the one time I’m competitive, even if it is with myself. 

Today’s walk went well. It’s starting to get boring in the beginning and I struggle with motivation to keep going. Plus my shins hurt in the beginning until I jogged for only a minute and a half. I’m not sure if I just keep starting off my walk weird or what. Anyways they quit hurting, which is always good. I’m hoping I can keep up the speed of a 15 minute mile throughout my pregnancy (at least as close to the end of it as possible). However, as this child keeps pushing on organs and such who knows what will happen.

Officially at 20 weeks! Plus new workout clothes for my growing belly

My lifting was legs and abs today. I successfully went up in weight on the leg extensions. Since it’s lifting with my legs, I am pretty certain I can just lift more than 40 pounds. However, for my dumbbell squats I just increased in reps. I’m already at the 40 pound limit and that weight is above my waist. My plank for my abs were not great. My last one got cut by 5 seconds. I guess my body had enough or I got into my head (probably a little of both). Anyways it was a good workout, so that was nice. 

They finally fell asleep.

Sweet Child of Mine

Hey Yall 

Yesterday I took a rest day. I think it was very much needed, since I do cardio and weights every time I work out. Plus things are starting to make me tired quicker. I realize it’s a pregnancy thing,  but I’m still used to having energy for doing even more. However, this child of mine was active yesterday. Each day it seems like I can feel the movement even more. Today for instance my baby was active in the morning like crazy. Hopefully it doesn’t mean he/she will be an early riser.

It’s actually closer to 8:30, if not before now. 😴

Today’s workout was biceps and back. My biceps were feeling like jello by the end of it. I did hammer curls, incline bench curls, alternate curls, and concentration curls. Can I just point out how much I despise incline curls? Seriously, they are awful. I mean they work wonders and really work your muscle but that’s why they stink. My back is something that I’m bad about just being lazy on. I’m never really that worried about working it out, but I should be better. Anyways, I did dumbbell one arm row, close grip lat pull down, and cable seated row. The lat pull down I have to do a few extra reps because I can’t lift over 40 pounds. I need it heavier to actually work out my muscle by repetition works too.

She’s always happy to take a picture with me😂

My walk today went really well. Probably because I took a rest day. My body needed it worse than I thought (who would’ve thought). I can always get my baby to fall asleep (at least I think he/she goes to sleep) when I start walking. In the beginning I can feel him/her moving but by the end he/she is no longer moving. Generally when I’m done walking I take a break and eat a little something before lifting. At the point my little one starts stirring again. So I go lift and then go outside with my mutts, which usually puts him/her back to sleep. The baby gets active again before I go to sleep and after dinner. 

He just looks sad all the time 😂 he was just being a baby because he wanted something another dog had

Freezing Friday

Hey yall, 

Today I walked inside because it was freezing outside. Between the wind and it just not getting warm out, I had no chance of staying warm while walking. My 4 miles went by pretty easy. I didn’t do any incline today because I figured I’d rest my legs a little bit. It went by quickly, which is probably because I watched TV. Always goes by faster then. Plus I had my Garmin Vivoactive track my walk. Granted, it’s never as accurate as when your walking outside. However, according to it I went longer than 4 miles. Generally when I use it, my watch shows me not going as far. 

The mutts didn’t really want to cooperate for a good picture.

My workout today was shoulders and chest. On one of my shoulder workouts I increased my weight, which is always fun. I did not increase my weight on chest, but I can still feel it nonetheless. As always it was a good workout that I could really feel in my shoulders. They still felt pretty sore when I started working them out today. But I managed to push through and do more weight. 

It’s crazy how you can see when I started working out more seriously. My first trimester all I wanted to do was sleep.

Good pain vs bad

Hey yall, 

Today was leg day again. I took out my lunges though because my “What to Expect When Expecting” book said that it would be better to not do those while pregnant. It’s because I’m more clumsy then normal, and I am more prone to injury. Personally I didn’t research it that much because I despise walking lunges anyways. It just made a good excuse to not do them. However, I do think I did one of my exercises slightly wrong on accident. The right side of my leg is sore and not from working it out. I’ve learned to tell the different pains in my body, for the most part. Hopefully it just heals up nicely. 

I just took this pic. It was pretty outside

I had a mixture of cardio for today. My main cardio was walking on the treadmill. I had the treadmill at different angles, so it was like I was going up a hill. Sometimes it amazes me how walking at a step incline can be challenging. I did that for about 45 minutes. My other cardio was just out walking with the dogs. I also through the tennis ball for awhile. The dogs played keep away from each other. It was entertaining. 

Family

Hey, hey

Today I walked my 4 miles inside. Between the rain from last night and it raining during the day, I knew it wouldn’t work to walk outside. Walking inside is always fun with a TV set up in front of the treadmill. I walked the first and third mile at a one degree incline. My last mile I walked it at a half a degree incline. Since tomorrow is leg day and my legs are still a little sore, I figured I better not walk the whole time at an incline. It was interesting to walk during the time I did,  because both my parents were lifting weights at that time. It didn’t end up well for them and one came back later to finish. I mean it is a home gym in a room that isn’t finished in the basement. 

Today’s lifting consisted of biceps and triceps. I’m not really sure I’m going to be able to do much with my arms tomorrow, but we shall see. I did feel pretty good about being able to still use the 15 pound dumbbells for most of my lifts for biceps. My triceps just hated me at the end. My arms were jello and begging to be done. The exercises I did were: alternate hammer curls, alternate bicep curls, dumbbell incline curl, concentration curls, bench dips, standing triceps extension, triceps kickback, and alternate triceps extension. By the end of all that my arms were ready for a break. 

I tasted good after my workout apparently

I did walk around outside with the mutts today. In the morning I let them out for about an hour and walked them around. Granted, I didn’t walk that whole time. They had to get put away, since my parents had people coming over to put stuff on the attic. Anyways after that I let them out again and played with them for about an hour. Again, I walked them around for a little bit but they were more interested in chewing on bones. When we made dinner tonight, it was fun because my hubby was involved along with my mom and I. Sometimes it’s nice to make dinner as a family. 

Isn’t it how every dog sits?

Spring Weather

Hey yall, 

Today was absolutely gorgeous outside. I figured it would be a good day to walk outside. Now, I am currently living on a gravel (dirt) road. Generally this isn’t a big issue,  because I can run or walk on gravel. However, I am pregnant and took both my dogs with me. My mom ran with my brothers dog. I was never graceful before I got pregnant, and it only got worse after becoming pregnant. Needless to say, I walked on a trail that didn’t have loose gravel everywhere. 

The walk turned out better than I expected. I kept my pace between a 3.6 and 4.0 (basically a 15 minute mile and a little slower) the whole time. Considering I had two dogs, hills, and mud, I thought I did pretty good. I also figured I’d be slower because I had no one there to push me. Thankfully, I have learned to push myself. I ended up going further then 4 miles. I was curious when the trail would have the 2 mile marker, and I had started my watch before it said 0. My dogs would walk in the mud on the trail and seemed to get great joy out of splashing it. They also would walk along the side in the water. I didn’t care, since I knew that cement had to be hot. Plus they still kept up with me for the most part. 

I also worked out my legs today. They were still sore from Thursday… But hey that means I’m working my muscle. At first I thought maybe I should wait but I figured it wouldn’t kill me, so I would be just fine. It’s always nice to have sore muscles and then work them out again. Plus I’m feeling a tad bit healthier, since my family can afford all the healthy food. I probably shouldn’t get used to it… Oh well. My legs probably won’t let me go up and down the stairs tomorrow but such as life. The workout was intense as always and made my legs jello again. 

We wore them out

Pregnancy Workout

Hey, hey

So… Big news for those of you who don’t know. I expecting a little one in September! My husband and I are so excited. It happened a like earlier than planned, but everything always happens in God’s time. I truly believe that and it seems to be more and more true each day. Plus my husband and I moved back to my home state of Iowa. Words can’t describe just how happy I am for that. I’m a firm believer in family, and I’ve missed mine a great deal. Nothings the same unless family is nearby. Anyways we are stoked about having a baby. 

I’ve always been adamant about working out and being healthy. Well, that first trimester just about wiped me out. I was sleeping all the time and barely got dinner on the table half the time. Obviously I was a major slacker that first trimester but oh well. I figured if my body wants sleep that bad then I should give it sleep. 

However, second trimester changed that. The first few weeks of the second trimester I just walked 4 miles. I wasn’t always super consistent because of the packing and everything else that need to get done. I did manage to go at least 3 times a week. I figured that is more then most people who aren’t even pregnant. 

My pup takes attractive pictures lol

But today that changed. I figured I’ve got access to a home gym that doesn’t cost me anything, better use it. So today was leg day. Now being pregnant, I obviously have to be a little more cautious of what I’m doing. I did not push it to the extent I felt like death, but I did push it enough I felt like I was doing something. My legs felt like jello after, so I felt accomplished. It helped that I would go up the stairs on my rest to check on my dogs. They aren’t used to having lots of land to roam, so I would make sure they were still within line of site. It’s almost like extra toys to go up the stairs in the middle of a leg workout, but oh well. The workout includedbodyweight calf raises (might change to weighted), hip abductor and adductor, one legged barbell squats, walking dumbell lunges, seated leg curls, leg extensions, and barbell squats. My cardio consisted of walking with the dogs and washing my vehicle. 

They do love each other

It felt good to be back at the weights. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I need to lose my muscle mass. It’s good for the baby and mom to be healthy, which includes working out. Plus after birth, hopefully, it’ll help to lose the baby weight. 

Hi-ho, Hi-ho, it’s off to Work

This is pretty much be today.

Hey yall, 

I know I’m a slacker for not working out last week, but I was working. A lot. I put in over 70 hours and I’ve never done that. At least not in a long time. The only time I could think of is when I worked at a barn and it was show season. Anyways that’s a lot of hours crammed into a small amount if time. My job gets stressful, and last week was a pretty stressful week with the client. The people I  work with not only have an intellectual disability but also a mental illness on top of that. For instance, one could have autism and a personality disorder. It makes for interesting weeks that can be stressful, but also rewarding. 

This week though, I’m back at it. The first thing I did was work out my arms. Today’s exercises included incline dumbbell bench press, side lateral raise, one arm dumbbell raise, curls, and triceps extension. It kinda stinks because I’m still limited on what exercises I can do. My gym at my apartment has very little workout machines. I’m just thankful I have something. Everything was 5 sets of each workout and 10 reps. It felt good to use my muscles because of weights and not to correct my dog. Don’t get me wrong I love my pup, but he’s starting to realize just how big he is. He doesn’t mean to pull hard and he always wants to please his owners, but sometimes I realize just how strong he is. 

I was trying to vacuum. He was oh so helpful.

 Today I ran for 45 minutes in a run 3 minutes and walk one. It was a little challenging seeing as I didn’t run last week, except once on Saturday. Plus my body just feels exhausted, and I’m pretty certain it’s still catching up on rest from last week. My run at least went about a decent as could be expected. It felt good to be running again, even if my body felt tired. 

After running I went ahead and did legs. Today was the same workout as previously, where I did 150 squats. I did normal squats, wide squats, and narrow squats. Plus I did calf raises and dumbbell deadlifts. Every time I did squats my knees popped. Probably way more than they should but oh well. My ankle appreciated me wearing the brace, since I ran and worked legs. To be fair it was already acting up earlier in the day, so I figured better safe then sorry. 

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed this blog. 

Run with Wings

Hey, hey 

Today I ran outside with both of my puppies. One is barely six months old and runs crazy warm. He is not meant for endurance, unless it’s slow and steady. However, my other one who will be two years old this month (I realize technically she’s not a puppy) was ready to go. She’s gone running with me before and greatly enjoys it. I’ve pretty much got her trained to ignore every one out on the trails, including if they have dogs. Together they did pretty well. My little pup was struggling near the end of the forty minute run. He kept trying his little heart out. 

Yes, the larger one is my six month old. :’)

My run was so much fun with my puppies. In the beginning I kept up with their pace pretty good. However, they were running about three minutes faster than I was normally. Needless to say, everyone got reigned in. When I was going their speed it was like I had wings on my feet. The hair was flying back (as much as it could with a headband and being in a ponytail). It made me feel like I could overcome anything. But most importantly, it reminded me of what it is like to be riding a horse. While everyone calls me a runner, I always consider myself an equestrian first. At the very tail end of my run,  I forced the dogs and myself to sprint. I wasn’t sure I would make it,  but the feeling of conquering everything came back. Running is a metal sport for sure. 

Today was back day for working out. I think I despise working out my back more then my shoulders. It was a little challenging because of the limited equipment. I don’t have any barbells and a few of the workouts required that. So, instead I did the dumbbell version, but the program also included those. My back is sore, so I apparently still managed to get a good workout in. 

Self-Worth

Hey yall! 

Sorry it has been awhile since I posted. I had training for my new job these past few days. It was a lot of fun, and the guy teaching it managed to not make it boring. Everyone who works at my job has ti be certified in MANDT, which is a class on building relationships (a little bit of how to restrain clients in case they are going to hurt someone or themselves). 

My past two workouts were over legs, shoulders, chest, abs, and triceps. It kinda stinks sometimes only working out at the apartment gym, because it lacks a lot of equipment. For instance, this week my reps are between six and eight. However, I use the fifteen pound dumbbell for most of the exercises, and I generally do about twelve reps. The next set of dumbbells are the thirty pounds. I like to pretend I’m that strong, but I ain’t. There is no way I can bench two thirty pound dumbbells. Plus I’m supposed to be using a barbell, which would be easier because of the grips this program has me use. While I can manage without the barbell, I need the twenty and twenty five pound dumbbells. One of these days my husband and I will join a country club, so he can play golf and I can use the gym. 

You can’t really see my arm muscle in the picture might promise it is there.

Tonight my husband and I walked two miles with our puppies. They greatly enjoyed themselves and were ready for bed. My pup apparently does not like children. I have no idea why not, but she is something else. 

This picture is from a few weeks ago, but they are cute

Anyways to my title. It just seems that recently the people I’ve talked to feel like they ain’t worth much. It seems sad that people are feeling like they ain’t worth much because of how they get treated. I wish everyone would know they are loved by someone, somewhere. For me, I work out and run. Everyone has to find their own thing that helps when life seems to beat up on them. While it can be hard to face life’s curveball, it helps when there is support around them. Everyone should feel like they are worth something and that they always will. Anyways my little two cents. I would like to clarify that I don’t feel this way, but just the people I’ve been talking to.