The last few weeks, even during finals, I started getting on a health kick. This came in two parts. Food wise, and exercise wise. Normally I'm pretty active anyways, but with soccer done, and not having gone to the gym in a few months, it was time to get back at it. Especially with exams going on.
It's funny though, because being in physed, clearly I know the benefits of exercise. It's SUPER important/good for you during exams!! Same with eating well! But before this term, I ignored all the facts and just went with comfort/what was easier. Well being healthy ended up making me pretty comfortable so I stuck with it.
One reason for changing my diet was that it finally dawned on me that veggies are so much cheaper than anything else! It was also easier to make lots in order to have super easy meals to come home to after studying all day long. So I did curry and quinoa which lasted me through exams. Then I got even more creative and searched the web for recipes. I can't quite recall them all now, but my favorite by far was a recipe for quesadilla. 1) spinach 2) olives 3) feta cheese 4) need I say more??? The week after discovering it I decided to throw in some black beans too, to make it a bit more filling and it worked well! It even helped in reducing the saltiness of it all; I put too much cheese the first time and it was way too salty. But it's definitely going to be one of my go to dinner items now.
On the activity part, my gym membership at school is done for now, so I have to go at it without any equipment, so I decided to start running, which is also good to start getting in shape for outdoor soccer. I'm a great sprinter, so indoor is my game, but for outdoor you really need good endurance, so that's my goal. I have an app called runkeeper and found a program on there that I decided to give a try. It's called Running 4 Fat Loss. Now I don't really care about losing fat or weight, (if it happens great!) but it's great because it keeps you more accountable and it changes it up every workout day. There's things like run 30/40/50 mins continuously; fast for 3 mins and steady for 3 mins X 5; fast for 10, walk for 5, fast for 10, etc. And so from this I've also planned a goal to run 10km in one run by May 25, but I got injured a few days ago, and I'm going on a trip in a few weeks so it might have to be pushed back to early June. Again, I don't really care about doing it, but it's a good motivator and it's nice to see your progress.
I have also thrown in a bit of upper body and core stuff every morning before I hop in the shower. I do crunches and heel touches for my core, and then modified pushups for upper body. I had to modify it because with regular pushups, my wrists hurt like crazy. So I do it at an incline now, like off to back of my couch or off my bed. Gets less core in there, but still really good for pecks, triceps, delts and I even felt my traps today. I've sometimes thrown in some mountain climbers too, it's supposed to be good for core and cardiovascular work.
I also have a lot (and I mean A LOT) of free time on my hands, so may as well take an hour or so a day to work out, and also take the opportunity to get creative in the kitchen. And it really helps that I'm a 2 minute walk from Safeway!!
Now hopefully my foot heals quick (I'm planning on rest and ice for a few days, and then doc Monday if it's not better) so I can get back to it! I'm already getting super bored without that hour or so back in my day to do nothing..
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Blogging & Bowling
On my second blogger blog, #yegbowling I rarely post, but when it comes to the annual major national tournament for team trials, I write as much as I can. Today I realized that I'm 2 weeks away from leaving for it, so I posted what I've been up to, beginning to prepare for it.
Then I went back and read all my past posts. It's interesting to read what I've dealt with from year to year at this tournament, what my expectations were and how I made my way through the 3 days of bowling.
I'm really glad for that blog, because it gives me a bit of a head start for this year. I can read about what shots were giving me trouble and what I did to correct it. Like last year. It was maybe my worst showing, but it was the first year that I came at it in a logical way and could actually analyze what I was doing and attempt to fix it. Clearly, after reading those posts, my head just wasn't in it, I wanted it too bad. Basically that was my biggest problem last year I think.
So pretty much that's the game plan, DON'T want it too bad. Just go out with a have fun demeanor, and enjoy the opportunity that I nearly didn't get. But even before realizing this through the blog, I wasn't making any expectations, besides a wish to make top 20 that I can't take too seriously.
I realized I prepared very seriously last year for this tournament, practicing with the youth national team twice a week for two weeks leading up. This year not so much. I don't want to say I'm over it, but just so many things have happened this year that I don't approach anything the same way anymore, I just want the easy route for now.
That being said, I'm still planning on practicing. I've been twice since the end of league, but on dried up lanes, not ideal conditions, but still good practice (check out #yegbowling to read about that experience). I'm also trying to get Dan, the proshop guy to set something up for me on Monday, but hopefully for a few times before we leave. Ideally maybe one day on each shot (short, medium, long). Also, my friend who is out in Vancouver for YBC nationals right now works at the West Ed bowling alley and he's going to try and set something up once he gets back. He's also going to CNCs so it will be good for us to practice together. There are the other regular participants of CNCs that will be practicing too so I should look into what they're doing.
But more than anything, practicing is just something to look forward to and is also a good time killer/gets me out of the house since I don't have a job yet. I actually would practice everyday just because I am so bored, but in the long run, knowing me, I'd end up injuring myself.. That would definitely not be cool.
Then I went back and read all my past posts. It's interesting to read what I've dealt with from year to year at this tournament, what my expectations were and how I made my way through the 3 days of bowling.
I'm really glad for that blog, because it gives me a bit of a head start for this year. I can read about what shots were giving me trouble and what I did to correct it. Like last year. It was maybe my worst showing, but it was the first year that I came at it in a logical way and could actually analyze what I was doing and attempt to fix it. Clearly, after reading those posts, my head just wasn't in it, I wanted it too bad. Basically that was my biggest problem last year I think.
So pretty much that's the game plan, DON'T want it too bad. Just go out with a have fun demeanor, and enjoy the opportunity that I nearly didn't get. But even before realizing this through the blog, I wasn't making any expectations, besides a wish to make top 20 that I can't take too seriously.
I realized I prepared very seriously last year for this tournament, practicing with the youth national team twice a week for two weeks leading up. This year not so much. I don't want to say I'm over it, but just so many things have happened this year that I don't approach anything the same way anymore, I just want the easy route for now.
That being said, I'm still planning on practicing. I've been twice since the end of league, but on dried up lanes, not ideal conditions, but still good practice (check out #yegbowling to read about that experience). I'm also trying to get Dan, the proshop guy to set something up for me on Monday, but hopefully for a few times before we leave. Ideally maybe one day on each shot (short, medium, long). Also, my friend who is out in Vancouver for YBC nationals right now works at the West Ed bowling alley and he's going to try and set something up once he gets back. He's also going to CNCs so it will be good for us to practice together. There are the other regular participants of CNCs that will be practicing too so I should look into what they're doing.
But more than anything, practicing is just something to look forward to and is also a good time killer/gets me out of the house since I don't have a job yet. I actually would practice everyday just because I am so bored, but in the long run, knowing me, I'd end up injuring myself.. That would definitely not be cool.
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