As Kristen has
noticed, my plank workouts have now been increased up to 6 minutes. Yup 6
minutes :) The addition is as much Up and Down planks as I can do. Usually I
end up doing 8 of them within that 1 minute period. They are HARD to do but it
is getting easier. By the end I'm done, I just flop on the floor and lie there
for a minute or two.
The other cool thing
I've noticed was this developing bump a bit above my hip bone. Oh hello oblique
muscles! I guess those side planks are working their magic.
Also, remember how I
talked about developing a system of eating 4 times per day. Well I've played
around with it a bit and I think that it's something that works for me much
better then 3 meals per day and always snacking in between. What I'm thinking
is something along the lines of 3 meals per day + 1-2 substantial snacks as
required by my tummy. So instead of having a handful of something here and
there (not always healthy things) have larger healthy snacks. For example one
of my favorite snacks- cut up apple with a tbsp of peanut butter and quark.
Some other cool "substantial" snacks could be chia seed pudding or a
green monster smoothie with fruits.
Now the bad news… my
Achilles Tendon (AT) :( I really need to cut down on how much I use it while I
allow to heal up. That means no taking the stairs!!! No ifs or buts I need to
take the elevator for the next little bit. Another thing is cutting down on jumping.
This one is a tough but I'll need to control myself!
In terms of what
caused my AT, I've been pondering about it for a while. Something tells me that
it was more due to hot yoga then barefoot running. I've noticed the pain when I
went running on Friday but I haven't ran like 5 days before that. It's strange
that it would appear then… The other thing is I've done hot yoga 4 times within
a week. You would think that yoga would be all nice and good for your tendons
but I was talking with this one lady on Tuesday. She's been doing hot yoga for
2 years now so my friend and I were curious about how she has gotten really
good at it. What she told us was that she had quiet a few injuries in the
process that were necessary for improvement. Ouchies… I have some of the
postures that I think are the culprits.
Awkward Pose- Kind
of like doing a squat on your tippie toes. I'm sure that could do something to
your AT.
Standing Separate Leg Stretching
Pose- My ankles hurt everytime I do this posture.
Toe Stand- This one
is pretty tough on the Achilles too.
I'm not exactly
happy about my situation but I need to get back to my training ASAP. The better
I rest up, the sooner I'll recover ;)
Have you guys ever done Up and Down planks? Any suggestions on "substantial" snacks? Do you think these yoga poses could have had something to do with my AT?
Love up-down planks! Core AND upper body. :) I thought some of those yoga poses actually helped the achilles tendon, especially the movement of going in and out of the pose (versus holding it static). Also, what is quark??
ReplyDeleteYes! Upped body... that explains why I'm so bad at up-down planks :P
DeleteI guess if you don't overdo it then the poses will be beneficial. It was probably the combination of hot yoga and barefoot running that caused the problem :(
Quark is pressed cottage cheese. Basically pure protein :P
Up-down planks are fun! Great job!! :)
ReplyDeleteKeep healing up!
Thanx Kristen :) As strange as it sounds, Up-down planks are quite fun :P
DeleteToe stand looks tough!! Sorry about your AT. I think the yoga poses could have something to do with it, it's just hard to tell. I hurt my hip doing pilates, which I was doing to strengthen my hips. Oops!
ReplyDeleteI know right! The thing with hot yoga is that because it's so hot so it's easy to push your body beyond its flexibility. What I've read about hot yoga on runner's world is it's easy to overstrain yourself. Maybe those poses would be ok for a normal person but because I'm transitioning to barefoot it was a little too much. Hopefully it'll get better soon and that I caught the problem early on ^^
DeleteUgh, injuries are the worst! Just keep doing what you can. I hope it wasn't barefoot running!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is some serious planking, and there is nothing hotter than obliques! You gotta love when those start to show up.
I really hope so too! I've got races to run not injuries to deal with ;) Stretching has really been helpful but gosh I have to stop taking the stairs all the time!!!
DeleteHaha! I've always had a bit of a flabby stomach. It's like all my fat is stored in that area. I've been noticing much more definition, especially on an empty stomach in the mornings. The most amazing thing is how I used to have trouble holding a plank for 1 minute or side plank for 30 seconds!!!
Well, you can stretch more in the heat so I wonder if doing the hot yoga made you stretch a touch too far and that's how you got the injury...
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly :) I feel like if it was due to running I would've felt it like a week ago...
DeleteThose yoga moves look pretty vicious. I definitely think they could be the culprit. I hope it heals up soon for you. Great job on the plank! 6 minutes? That is insane!!
ReplyDeleteThanx :)
DeleteIt's a 6 minute plank "workout" which consists of various variations of the plank. I can't actually hold a plank for 6 minutes yet :P One day I will ;)
Heal soon girl. Wow 6 mins are a Lot for planks. Im still starting up. I have not even thought of trying side planks...Scare me.
ReplyDeleteOk will the normal plank help me tone ?
Those postures are scary. You sure are a good health nut.
:)
PS--Tomr I will have chickpeas with sweet potatoes. Lets see how it goes :)
The thing with ab tone is that it has a lot to do with how much fat you have in your body. You can have killed ab muscles but if there's a layer of fat covering them then they just wont show. I know it sucks :( That's why they say abs are made in the kitchen. It would definitely help tone but it isn't as effective as losing fat in that area.
DeleteChickpeas and sweet potatoes are a cool combination. You'll have to spice things up though. My grandpa fries the sweet potatoes a bit and then I like to add in honey and raisins :P
I'm so sorry to hear about your AT! Rest up and take care. Xx
ReplyDeleteYour planks are impressive!
Thanx Jess :) My planks are ok- purely twins are beasts at it :P They have 15 minute plank workouts 0.0
DeleteHave you heard of the Insanity DVDs? During one of the workouts, we do up-down planks and it's brutal! Fortunately, they play really uplifting music the whole time :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your AT, but I'm glad to hear that you're being smart and resting!
Never done an insanity DVD but I agree up-down planks are brutal! Towards the end I do cheat a bit and crawl my way up :S
DeleteAs far as yoga goes I have to sadly admit I hate it. That's probably not so accurate though as I've only taken 2 classes, I guess I would just prefer to move around more instead of holding poses.
ReplyDeleteMy go to snack as of late is cottage cheese with fruit and homemade granola. Granola fresh from the oven is my most favorite thing ever. I keep it in the fridge so it stays fresh and crunchy.
Each to their own :) Hot yoga is much different from regular yoga though because it really elevates your heart beat. It's crazy because you're not really moving but it feels like you're running :P
DeleteOooh! Granola straight from the oven sounds heavenly! To bad I'm never home and have to resort to eating food cold :( I'll have to make sure to have some for b-fast one day when I don't have to run out of the house by 7am.
I have a bummer of an AT that flares up from time to time--jumping is DEFINITELY the culprit for mine, I've just cut it completely out. It makes me cautious with yoga and stretching too--I make sure I'm more than warmed up before trying anything rough on it.
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard not to jump!!!
DeleteTrue it's best to be warmed up before doing stretches but your generally drenched in sweat when you do hot yoga :P
Right? I love jumping, and it seems like so many cardio/HIIT/fun workouts involve it, grrr.
Delete