Fitness Update | Finished 21 Day Fix EXTREME | National Sprint Duathlon Women 25-29 Champion!

 We've got a lot to catch up on! My last fitness update was on August 19th, two weeks before my qualifying race. At that time I was preparing for one last hard training week and then I was going to tapper off and do race prep one week before my race.

I worked my butt off those last two weeks leading up to my race! It wasn't easy but I had put so much time and effort in at that point, I told myself that it would all be worth it in the end. The pain you feel during training and racing is temporary but the results that you post are forever.

I wanted so badly to post some amazing results at the Edmonton ITU Duathlon race. Not only did I was to post good results for myself personally, I wanted a spot on team Canada for the 2017 World Duathlon Championships.

I finished another round of 21 Day Fix EXTREME a week before the race. I've been using this program as cross training and to help improve my leg strength for racing.

In addition I was able to stay injury free (besides my knee that I had hurt previously). My knee honestly wasn't bothering me too bad leading up to my race but I did decide to throw some tape on it for race day just for some extra support (which was recommend to me by physiotherapist).

The weekend before race day I had to opportunity to head out to Hawrelak Park and practice on the race course. It was a great training day! I got to practice on the hills, I was able to run around the park and get a good sense of what I was in for.

I was able to scope out where transition would be and I even practiced a few transitions just to make sure everything was race ready.

Then 6 days before the day I adopted an eight week old puppy....what!?!?! This was something that was not in the plan at ALL but it happened. I'm going to do a whole lifestyle post on our new puppy this Wednesday so make sure you are subscribed to my blog in order to be notified when that post goes up.

Lets just say it's a good thing that puppies sleep a lot. Even though our new puppy is a lot of work I was still able to do my race prep, get a good amount of sleep and prepare for my race.

On race day it was cold....very cold. I bundled up nice and warm and heading to the race. I was so nervous just before the start. My heart was pounding, thoughts started racing through my head (am I ready for this? Did I train enough? I wonder how fast everyone else is? Do I have everything in transition that I need for my race?)

I took a minuet after checking in the athletes village, I took a breath and calmed down. Racing is so much more than just physical, you have to be in the right mindset as well. Something I've been working very hard at is self motivation and positive talk.

I told myself that I had done everything that I could have possible done to prepare for this moment. I told myself that I had put in countless hours of training and no matter what the results were I was going to have an amazing race. I told myself not to worry about anyone else and to stick to my own race plan I had set.

Well turns out I had trained enough because I took home the GOLD medal in my age category which makes me the National Sprint Duathlon Women 25-29 Champion! 

I just want to take a minuet to thank everyone for all the support I have received here on my blog, Instagram, Facebook and email. I have had so many heart warming comments and well wishes from people cheering me on and supporting me throughout my training....it has honestly been overwhelming! From the bottom on my heart THANK YOU!!!

So what's next for me? I'll be competing in worlds August 2017.

I'll be sure to post regular updates over the next year sharing what I'm doing for training. Please be sure to subscribed if you want to be notified when those posts go up. 

I've been taking it pretty easy this past week and letting my body recover after my race....but it's time to get my butt in training mode and start planning out what I'm going to be doing for the rest of the year.

Thank you again for all the wonderful support!

Fitness Update | Blam Bombshell Fitness

 15 days to go!!! I can't believe my last fitness update was almost a month ago....where has the time gone?

As the end of July I was down in Nashville attending Beachbodys Summit Conference - it was incredible! The weather cooperated and was very hot - our hotel was about a 20min walk away from the conference so we decided to walk to and from the conference everyday. By the time we got there we were dripping in sweat - neither my husband or I were used to that kind of heat.

Regardless we got to attend some great workshops that educated us more about the business, we got to meet some amazing coaches from the team AND we got to attend some awesome workouts.

 If you follow me on any of my social media accounts (Snapchat [mspamblam], Instagram, Facebook) it might have looked like I was down there for a really fun vacation....but nope it was for expanding my business. I honestly came back with over 30 pages of notes and some great new ideas for Blam Bombshell Fitness! I am really looking forward to running some more fitness groups and see how the rest of the year plays out.

It was great because even though I was down there for business we were able to attend workouts held by Beachbody so I never missed a beat with my workouts.

However, when I got home...it was all business. I sat down and wrote out my last and final month of training before my qualification race to make team Canada for worlds in 2017. I decided to kick things off with one last final round of 21 Day Fix EXTREME. I planned it out so I would end my program one week before my race - I like to tapper off before my race and let my body recover. Today marks day 13/21 - I am so proud of myself for NEVER missing a single day....plus I've lost 5 pounds so I really can't complain.

Not going to lie it hasn't been easy. Not only am I doing 21 Day Fix EXTREME but I am have to get in my running and biking workouts. Some days I'm workouting for over 3 hours just to get all my workouts in - other days, like a rest day, just consists of a 21 Day Fix EXTREME workout and I've made sure that something easy like yoga falls onto those days.

Making my own training program has been tough to find that balance of training hard to make me faster&stronger but still allowing me active rest days to let my body recover.

Unfortunately last Saturday when doing some running/biking training and transition training I hyper extended my knee....yes again with my knee. I do have an old knee injury that keeps creeping back into my life. As I was practicing jumping on and off my bike at transition I came down a little too hard on my knee.

Transition is defiantly one of my weakest parts of the race. There are some athletes that just fly through transition...it's defiantly a good place to break away if you are caught up in a pack of people.

On race day it's going to be very important for me to get through transition quickly if I'm with a pack of people during the run because the bike is draft legal. That means if I can stay with a pack of people we can actually help draft each other on the bike so all of us don't have to work as hard as we would if we were on our own.

My transitions have defiantly been getting better but I sure am glade I still have 15 more days to practice. I honestly haven't practiced transition since my last worlds competition in 2013 - oh well they must have that saying "it's just like riding a bike" for a reason.

I have to say I've been putting in a TON of work into  my training and it's really rewarding when people actual start to see the results pay off. Yesterday I was out biking hills and running intervals....my husband has been a good sport and has kept me company on a few of my training sessions. Yesterday he gave me the biggest complement and said my hill climbing was getting so much better he couldn't keep up with me AND  my running had improved dramatically withing the past 2 weeks. Normally he can out sprint me but yesterday I was out sprinting him & my dad....and lets be honest my dad has been training and raced more triathlons than me this year- he even did another half Ironman in early July so he's in good shape.

So what's in store for me these final few days? I have another week and a half of hard training and then I will begin to tapper off. I'll be finishing my 21 Day Fix EXTREME program next Saturday and then I will probably be backing off of home workouts until after the race. I will keep Pilates and yoga from 21 Day Fix EXTREME in my training rotation as active recovery but that's about it.

The most important thing for me right now is get my knee back to 100% and stay injury free on these final few days.

Don't forget to follow me on my other social media platforms - Snapchat [mspamblam] is the best place to find me if you want to know what I'm up to on a day to day basic.

Also remember to hit that subscribe button if you want to be notified when I post my next fitness update.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Marathon Training & 21 Day Fix Progress Update | Week 5

I would love to tell you that I killed in week 5 and just got completely back on track with my training - BUT - the reality is it's been a slow recovery week. I can't believe I've been almost sick for the entire month of February! If you check out my week 3&4 update you'll know that I had a really bad chest inflection and I am still feeling so tiered and run down it's just ridiculous.

Since my last update I've only been able to get in a few workouts. Saturday was supposed to be a long run of 13km...which didn't happen. I spent the entire day cleaning and disinfecting my house. I want this infection GONE. I scrubbed everything that I've touched and washed all the bedding. My energy level was so low, I had to take numerous breaks while cleaning because I got so tiered. I thought to myself - there is no way for me to go out now and run 13km. I would just be setting myself up for failure. Also as per my doctors instructions I am not to be out running while I still have my cough. Unfortunately over the weekend my cough continued. I stayed home and rested the entry weekend and continued to disinfect the house.

Finally when Monday rolled around I was able to do a workout from 21 Day Fix. My energy level was still pretty low. The workout was Piyo Fix which was perfect because I feel Piyo is pretty low intensity (compared to some of the other 21 Day Fix workouts). I got through most of the 30min workout...but I'm not gunna lie it was tough.

Tuesday should have been interval training but honestly I had to sit that one out. I just felt exhausted!

Then on Wednesday I got back on track with other 21 Day Fix workout, Upper Fix.  By the time Wednesday rolled around I noticed that there was FINALLY an improvement with my cough. I definitely wasn't cough as much or as bad as I was before. I managed to get through my workout and most of day with a very minimal cough. I could tell that there was finally some recovery progress being made - which of course made me thrilled.

When Thursday hit I felt confident enough that I could go for a run!! I didn't want to kill myself - keep in mind the last day I was out for a run was February 4th which was 21 days ago. The plan was to run 8km tempo....I honestly looked at that and I thought if I can just run around the block I would be happy. I ended up running 4km...and it was nothing crazy or fast, just a steady tempo run.

Friday I was exhausted and had to take a day off so I could ramp up for Saturday which was my long run! Next week I'll update you on how that went  in my week 6 update. Make sure you check back next week on Fitness Friday.

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Marathon Training & 21 Day Fix Progress Update | Week 3&4

Hello!!

It's been a while since my last update.

I have to admit not a lot of happened since I've posted my week 2 update on February 5th.

It's been incredible frustrating and disappointing these past 2 weeks...based on my health I'm really questioning if it's a good idea to continue on my training plan as I currently have it laid out. I might have to make some significant changes in order to continue on.

Basically what happened is I came home from work on Friday and my husband said he wasn't feel well. He rarely ever gets sick so when he admits to not feeling well you know he's REALLY sick.

Because he broke his wrist over Christmas break he's been going for a ton of follow up appointments at the hospital. They've been monitoring his recovery and sending him for follow up tests. Earlier that week he was at the hospital getting some paperwork filled out and we are assuming that's where he caught this awful viruses.

All Friday night be was coughing and coughing. It was really bad and I barley got any sleep. He didn't want to get me sick so he moved to the spare room but I was up about every 2 hours checking in on him. It was a really bad night for both of us.

Saturday morning I was supposed to go out for a 10km run but we were having a maintenance guy come look at our dishwasher....my husband was just too sick and I told him to rest and I would wait. Well it took this guy until about 2pm to show up! Technically I could have gone for my run while waiting for him but I didn't know when he was coming and I didn't want to miss him.

By 2pm my husband was VERY sick and I took him to the doctor that afternoon. Sure enough we had a chest and sinuses infection. Needless to say by the time I was done running around getting his prescription and grocery shopping I was exhausted! My run didn't happen....but I wasn't worried. I convinced myself that I would do my 10km run Sunday instead of taking a rest day.

Well that didn't happen either. By the time Sunday rolled around I had caught my husbands chest and sinuses infection. I have honestly never been so sick!

I went to the doctors so I could also get a prescription, in the waiting room I caught someones stomach bug. My husband & I spent the rest of Sunday in the bathroom sick to our stomachs.

Basically my entire week was a write off! I went from being able to run 10km to not being able to walk down the block. I spent a week home from work and didn't even check into any of my social media accounts.

Finally within the past few days I've been venturing out of bed and going back to work but I have literally no energy.

My doctor has advised me NOT to run until my cough has gets better. So basically this past week all I've been able to do is walk.

With that being said there is a bit of uncertainty on how effectively I will be able to continue my training plan. I may have to sit down and make some alterations in order for my goal to be achievable by the end of 18 weeks.

Things don't always go as planned....but our success lies in how we deal and overcome obstacles that get in our way. At this point I could give up....or I could adjust my plan and continue on!

That's pretty much it for this week. Sorry this update wasn't too exciting as there wasn't much to update you on.

Please check back next week for my week 5 update and I'll let you know how I'm doing at getting back on track!

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Marathon Training & 21 Day Fix Progress Update | Week 2

I am very happy to report that I had a very successful week 2 of training!!! I am dead tiered but at the same time I feel incredibly strong.

If you didn't read my week 1 update please go check it out!! Make sure you are subscribed to my blog so you can follow my full 18 week journey.

Last week when I posted my update I hadn't completely finished my full first week. Friday I still had a 21 Day Fix workout (which went great) and Saturday I had to run about 10km - which I finished but it was difficult.

I started my 10km pretty late in the day - around 11am. It was a nice day for a run and I got to explore my new neighborhood...which I got lost a few times and had no idea where I was lol. But that's ok because I had a blast! If you follow me on Snapchat (mspamblam) I even stopped to Snap a few pictures of my community.

The point of a long run is to just go slow and complete the distance. I wasn't doing intervals, or any speed drills. While running I like to listen to some Beachbody coaching personal development...listening to audio books helps me keep my mind off of "how much further", "I'm getting tired", "my legs are hurting" and it helps me stay in the present and focused on what I'm doing.

Not going to lie thought - it was no walk in the park. After about 8km I went home to drop off my jacket and grab some water..I almost didn't finish my last 2km. Luckily I had a very encouraging husband who motivated me to head out and finish! Which I did and I was VERY happy when I was done.

Sunday was REST DAY! The best day of the week. I think that it's very important to give yourself one day to rest and let your body recoup.

Then on Monday I head back to work with 21 Day Fix. Monday was Pilates....perfect for coming off a rest day and still recovering from my 10 km run. It was great to be able to stretch out my body and slow my training down.

Tuesday was running intervals...these are probably my favorite to do! I love speed drills, which makes sense because I have a sprinting background. Most of them around 5min pace, which was the same as last week. So I didn't get any faster, but I didn't get any slower AND this week I had less rest in between intervals. Overall when I compare week 1 to week 2's times I've very happy with the results.

Wednesday was about 21 Day Fix workout. CARDIO FIX!! This was really tough after intervals but I got it done!! If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen a short video demonstrating 1 of the moves.

Then back to running on Thursday which a tempo run. I was really dreading this workout...I was very fortunate to have my husband come with me! It's so much more motivating going out for tempo and interval runs when you have someone beside you. We really pushed each other during the run, we really traded off who lead...sometimes he was in front and I was falling off the pace....sometimes I was in front and he was falling off the pace. But we managed to finish together and in an ok time - it could have been better. I definitely have room to improve with my tempo.

That's it for my week 2 update!!

If you have any questions about my training/progress please feel free to leave them in the comments below and I will answer them next week.

Happy Fitness Friday

Marathon Training & 21 Day Fix Progress Update | Week 1

If you've been following me on any of my social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, or Snap Chat (mspamblam) you would have heard me talk about my marathon training which started on January 25th!! If you're not follow me go check it out if you want to keep up with my training daily and make sure you subscribe to my blog for weekly updates.

So here's how week 1 went....fail, Fail, FAIL! hahaha okay let me explain what happen. 

The training program I'm follow as created by ME! I like to make my own training plan that works with my schedule and my fitness level. This time around I've taken a free online marathon training program and combined it with one of my old training program and added some Beachbody training programs. Sounds complicated but it really isn't.

Basically twice a week I'm running intervals which will help me with my speed and temp. Three times a week I'm doing a Beachbody workout to help me with arm, core and leg strength. Once a week I'm doing a long slow run which will help with my endurance. Then finally I get one rest day...hooray!! I will be following this training program for the next 18 weeks. 

When I started my marathon journey on January 25th I was EXTREMELY determined! I was so excited to be running again. When I took a look back I haven't done any running training since 2013 and my last marathon was in 2012. I was really looking forward to diving in!!

BUT I forgot about how much of a commitment training is...I got so busy on January 25th that by the time I was ready to train it was 10pm and I was exhausted. I ended up doing NOTHING and going to bed very disappointed.

The next day I got up and all I could think about was my training plan. I check my program and I was supposed to run. My husband even agreed to do my training with me after work. It was all I could think about for the entire day! When I got home we got ready to leave the house and both of us were looking forward to head out and do some training. We opened the front door....and it was POURING rain (freezing rain). We looked at each other and agreed that we would still go. Well - we only made it half way down the block before changing our minds and heading home. It was EXTREMELY dangerous conditions...we weren't even running, it was more like a old man shuffle. There was no way for us to run intervals..there was no way for us to run period! The sidewalks were just too slippery. 

So lets recap...day 1 -fail, day 2 -fail...finally on day 3 I got back on track!

Day 3 - I was supposed to do a Beachbody workout (which I did) but because I hasn't had much success over the past 2 days I ended up doing 2 Beachbody workouts!! (man was I tiered the next day) I ended up doing a total cardio & upper body workout for the 21 Day Fix program. If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen a short video of me working out.

Day 4 - FINALLY the ice was melted enough that I was able to go out for a run! I ended up doing 6 intervals...I was so energetic and excited to be out running I was doing most of the intervals sub 5min/km!! Although I was so tiered the next day I'm not even sure where I found the energy to get out of bed and go to work (I could barley walk down my stairs).

Now this blog post is going live January 29th which means I haven't completed a full week...but I wanted to get this up for my "Fitness Friday" post. 

I still have to complete a Beachbody workout today and tomorrow I have a long slow run (of 10km). I'll let you know how things go next week in my update!!

If you want more daily updates please check out my Instagram, Facebook, or Snap Chat (mspamblam) accounts.

Please subscribe to my blog so you can keep up with my 18 week progress. Next week I will have my week 2 update!

If you have any questions about my training/progress please leave them in the comments below and I will answer them in my week 2 update.

Thanks for stopping by!! 

P90X Update Week 9

Just a couple pictures from my Saturday workout. I know its been a while since I've posted pictures but I always forget to set up the camera when I'm working out. Its not the easiest thing to remember because I'm usually trying to focus on the workouts.

Week 9 is complete!! Whoot whoot!!

Not a lot to update this week, I'm very excited that I'm almost done. I've really enjoyed doing P90X but I am also looking forward to trying out a new BeachBody workout.

The main thing I have found difficult about this program is the time commitment. The workouts are about 1 hour to 1.5 hours everyday for 90 days. It's a huge time commitment to take on...especially when it falls over Christmas.

I have definitely enjoyed the program and I'm loving the results. I will say that I wish I would have had more commitment to complete more workouts as I think I would have seen many more results.

I'm still seeing lots of toning and every week I'm finding that I am able to life more weights or do more reps than the previous week. Not to mention I feel stronger from week to week. Along with feeling stronger I also feel more energized! It's a definite bonus to doing the program.

If you have any questions about the program or my progress throughout the program I would be more than happy to answer them. Just leave your question in the comments below.

Check back next week for my week 10 update!!

P90X Update Week 7&8

Here is a brief overview of how my week 7&8 workouts went.

Did I complete all the workouts? No, I had to skip a couple as "life" got in the way

Did I increase my weight? Yes, some one the workouts I was able to double my weight from when I first started the program

Was I able to do all the moves? No, there are still a few exercise that I struggle with and either have to do a modified version or skip over

Have I lost weight? Since I've started the program I've lost about 5 pounds...not huge but I'm doing doing the program to lose any weight

Do I feel any different? No really, still a little fatigued after some workouts

Has my body gotten toner? Yes, in some places I've noticed a huge change

Will I continue the workout? Absolutely!! I only have a few more weeks to go!! Check back next Friday for another update

Do you have any questions about my progress? Leave your questions in the comments below and I am more than happy to answer any of them!!

P90X Update Week 6

Happy boxing day!!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and hopefully everyone is having a relaxing boxing day.

Week 6 marks the half way point! This week I followed the same schedule at week 5. It's been difficult following all the workouts during Christmas as I've been very busy with family gatherings. I haven't noticed any changes this week. My weights that I've been lifting have stayed the same and my weight has also not changed.

Sorry there were no pictures this week, I haven't had a lot of spare time to set up the camera while working out. If you have any questions about the program please feel free to ask in the comments.

Thanks for joining me for fitness Friday. Check back next Friday for my week 7 update.

P90X Update Week 5

Another week of P90X has come and gone. It was a tough week and not necessary successful.

I'll start out by saying that the Christmas season is not a great time to workout. I have been so busy doing other things to get ready for the holidays. Out of the 7 days I was supposed to workout I think I did about 3...yikes!!! Not great. Trust me I've beaten myself up about it as this has been a huge disappointment. But hey what can I do?

This week there were some new workouts thrown into the mix that I haven't done yet. I really enjoyed mixing it up after doing the same workouts for almost a month. I did my best at trying to take some photos (credit goes to my trusty tripod). Sorry they aren't the best I'll try to take some more in week 6 that will hopefully turn out better.

This workout consisted of chest, shoulder and triceps. Lots of lifting weights and man were my arms sore the next day.


Of course P90X wouldn't be complete if I didn't do push ups every workout!

And doing some variations of push ups....they make you stronger so keep doing them...even though I don't like them.

I have noticed one thing this week, I have been able to lift heavier weights this week which means that I must be getting stronger!

When I first started P90X back in October I know that for this specific exercise above I was lifting two pounds less.

It's important to count the little victories from week to week. It's sometimes hard to notice changes when you are the one doing the workout and going through the experience. I've found that taking pictures and documenting the process I've been able to pick up on small changes that I've made throughout this journey. It's important to reward yourself for making these small accomplishments, I like to use it for fuel for me next week.

I will say that this program isn't easy to get through and I've already found myself getting discouraged. The main thing is doing beat yourself up too badly. If there is one move in the DVD that you struggle just do your best. Each move does get easier from week to week but when you are in the moment trying to struggle through it's defiantly more of a mind game than anything else.

Remember to stay stronger and keep going!! If you need any motivation or if you are struggling and need some support leave me a comment.

If you have any questions about the program or my progress so far that I haven't included please feel free to leave a comment.

Check back next week for my week 6 update!

P90X Update Week 4

I am back on track!!!

I complete week 4 of P90X, if you are curious on why there is such a delay between week 3 and week 4 please click here where I explain. So after taking two weeks off it was very difficult to get back into my routine. Thank goodness that week 4 is sort of a rest week.

Week 4 follows a different sequence than the first three weeks. It consists of yoga, stretching and a little bit of kenpo which is sort of like kickboxing. Kenpo was probably the most difficult day because it's a lot of cardio.

Even though I stopped doing P90X for two weeks I kept my diet very healthy. I continued with my healthy eating all through week 4 and I really do think it makes a difference. I am down two pounds since I started the program, I know it's not a lot but I really wasn't expecting to loose anything at all so I was really excited when I stepped on the scale and saw that.

Biggest tip for this week....keep going!!! I had to take two weeks off but I worked around and so can you. Make P90X work for you and fit into your schedule.

If you have any questions about the program or my progress that I didn't include please feel free to ask away!

P90X Update Week 3

Another week done!

Week three follows the same sequence as the first two weeks. It's starting to get easier to get into a routine of doing these workouts everyday.

I've noticed about a three pound weight loss...hurray!!! But I will say that I find I've really soar day to day which I wasn't in the past two weeks. However, I have started to increase the weight slightly which might play a role in that. I've also started to notice a change in my arms. For me that's huge and very exciting!! I've never been a fan of my arms and they've been a little flabby. My arms are starting to get more tight and defined....not huge but enough that I've been noticing.

My biggest tip for this week is plan ahead. Make sure you fit all your workouts in. Write down what time you plan on working out and do it!

No a lot of updates this week, if anyone has any questions about something I didn't include please feel free to ask.

Make sure you check back in next Friday for my week 4 update!