2013: The Year of No Resolutions

The New Year is here, and that means I’ll be fighting for time on the treadmill all of January when a slew of new ‘gym rats’ buy memberships to fulfill their resolutions.

At least most of them will be gone by February!

While most people make resolutions to become healthier, fitter, happier, more balanced etc… I try to avoid the R word; this year I have decided to make a bucket list instead.

I am already pretty healthy and fit, though there’s always improvements in that category, and going to the gym is not a chore for me so I don’t really need any work in that department.

Here are the 10 things I’d really like to accomplish this year (in no particular order):

1. Participate in Hockey Helps the Homeless (There’s an upcoming tournament in Ottawa in March)
2. Be proud of being a woman! I’d like to help charities related to female empowerment and get involved with Because I am a Girl & International Day of the Girl 
3. Run a half marathon (I may be shooting a little high with this one as my chronic knee issues don’t like me running long distances/lengthy times, but it’s something I have always wanted to try doing)
4. Participate in at least one of the obstacle course/relay races coming to town (Warrior Dash/Army Run etc…)
5. See Luke Bryan and Brad Paisley live (there’s a bunch more but these are top priority)
6. Become certified as a Personal Training Specialist and begin certification for Nutrition and Wellness Specialist
7. Find a fitness related fundraising event dedicated to Brain Cancer research and participate
8. Stop biting my nails! I’ve been biting them since I was a toddler; I stopped biting them August-October but started biting them again recently
9. Buy our first house
10. Find a gym that offers GOOD kickboxing classes and start going 1-2 times a week again

The great thing about this bucket list is that more than half of it is requires me to stay fit in order to participate, so by default I will have more motivation to workout, thus staying healthy.

Good luck to all of those who did make New Year’s Resolutions; I hope 2013 is your best year yet! 

New Rules of Lifting for Women – Phase 1 Update

I have successfully completed Phase 1 of 7 from the New Rules of Lifting for Women, and as promised, here are my thoughts on the program thus far.

Looking at the workout regimen, you’d think doing squats, dead lifts  lunges, step-ups, push-ups, crunches, lat pull-downs and cable rows for 8 weeks would be easy. It would be, if you used the same variation and weights every single week.

The goal of this program is to increase your weights/resistance each workout, or increase your reps if the weight increase is too high on a certain machine to attain in one week.

By the end of the 8 weeks, I could do each exercise at a higher weight or higher repetition (or both, in some cases) and I can definitely see more muscle definition in my arms, shoulders, back and legs. I can feel my core getting stronger as well.

I must admit, phase 1 of the program is not very exciting. Once you’ve done it for two weeks, the exercises become mundane and it’s hard to find motivation to go to the gym to do the exact same workouts over and over again two times a week, for eight weeks.

The excitement comes from being able to use a heavier dumbbell, crunching out an extra few reps or finally being able to increase resistance on the cable machines – but I think some people would lose interest in this very quickly if they weren’t already fitness fanatics.

Looking back through the book, I noticed I completed stage 1 slightly incorrectly. Every week I continuously did 2 sets of 15 reps (even when I increased weights), when I was actually supposed to increase sets but decrease reps by the last two weeks of workouts.

Meaning, week 7 and 8 I should have done 3 sets of 8 reps for each exercise for 24 total repetitions, meanwhile I was completing 2 sets of (at least) 15 reps for 30 total repetitions. It could explain while the last few weeks I struggled with the weights and felt like I was hitting a plateau.

When I started this program, I was underweight, for where I wanted to be, because I’d lost muscle during my concussion recovery.

Here are my updated stats as of December 10, 2012:

Weight: 127.5 pounds (gained 2.7 pounds)

Chest: 34 inches (Gained 1 inch, definitely no complaints there!)

Waist: 26 inches (Gained 0.3 inches)

Hips: 37 inches (Gained 1 inch)

One thigh: 21 inches (Gained 0.4 inches)

One arm: 10 inches (Gained 0.2 inches)

While I gained a few pounds and gained some inches back in some areas, I am still happy with my progress so far. I always seem to ‘bulk up’ a bit when I start a new lifting program, hence getting thicker in the thighs and waist. I also think part of that is muscle growth.

Knowing I have more cardiovascular endurance, and more overall body strength, I am not disappointed by the weight or size gain. I am still wearing the same size pants (which are actually a bit too big).

The end of Phase 1 saw me in a weekend hockey tournament, playing four hockey games in less than 40 hours. Add in the swimming I did in the hotel pool between games and you bet I was feeling delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) for a few days.

The last two hockey tournaments I had been in prior to this one, I threw my lower lumbar out and felt my chronic knee pain. This tournament, I had neither issue sneak up on me, which leads me to believe the muscle I gained and/or strengthened protected my body from injury.

I decided to take a week of recovery at the end of Phase 1 before beginning Phase 2, staying away from lifting weights, but still going to the gym to do cardiovascular activities and body weight exercises.

Before I started this program, and after a few months of inactivity due to my concussion, it took me 17 minutes to run 1.5 miles. By the end of Phase 1, I can now run 1.5 miles in 13 minutes and 45 seconds. My next goal is to be able to run 1.5 miles in less than 12 minute.

One of my goals for the New Year is to run a 5 km race for a charity – on Thursday I managed to run just over 5 km in 40 minutes so my new goal is to work on shortening that time.

Phase 2 begins on tonight.

**Update 09.05.2013** Half way through phase 3 of the program I sustained whiplash, torn muscles in my shoulders/back/lats and minor back pain after being in a motor vehicle accident – I was hit from behind. The accident happened on March 18 and I am only just getting back into the gym on May 7 to start “muscle setting”. I am allowed to do the motion of the workouts, using the cables, but I am not allowed to use weight just yet. Talk about putting a damper on my progress since the concussion in June. I will have to re start the New Rules of Lifting for Women once I am 100% cleared for lifting again. 

Getting Back Into It

After a few months hiatus from my blog between moving, starting two new jobs, a concussion and wedding planning, I am ready to update you.

I sustained a concussion back in June while playing summer hockey (not competitive hockey either) when I crashed into the end boards after scoring a goal.

I suffered from post-concussion symptoms for over three months, had to miss two full weeks of work from my part time job and another one and a half weeks from my full time job.

Only three weeks ago was I able to get back on the ice for the first time; since I was trying to find a winter team to play on and that was when they had their tryout.

I wasn’t supposed to get back onto the ice that quickly, without first spending weeks in the gym getting closer to being allowed to participate in a non contact practice.

I attended an exhibition game and only managed to play three shifts in the first period before hanging up my skates because the headaches and dizziness were coming back.

A week later, a second team had their last tryout so I had to get back on the ice again so this other coach could see me skate. I managed to participate in 35 minutes of the drills and another 15 minutes of scrimmaging before I decided to leave that practice early too.

After that tryout, I felt some of the post-concussion symptoms for a few days and once they were gone I went to the gym for a cardio session on the elliptical.

I was asked to attend a rec level exhibition game a few days later, so another coach could see me skate, which was my first full game back. I had a bit of a headache and some dizziness right after, but it went away within the hour and didn’t come back.

The next day I went to an Intermediate A tryout, which was a full out practice. I haven’t had a full practice in over 4 years, let alone 3 months following a concussion and no gym time, so I didn’t expect it to go over very well.

I had to take a break halfway through the skate for 10 minutes, and had a bit of a headache afterwards again that went away within the hour.

This past week I managed to get to the gym, finally, on Wednesday after feeling a little under the weather. It was my first huge workout since sustaining the concussion.

I ran 1.6 miles in 18 minutes followed by 30 minutes of strength training, including push-ups, lunges, squats, planks, crunches, bench presses, dips and pull-ups.

I felt AMAZING after the workout and wanted to spend another hour working out but knew I shouldn’t push it.

Sunday I was back on the ice again for a second skate with the Intermediate A team and it was awesome! I had no dizziness and no headaches throughout the practice, including after taking a huge collision with another player on the ice.

Now I am ready to get back into the best shape of my life so I can have a great hockey season while preparing for ball hockey in the summer.

Tonight I will be starting the 6 month workout program in the New Rules of Lifting for Women.

I will be blogging about the program along the way, including some before and after photos with updates after each stage of the program.

I am doing this program to regain the muscle I lost and then some, and improve my hockey game. Weight loss is not the ultimate goal; I should actually gain some weight with the added muscle.

To start, here are my stats as of October 1, 2012:

Weight: 124.8 pounds

Chest: 33 inches

Waist: 25.7 inches

Hips: 36 inches

One thigh: 20.6 inches

One arm: 9.8 inches

Here are “before” photos that I took this morning upon waking up: A front profile view and a side profile view, showing the obliques and my calf muscles.

  

Some more “before” photos from this morning. Another front view, and a side view showing my arm muscle definition:

   

Upon completion of stage 1 of the workout program (takes about 6-8 weeks to complete) I will post a blog with updated photos.

I apologize to all my readers who were expecting content on the Montreal Canadiens, but with the season locked out, I had to find something else to write about. I hope you find my journey through this program just as interesting!

A New Hockey Path

Seven weeks ago I moved to Ottawa and joined a women’s competitive ball hockey league for the first time. I caught the ball hockey bug last fall when I was asked to sub in a tournament and decided to try it out since I figured it couldn’t be much different than ice hockey.

Well, turns out ball hockey is quite different from ice hockey…from a floating blue line (gets kind of confusing when you play two ball hockey games a week then go play ice hockey and have to switch back to the non floating blue line offside rule), to not being able to glide when you’re tired, to trying to handle a rolling, bouncy ball instead of a puck.

I never thought I’d enjoy a sport more than ice hockey, but it seems I’ve found the one! I am absolutely in love with ball hockey and the amazing cardio workout that it is! I’m dripping with sweat by the time the 2 minute warm up is done.

I’ve also noticed my puck handling skills have gotten a bit better (or maybe I gained more confidence with the puck) after trying to control that orange ball.

The Ottawa Vanier Women’s Ball Hockey League that I am currently playing in is one of the best league’s in Ontario, if not Canada, for competitive ball hockey. More than 1/3 of the 2011 Canadian women’s national ball hockey team was made up of players from the OVWBHL.

From what I’ve learned from other players, this is a scouting year for the national team. The scouts that attend our games choose the Ottawa team that goes to Nationals (which is in Edmonton this year) and while at Nationals the scouts from the Canadian Ball Hockey Association (CBHA) look at players to put on the team that goes to the World Ball Hockey Championships.

Since I can’t see myself making the CWHL, what with them folding one of the teams to make the league even more elite now, and especially not a national ice hockey team, my new goal is to make the Ottawa team that goes to Nationals and one day wear the maple leaf at the World Ball Hockey Championships.

Currently I have five points in seven games, and I’m the second highest goal scorer on my team, but I still have to get better; I am ranked 42 among 229 players in the league.

Knowing this is my first whack at ball hockey, I’m not too concerned with my stats being ‘so low’ as long as I play positioning well, dig hard in the corners and move the ball quickly.

Last week I scored a breakaway goal against the best team in the league, our team’s only goal in a 9-1 loss and I’ve had a high ever since. It was my first time actually scoring on a breakaway in ball hockey, after a failed attempt in each of my previous games.

I’m a really quick runner, but it’s been hard getting used to controlling the ball, so while I’ve been sent off on a breakaway in almost all of our games it was a great feeling to finally score on a break AND against the team that pummeled us…hopefully the scouts were watching!