In January, I shared some insight on my personal journey back into fitness. Over the past couple of years, between pregnancies, my consistency has been... well, it just hasn't. I committed to a gym membership back in January and also signed up to run a 1/2 marathon in March. Since moving to Hilton Head in 2005, running has become one of my favorite hobbies. During my training for the race I participated in a few weeks ago, I couldn't help but wonder how hard I would be on myself the day of the race. With a pace about 2 minutes slower than my race pace was a few years ago (you runners know that is a significant difference) I was sure I wasn't going to be proud of my performance.
But you know what? That's not what happened. Instead of spending those 13 miles comparing where I was the last time I ran a 1/2 marathon, I began to truly acknowledge the change I've made over the past couple of months. At mile 10 I realized that my arms and upper body weren't tired. A couple of years ago when I took up running again without a strength training program, my back and arms would always fatigue before my legs or stamina. This was just the “ah-ha” experience I needed. When it comes to weight loss, I'm like everyone else - I initially gravitated to just focusing on cardio workouts. This race demonstrated on a more personal level how crucial it is to also focus on strength training, core strength, and even balance and flexibility for overall success. The running portion of my training played a significant role in my preparation, but now I see that my strength training and core routine was just, if not more significant.
If you are new to strength training, try this Body Sculpting routine. There are even more free fitness routines available right here on H3Daily.
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