Remember 2 weeks ago when I said I was going to get even more consistent with Workout Wednesday posts? And then I missed a week. Oh how life works… Because when you make plans, God laughs. Isn’t that how the saying goes? In my mind I thought summer would be a great time to get consistent. Both in terms of workouts & in blogging. But that’s not entirely how June has gone.

The biggest, unexpected bright spot of the month so far? Getting to work with the junior high + high school kids in town for summer runs! I cannot tell y’all how freaking awesome it is to see young teens with a passion {or at least a small desire} to run. The picture below is after Tuesday morning’s practice. I like to think you can see in my smile how happy it made me to run side-by-side with one of the sweet junior girls that day. And it was equally awesome that the temp required my new long sleeve!

Today’s Top 3

Do you track macros, calories?

I swear this gets asked at least twice a week. In a September Workout Wednesday I answered if I diet and that is still true today. No, I do not track macros. And ABSOLUTELY NOT do I count calories. Food and I have an interesting relationship, and I find restricting anything is very slippery slope for me personally. I unfortunately have some not-so-cute OCD tendencies and obsessing over my scale is un-glamorous trait of mine. So if you struggle with body image/food, hey there! I see you! Do I think there are positive sides of macro-counting? For sure. I know many people that do it in a smart, healthy way. That just isn’t me.

The 80/20 rule is the best way to describe how I eat. 80% of the time my food choices are lean, clean and green. I drink a shit ton of water. Huge fan of fruits & veggies. Red meat isn’t really my jam, though I crave a great burger here and there. Seafood is my go-to entrée choice every time. While Kyle can totally get down with fast food, he’s NOT a snacker & is the least picky person in the world. So having a husband that likes anything makes cooking well so much easier. But don’t get me wrong, your girl NEVER turns down dessert. If it were on the love language chart, it would 100% be mine. Which leads to 20% of my diet being more loose – chocolate, a good cinnamon roll, lattes, etc. I’m ALL ABOUT BALANCE.

What do you take prior to working out? Pre-workout thoughts?

Prior to starting the IVG process, I’d be on the same pre-workout hydration for years. 1 scoop of Alani Nu’s pre-workout {my fav flavor is Aloha Pineapple} + 1 scoop of BCAA powder {this one works well for me} in 8 oz. of water. That was on higher impact or running days. For yoga/low impact days, I’d swap the Alani Nu for a scoop of old school Advocare Spark. No tingles from that. But my doctor said during medications she wanted me to ditch the pre & suggested I throw in a flavor stick of some sort instead. So I went to 16 oz. of water + 1 scoop of BCAA + 1 Liquid IV. Then I went down to JUST a Liquid IV during transfer protocol. Now that I’m STILL waiting for my period, I’m back on a 1/2 scoop of pre-workout. And yes, I’m ‘allowed’ to.

As for my ‘thoughts’ on a pre-workout, I say you do you. I personally do not need a ‘boost’ to knock a workout out. But I absolutely need to get water in before I start and I just can’t stomach plain water before 6am. So that’s where these come in for me. And after I workout I truly just want water the rest of the day. Absolutely it is NOT necessary. But if you want to try something, do your research first. Don’t just order something because you saw it on IG or something 🙂

Has your cycle ever been affected by your exercise routine?

I actually touched on this back in a Workout Wednesday post in January {blog post here} in a general sense. But to answer this question specifically, no. My cycle has been regular since college pretty much. The first few years of my period, specifically in high school, it was fairly irregular but in a regular way. If that makes any sense? One summer between my sophomore & junior year I just didn’t even get it. Because I wasn’t having sex, I didn’t put any thought into it. But I always had a tampon in my softball bag just to be safe! Even at my lowest adult weight and during times of 35+ mile weeks it always showed up every month. So long story short, NO the amount I workout is not affecting my fertility. Or lack thereof.

Workout Wednesday Workout of the Week

LEG FOCUSED

What you’ll *ideally* need – 1 set of heavy, medium & light dumbbells + a band. I used a surge ball for my swings, but you could easily use a single DB in its place. Harder? Up your weight of course. Ease up a bit? Drop to 3 sets per circuit and/or grab lighter weights. This one will burn so good!

· xox, Kristin ·