27 weeks and SUP we go!

Nearing the end of the 2nd trimester and there's no denying, I'm feeling pregnant now.  The energy to get up and GO is not quite as abundant, however, I feel that more so when I am sitting for extended periods or with idle time.  It seems more difficult to get up and go DO something when I'm sedentary but once I'm "doing", I feel fantastic!  If I can only figure out that happy medium so that I don't have these wild swings from one end to another. :/

I did manage to keep a little active during the holiday break however, even trying out new fun things that the whole family could enjoy!  I've been wanting to try "SUP" (Stand Up Paddleboarding) for a couple of years now and was determined to get it in this year. Specifically, I wanted to try SUP Yoga - where you take a yoga class while on the board.  I figured I have to crawl before I walk so getting on the board first would be a big accomplishment.  Finding a place that offers this type of class may be a little more challenging but at the very least, I could attempt balancing into some poses (just to see if I could do it) if I can get myself on a board.

Two failed attempts over Spring Break and our early Summer vacation was making feel like it was just not meant to be (too windy or cold).  I knew the 4 day weekend would lend itself to give it another go but I also knew that it would require buy-in from the family (i.e. the other half).  Luckily, my other half is in tune with what I'm thinking and SO sweet and thoughtful that he kept this in the back of his mind and decided to surprise us (really, me) with a getaway to do just that...SUP! YIPPEE!!!  He did all the research on where we should go and even had a game plan (wha-what?)

I was pretty ecstatic particularly because I've been really yearning to be near the water.  Maybe it's the Florida beach girl in me that just equates summer with water fun.  Unfortunately, the beaches around here are...well, let's just say that they leave much to be desired (compared to what I know).  We do, however, have plenty of lakes.  Finding one that offers SUP rentals are few and far between though. We went to Austin where they are making a big splash with trying to get the word out about SUP, pun intended.  And when I say splash, I mean that at SUPATX , they have the largest paddle board fleet in the world!  They have all the boards and they have Canoes and single, double and triple kayaks too!

It was a trial run for us so we had a few boards and a triple kayak that we could switch off into and put the baby on that had a bit more stability (although she really liked being on the board too!) I really thought that I would have some serious balance issues and would end up falling off a bunch but I am happy to report that I never fell!  You basically start paddling slowly on your knees, find your balance and step up to standing with a wide stance and ta-da you are SUPping!  It's a bit of a slow movement but a great arm workout to get you going across the lake.  We pulled over and played in the water for a while.  The kids battled each other off the boards a la American Gladiator style and the baby eagerly jumped off the kayak to get in on part of the action too.  The water was very refreshing and cool on a hot and sunny Texas day and I honestly did not want to go back.  I could have stayed there all day.

My water camera is awful.  I can't believe the resolution is so bad on something we paid so much for. :( 

We managed to get our yoga challenge poses in for the day too (two checks off my wants list!) but before we could get more fun pictures, we realized the wind had drifted us downstream and we had a LONG way to get back. With a HEAD wind!  This is where the workout came in to play, big time.  Kayaking back with the baby was a breeze but keeping track of three very playful kids on their SUPs was a little more difficult.  The current was pushing them back so we were running interference to get them moving in the right direction.   I swapped out and paddle boarded all the way back and by the time we were done by shoulders were burning (oooh, so good!). :)

All in all, a great time was had by all and the next morning I heard "let's do that again!".  So now, I am searching for a lake that is in closer proximity so that we can make this a common weekend excursion throughout the summer.  I highly recommend giving this a try.  I, for one, cannot wait to do it again!

Ah, yes let's not forget our 27 week wrap up (via iphone screen shots):

That pretty much wraps up the second trimester (already?!).  I am really curious to see what the next trimester brings and how active I can stay.  Stay tuned! :)

~V

26 week update

Still keeping at it! I feel great for workouts but the shortest of stairs take the wind right out of me. It must be the triple digit heat. ?

Here's this week's update straight off my notepad. 

Week 26

M - 1350swim

200 free

200 kick

200 pull

200 1 arm

2 x 200 pull

150 free

Yoga challenge - eagle twist

T - plank 1:35

W - AerialTone yogax2 headstand/

forearm handstand/split, plank 1:40

Th - swim 1600

200 free

200 kick

200 pull

200 free

200 1 arm

5 x 100 timed free

100 easy free (hey, that's a mile!)

Yoga challenge - deep lunge

F - bike 13.5m - flat tire at last mile :(

S - yoga - standing split with foot grab (translation: intense ham string stretching & warming up to even attempt this contortionist move) I'm calling this a leg workout considering how sore I still am. 

S -yoga - lotus & final day of challenge. We did it!

Here's a pic of the final #YogainSpace challenge for June. A nice meditative lotus position amongst blue trees. 

I feel like I've come so far throughout the month, testing my physical & mental  ability in working through these poses. 

It's been really fantastic to see that I CAN do it if I just give it a try & work through it.  I'm especially grateful for the bonding time between my 11YO daughter & I. She's really enjoying yoga & is pushing herself daily (hourly) to go further. Hence, why we are embarking on continuing with the July challenge as well (#Yogangsters). This should be interesting especially since I'll be between weeks 27 & 31 of the pregnancy!  

Stay tuned to see my progress & some, what will sure to be, blooper attempts at these poses later in the month. :)

Happy Monday & cheers to a short week! 

Challenging Yourself on the Daily

I'm behind on my weekly updates but when I started writing them up, I realized most of my focus was on the challenges that we've taken up.  So...I'm pushing the update again (what week is this again?) to describe what has been a fun twist to keep things interesting in the way of workouts.

About the challenges: There are two in the month of June (ab & yoga) that in some shape or form have gone from a mere exercise challenge and turned into all out family adventure too.

The ab challenge is one that we are participating in amongst a group of friends.  It's a 30 day challenge that progressively grows with repetitions. We all keep tabs with each others progress (translation: send that "Reply All" email to say "I'm done!, How about you?") which is great motivation to get you to drop down, do the ab work and Reply All again "ME TOO!!". Can't leave your friends hanging after all, right?!

If you have ever done P90X's AbRipper (and survived and gone back to do it again and AGAIN) this challenge should be fairly simple, but by no means easy.  My husband and I were doing it at first and by day 3, the kids were joining in too.  That can a both be a blessing and a curse because they will NOT. LET. YOU. SLEEP. unless you get the challenge done.  You have to love the kid's motivation and enthusiasm and you can't let them down, either! (So get out of bed!!)

I had no issues whatsoever with this challenge but I knew from the get go that I would no way come near doing 100+ situps on any given day during pregnancy.  I went to day 7 doing the full workout with no issues and I found it relatively easy (don't tell my husband) but I have heard and read mixed schools of thought with regard to working out abdominals during pregnancy.  I feel fairly strong and felt pretty good doing them throughout that week, however, the sit ups in particular create a bit of a tightness in the lower abdominals that I am not comfortable pushing without further research.  Given that I haven't been able to post this in 2 weeks, you would have to imagine that I haven't had much time for research either.  So...rather than take a chance, I decided to throw in the towel.  After day 8's rest I split a couple of the days by only doing half the reps required but in this last week have continued strictly with the plank portion of the challenge only.  I can live with that...and I can relish in the enjoyment of having the kids get on my husband every night to get his ab work done before he snoozes off (it's actually quite fun!) Haha!

If you want to give the challenge a try next month or really, start on any given Saturday and see how far you can go, I have included it here for reference.  As the month progresses, the repetitions get pretty high up there, some friends have been splitting up the workouts into sets. Say, take your 60 situps, 75 crunches and 40 leg raises and turn them into a morning set of 30, 40, 20 and a night set of 30, 35, 20.  Good luck!!

The yoga challenge I have alluded to in the past.  I follow a few yoga enthusisasts/instructors/lovers on Instagram and their posts of their beautiful poses are incredibly inspirational. In the last couple of months or so, my daughter and I would randomly pick out poses and try them, just to see if we could do them.  We were never consistent with it nor did we ever photograph each other doing them. But this month, we decided we would attempt at doing the challenges AND taking pics every day. 

I have never been that big of a yogi as my only experience was with the P90X version "YogaX" that I was introduced to a few years ago when I went through the program.  I have attended a few other yoga classes, most recently the one I did as a perk of my previous employer's.  The thing about yoga is that it is really a constant practice.  It's not necessarily taking a class every day or building up weight or reps or pace like in other exercises, but rather a fusion between body and mind withing yourself.  Sometimes, I look at a pose and immediately think "well, there goes the challenge! I can't do THAT!" But then I take a few minutes and think (just as I would ask my kids), why can't I do that? How do I know I can't if I don't even try?

I have learned in the last few short months that I can go from not even getting close to getting my feet off the ground in a crow position (which seemed SO advanced when I did Yoga X, by the way) to doing it facing forwards, the side and with a twisted root too! It has been a learning experience for me and one that I am passing down to my daughter because she is so eager to get into the poses and she is so darn flexible and nimble that for the most part, she can without skipping a beat.  Until she gets to that one pose...the one she just can't do because she can't turn that way or because her arms aren't strong enough.  That's when I can tell her to SLOW down.  Breathe. Focus. Take your time.  I will watch her go from a hurried school girl to a focused, determined young lady that wants to nail the pose.  All the while, I have my phone in hand, ready to click her picture when she says she's ready.  She'll quickly run over and say "did you get it?" and come over analyze the photo(s).  She will look long and hard and sometimes will say..."hmm, my back needs to be straighter" or "my leg is not doing the right thing on this one" and follow it with: "can I try it again?"...and there you have it, PRACTICE. :)

It has been a pure joy to share it with her and with the IG community too.  I am amazed at the poses I can get into even at this many weeks pregnant.  I hope that I can finish the month strong and will keep working on the challenges daily even after the month is over.

If you want to check out the challenge on Instagram, look for the June hashtag #YogainSpace, you'll see all the posts related to the challenge.  I doubt you will come away without being inspired and motivated to give it a try. If you want to follow the amazing yogi's hosting the challenge, follow them!  They are: @laurasykora , @masumi_g , @gypsetgoddess and @beachyogagirl.

Here are a couple of our pics from earlier this month:

As you can see, the challenges have been way fun and exciting to stick with.  If you're bored with your workouts or your routine, these challenges are great way to sprinkle in some variety particularly when you are waiting patiently for the next pose to be posted every night!!  I highly recommend it, give it a try and have fun!

~V