Letting Go

Wow I can't believe it's just over a week until Christmas and two weeks until the end of the year! Where the heck did 2014 go?

As the year comes to a close I've been looking back at my 2014 goals and thinking about what I want my 2015 to be like. And honestly, lately, I've felt myself coming up a little short. With my recent injury and all my efforts to make friends, I definitely haven't checked everything off my list (or even made a December monthly goals list. Oops).

But then I saw this article on Facebook and I realized that, while goals have kept me focused on moving forward in the past, maybe what I really need to focus on right now is letting go.

(Image Source)

My favorite yoga instructor always tells us to stop thinking about what we "should do" and to just focus on what we "can do" right here, right now. To view how or even if we take each pose as one choice that we own and not some big reflection of our fitness, flexibility, or self worth.

As I move into 2015 I want to apply these lessons to my life off the mat. To have less expectations and more trust, and to let go of the need to have it all figured out.

(Image Source)

This is definitely not going to be easy for my competitive, goal-oriented self, and I haven't exactly figured out how to work towards this yet, but I'm sure going to try!

Q: What things do you want to let go of as you move into 2015? How do you give yourself a break?

Now on to the party!

Welcome to this week's Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by your hostesses

Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser.

Joining us are our co-hostesses:

Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling

Amanda | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Heather | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Be sure to stop by BOTH of our co-hostess' blogs as they are really cool and full of their fitness and running adventures so read some posts, leave some comments, share and subscribe so you receive regular updates. We are very happy to have them as co-hostesses.

How to Participate:

1. Follow, Like and/or Subscribe to your hostesses and co-hostesses:

• Diatta Harris (Femme Fitale Fit Club)| Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Sheila Simmons (The Frugal Exerciser) | Twitter | Facebook |subscribe via GFC or email.
• Amanda (Eat Hard Work Hard) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram
• Heather (Divas Run For Bling) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

2. Post our badge on your site so folks "hear" about our weekly link up 
3. Leave no more than 2 links to your blog, Facebook or YouTube post or video using the link up tool/button below 
4. Invite your like-minded friends! We love finding and reading new blogs so spread the word so we can increase the size of our parties every week til we make the walls sweat!!!! I told ya we party hard! :-) 
5. Use hashtag #wowlinkup when you comment on someone's post so they know how you found them 6. Last but definitely not least, HAVE FUN! This IS a party.

GRAB OUR BADGE CODE

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An InLinkz Link-up

WIN Detergent Review and GIVEAWAY

Ok I have a gross Workout Wednesday confession for you today. Sometimes I wait a long time to wash my workout clothes. And this isn't because I'm a dainty flower whose sweat smells like roses. Nope, it's due to pure laziness, and my laundry gets pretty stinky.

Case in point: I somehow "didn't have time" to wash my 5 yoga classes and 3 lifts worth of workout clothes, towels. etc. before I left for Thanksgiving. So you can imagine how great this pile smelled when it welcomed me home last week, especially once I added the workout clothes I wore on my trip and then stuffed into an airtight plastic bag.

Thankfully, I could play this off as an attempt to create the perfect conditions to test out a new product I received for review as a Sweat Pink Ambassador: WIN Detergent.

Disclosure: I was provided this product free of charge for review. I was not compensated for my time. All thoughts and opinions are all my own. Obvs :)

According to the company's science page, WIN Detergent is "specially formulated to get persistent, sweaty smells out of the synthetic materials used in today’s workout apparel. Apparently, while these materials are really good at wicking away moisture, they are also good at holding on to oils. This means that fancy fitness clothes are actually MORE prone to smelling bad, which is MESSED UP because you get the most sweaty and stinky in them!

Luckily, WIN is supposed to be optimized to break down the bonds that are trapping smelly oils to your clothes. WIN comes in both a blue-capped regular/lightly scented version as well as a dye-free, fragrance free GREEN version.

I tried out the regular version on the above terrible pile of clothes, and I'm happy to report that it really worked! All of my clothes came out sans that slightly suspect "ok I know I washed this but I also know this was really smelly not to long ago smell". If you ever wait more than a couple days to do laundry you probably know what I'm talking about. At least I hope you do. The GREEN version also removed any bad odors from my clothes, although I liked the very light, clean scent of the regular version.

The only thing I didn't like was the cap situation. The WIN bottles come with a small cap for sealing and another cap for measuring, with each regular load taking two cap-fulls. For some reason, I could not keep from getting detergent all over the bottle, although this could be a personal problem.

So what's the final verdict?

I really like WIN Detergent! It made my smelliest workout gear as fresh as new, and I particularly liked the regular scent. I'd also highly recommend the GREEN version to anyone with fragrance/dye allergies or super sensitive skin.

To learn more about WIN Detergent, visit their website and check them out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ALSO, one lucky reader will win TWO full bottles of WIN detergent, one regular and one green! How awesome is that?? Oh and just in case you don’t win, you can also use the coupon code WINGIVE1 for $1 off a bottle of WIN here through December 15.

To enter the giveaway, please follow the Rafflecoptor instructions below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now on to the party!

Welcome to this week's Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by your hostesses

Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser.

Joining us are our co-hostesses:

Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling

Amanda | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Heather | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Be sure to stop by BOTH of our co-hostess' blogs as they are really cool and full of their fitness and running adventures so read some posts, leave some comments, share and subscribe so you receive regular updates. We are very happy to have them as co-hostesses.

How to Participate:

1. Follow, Like and/or Subscribe to your hostesses and co-hostesses:

• Diatta Harris (Femme Fitale Fit Club)| Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Sheila Simmons (The Frugal Exerciser) | Twitter | Facebook |subscribe via GFC or email.
• Amanda (Eat Hard Work Hard) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram
• Heather (Divas Run For Bling) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

2. Post our badge on your site so folks "hear" about our weekly link up 
3. Leave no more than 2 links to your blog, Facebook or YouTube post or video using the link up tool/button below 
4. Invite your like-minded friends! We love finding and reading new blogs so spread the word so we can increase the size of our parties every week til we make the walls sweat!!!! I told ya we party hard! :-) 
5. Use hashtag #wowlinkup when you comment on someone's post so they know how you found them 6. Last but definitely not least, HAVE FUN! This IS a party.

GRAB OUR BADGE CODE

An InLinkz Link-up

Fitocracy Strength Training Tracking App Review

Happy first Workout Wednesday after Thanksgiving! I don't know about you, but I'm still recovering after my normal three-house marathon which included trying no less than 5 different pies. No regrets though!

(Image Source)

As you may have read a few weeks ago, I've been trying to get back into weight lifting. I found a sweet 3 days a week total body plan, which I think had to turn into an upper-body only strength training plan on doctor's orders. I was doing a pretty good job of fitting in my lifts but was frustrated because I couldn't find a good way to track them.

Thanks to Chaitali from Running, and Enjoying the Journey, I've found something that works pretty well for me: Fitocracy.

How it Works

Fitocracy is designed to help provide fitness motivation with workout tracking along with points, badges, and other virtual community incentives for working out. The app is free to download on Android or iPhone. After some quick profile set up, it's super easy to begin tracking your workouts.  

The app comes with lots of built in workout routines you can do, or you can build your own. I created and saved routines for each of my three upper body workouts super easily.

After completing each workout, you get awarded a certain number of points. You can also "level up" when you reach certain points thresholds. This part of the app wasn't that interesting to me so I didn't look into it that much.

Pros

Customizability: I love that you can create and save your own workout routines. 

Ease of use: It's really easy to find and add exercises to your workout routine from the large exercise library. And, being able to select from recent and copy recent workouts makes tracking each session pretty painless.

Price: Can't beat free .99!

Cons 

Tracking view options: It's hard to see at a glance how many workouts you've completed recently outside of point totals. It would be really nice to have a way to see your workout history at a glance.

Speed: The app will sometimes freeze or take a long time to load routines, which is annoying if you are trying to get in and out of the gym quickly.

Bottom Line:

This app provides an easy way to keep track of strength training. Would definitely recommend it to anyone who is trying to stick to a weight lifting routine!

Now on to the party!

Welcome to this week's Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by your hostesses

Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser.

Joining us are our co-hostesses:

Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling

Amanda | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Heather | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Be sure to stop by BOTH of our co-hostess' blogs as they are really cool and full of their fitness and running adventures so read some posts, leave some comments, share and subscribe so you receive regular updates. We are very happy to have them as co-hostesses.

How to Participate:

1. Follow, Like and/or Subscribe to your hostesses and co-hostesses:

• Diatta Harris (Femme Fitale Fit Club)| Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Sheila Simmons (The Frugal Exerciser) | Twitter | Facebook |subscribe via GFC or email.
• Amanda (Eat Hard Work Hard) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram
• Heather (Divas Run For Bling) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

2. Post our badge on your site so folks "hear" about our weekly link up 
3. Leave no more than 2 links to your blog, Facebook or YouTube post or video using the link up tool/button below 
4. Invite your like-minded friends! We love finding and reading new blogs so spread the word so we can increase the size of our parties every week til we make the walls sweat!!!! I told ya we party hard! :-) 
5. Use hashtag #wowlinkup when you comment on someone's post so they know how you found them 6. Last but definitely not least, HAVE FUN! This IS a party.

GRAB OUR BADGE CODE

An InLinkz Link-up

Gratitude

Happy Workout Wednesday! Mine isn't so happy right now since I'm starting it by spending the night at LAX :(

The 2 hour bus ride from Santa Barbara unexpectedly took 4.5 hours, so I missed my flight to DC, missed standby on the last flight out by 1 spot, and won't be able to get out until tomorrow morning. 

While this is definitely straining my efforts to avoid being an asshole, I'm still trying to keep up with the thanksgiving spirit by focusing on everything I'm grateful for. 

I'm super grateful for all the friends that have kept me company doing non-physical activities during my injury, especially since I didn't think I had any friends outside of volleyball! I also really appreciate all the support from my blog friends.

And, even though I'm still pretty mad I can't be as active as I normally am, I'm still really thankful that my body is able to do all the things it does for me every day. 

Q: How do you practice gratitude instead of getting super annoyed at everything? What are you thankful for this year?

Now on to the party!

Welcome to this week's Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by your hostesses

Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser.

Joining us are our co-hostesses:

Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling

Amanda | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Heather | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Be sure to stop by BOTH of our co-hostess' blogs as they are really cool and full of their fitness and running adventures so read some posts, leave some comments, share and subscribe so you receive regular updates. We are very happy to have them as co-hostesses.

How to Participate:

1. Follow, Like and/or Subscribe to your hostesses and co-hostesses:

• Diatta Harris (Femme Fitale Fit Club)| Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Sheila Simmons (The Frugal Exerciser) | Twitter | Facebook |subscribe via GFC or email.
• Amanda (Eat Hard Work Hard) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram
• Heather (Divas Run For Bling) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

2. Post our badge on your site so folks "hear" about our weekly link up 
3. Leave no more than 2 links to your blog, Facebook or YouTube post or video using the link up tool/button below 
4. Invite your like-minded friends! We love finding and reading new blogs so spread the word so we can increase the size of our parties every week til we make the walls sweat!!!! I told ya we party hard! :-) 
5. Use hashtag #wowlinkup when you comment on someone's post so they know how you found them 6. Last but definitely not least, HAVE FUN! This IS a party.

GRAB OUR BADGE CODE

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<a href="http://femmefitalefitclub.com/?page_id=5741" title="Femme Fitale Fit Club"><img src="http://femmefitalefitclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/10411245605_4348135958_m.jpg" alt="Femme Fitale Fit Club" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

An InLinkz Link-up

All Upper Body Strength Training Plan

Last Workout Wednesday I posted an awesome new weight training plan along with big words about sticking to it. And then on Friday I found out I'm not supposed to do ANY lower body stuff, including strength training for 4-6 weeks. Oh well. Onwards and upwards!

(Image Quote)

The good thing about not being able to use my lower-body is that it gives me an excellent excuse to finally fix my super sad lack of upper body strength. Since it worked well before, I went back to the awesome Greatist article I used to make my last plan, and took all the upper body workouts from the 5 days a week plan. I had to modify things a little to take out any lower body stuff and to be able to do everything at home with just dumbbells. 

Day 1 – Chest/Triceps

1) Dumbbell Bench Press

2A) Incline Dumbbell Press
2B) Dips

3A) Dumbbell Chest Fly
3B) Tricep Extension
3C) Plank

Day 2 – Back/Biceps

1) Bent over row

2A) Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
2B) Dumbbell Reverse Fly

3A) Dumbbell Pullover
3B) Dumbbell Bicep Curl
3C) Supermans

Day 3 – Shoulders

1) Seated Clean and Press

2A) Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
2B) Dumbbell Lateral Raise

3A) Dumbbell Front Raise
3B) Shoulder Push Ups 

Here's hoping the above plan, plus some yoga and at-home pilates, is enough to keep me sane!

Q: How do you keep from going crazy while waiting for an injury to heal?

Now on to the party!

Welcome to this week's Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by your hostesses

Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser.

Joining us are our co-hostesses:

Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling

Amanda | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Heather | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Be sure to stop by BOTH of our co-hostess' blogs as they are really cool and full of their fitness and running adventures so read some posts, leave some comments, share and subscribe so you receive regular updates. We are very happy to have them as co-hostesses.

How to Participate:

1. Follow, Like and/or Subscribe to your hostesses and co-hostesses:

• Diatta Harris (Femme Fitale Fit Club)| Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Sheila Simmons (The Frugal Exerciser) | Twitter | Facebook |subscribe via GFC or email.
• Amanda (Eat Hard Work Hard) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram
• Heather (Divas Run For Bling) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

2. Post our badge on your site so folks "hear" about our weekly link up 
3. Leave no more than 2 links to your blog, Facebook or YouTube post or video using the link up tool/button below 
4. Invite your like-minded friends! We love finding and reading new blogs so spread the word so we can increase the size of our parties every week til we make the walls sweat!!!! I told ya we party hard! :-) 
5. Use hashtag #wowlinkup when you comment on someone's post so they know how you found them 6. Last but definitely not least, HAVE FUN! This IS a party.

GRAB OUR BADGE CODE

<div align="center">
<a href="http://femmefitalefitclub.com/?page_id=5741" title="Femme Fitale Fit Club"><img src="http://femmefitalefitclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/10411245605_4348135958_m.jpg" alt="Femme Fitale Fit Club" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Injury Time Out

Whelp, as you may have seen if you follow me on Instagram, I got some bad news this weekend.

I haven't mentioned it a ton, but ever since I ran the Chardonnay 10-miler in April, my achilles have been hurting and the place where the tendon meets my heels has been swollen. I mean really swollen. The bf sweetly calls it my "gross foot tumors.

For a long time it only bothered me when I ran, so I cut back on running. But then I started to have pain after other activities. And taking a whole 3-weeks off from high impact activities during my work trip didn't help at all.

So I finally went to the doctor on Friday and found out I have achilles tendinitis and am not supposed to do ANYTHING for AT LEAST 6 weeks! Not even low-impact things like lower-body weight lifting or taking a 30-minute walk. Not sure cut out ALL activity, but I'm trying to follow instructions as much as possible. Although I did play an all-day volleyball tournament on Saturday. #dietstartsnextweek 

I'm pretty bummed since I've been trying really hard to be consistent with my workouts. I also realized just how much time I spend on fitness and that I don't really have much sociial interaction outside of volleyball here. Need to find some new non-physical hobbies ASAP. Wish me luck!

Q: What's your favorite non-physical social activity? How do you keep from going crazy during injury recovery??

New Weight Training Plan

Happy Workout Wednesday! It's a week after my trip and I'm still kind of getting back in the groove. Pretty sure I'm past the point where I can blame jet lag for things, but I can still try :)

One thing I've surprisingly been doing a pretty good job at is lifting!

(Image Source)

For some reason, even though it's been on my goal list for months and months, I had a hard time sticking to a consistent strength training schedule. But since I started following the advice and below 3 days a week plan from this Greatist article (modified so I can do it at home), I've been doing a much better job of getting my lifts in every week.

Monday (Day One) 

1A) Barbell Deadlift 

1B) Dumbbell Bench Press

2A) Lunge

2B) Dumbbell Shoulder Press 

3A) Leg Press 

3B) Plank 

Wednesday (Day Two)

1A) Barbell Back Squat 

1B) Chin-up

2A) Dumbbell Row 

2B) Singe-Leg Stability Ball Hamstring Curl 

3A) Side Lunges 

3B) Reverse Crunch

Friday (Day Three) 

1A) Barbell Front Squat 1B) Inverted Row 

2A) Single-Leg Dumbbell Deadlift 

2B) Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 

3A) Reverse Lunge 

3B) Side Plank

While I'm really happy with the plan that I've found, I haven't quite found the perfect system for tracking my workouts yet. When I was traveling I just used my phone's notes app to keep track of everything, which worked but doesn't give me an easy way to see progress. I just downloaded FitNotes and it's ok so far but I'm not blown away.

I've also found a couple cute notebooks like this one, but I tend to lose them or not bring them when I travel.

Q: How do you track your strength workouts? What's your lifting routine like?

Now on to the party!

Welcome to this week's Workout Wednesday (WOW) Link Up!

Brought to you by your hostesses

Diatta Harris | Femme Fitale Fit Club and Sheila Simmons | The Frugal Exerciser.

Joining us are our co-hostesses:

Amanda | Eat Hard Work Hard and Heather | Divas Run For Bling

Amanda | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Heather | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

Be sure to stop by BOTH of our co-hostess' blogs as they are really cool and full of their fitness and running adventures so read some posts, leave some comments, share and subscribe so you receive regular updates. We are very happy to have them as co-hostesses.

How to Participate:

1. Follow, Like and/or Subscribe to your hostesses and co-hostesses:

• Diatta Harris (Femme Fitale Fit Club)| Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
• Sheila Simmons (The Frugal Exerciser) | Twitter | Facebook |subscribe via GFC or email.
• Amanda (Eat Hard Work Hard) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram
• Heather (Divas Run For Bling) | Blog | Twitter | Instagram

2. Post our badge on your site so folks "hear" about our weekly link up 
3. Leave no more than 2 links to your blog, Facebook or YouTube post or video using the link up tool/button below 
4. Invite your like-minded friends! We love finding and reading new blogs so spread the word so we can increase the size of our parties every week til we make the walls sweat!!!! I told ya we party hard! :-) 
5. Use hashtag #wowlinkup when you comment on someone's post so they know how you found them 6. Last but definitely not least, HAVE FUN! This IS a party.

GRAB OUR BADGE CODE

<div align="center">
<a href="http://femmefitalefitclub.com/?page_id=5741" title="Femme Fitale Fit Club"><img src="http://femmefitalefitclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/10411245605_4348135958_m.jpg" alt="Femme Fitale Fit Club" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

 

An InLinkz Link-up