April 2, 2013

Sometimes It’s Okay to Give Up + Day 1 of April Stretch Challenge

Sometimes, you just have to know when to stop doing something (No, I’m not quitting ballet).

I’ve decided to drop out of the Broad Street Run (my boyfriend has too). After a long thought process and debating selling our bibs several times (between starting training late because of my shin splints and busy schedules).  After a particularly rough training day at the gym today, we’ve decided to pass on this year’s race.

While I’m a little bit sad about it, I feel like it’s for the best.

I’m not giving up on running, I’ve just decided to take it slower, and not unnecessarily push myself (seeing as how that’s what usually causes injuries). Part of it is so I can focus more on ballet (rather than killing myself trying to do both as I’m trying to come back from my injury). I plan on listening to my body more and stopping when I’m in too much pain (guilty as charged–I run and dance when I really shouldn’t be sometimes).

yoga

yoga (Photo credit: GO INTERACTIVE WELLNESS)

On a brighter note, my Squat and Plank challenge has been going well (Check out the Facebook Group–it’s still not too late to join!) Who ever thought I could hold a minute and fifteen second long plank? Not me, that’s for sure!

I also did day 1 of my April Stretch Challenge (I picked doing yoga to generally increase my flexibility). My mild shin splints feel better and my hips feel awesome.

How are you challenging yourself this April?

Filed Under: 30 Day Stretch Challenge, Ballet, Blog, Info, Outside Class Tagged With: , , , 3 Comments
April 1, 2013

Pro Compression Sock Review + Giveaway

I love compression socks, both for recovering after ballet as well as running.

According to PRO Compression’s website, “Whether at rest, playing a round of golf or running a marathon, your PRO Compression socks are working to circulate blood back to your heart and lungs. With more efficient circulation comes less fatigue and your tired muscles are replenished with fresh oxygen and nutrients to reduce soreness and give you the extra stamina needed to exert yourself at the fullest.”

Compression socks have been great for recovering from tough calf straining ballet classes too.

I own about three other pairs of compression socks (some CW-X pink socks, a pair of grey Adidas ones, a pair of black Adidas compression sleeves). While all three of these pairs of brought me some necessary relief, I’ve had gripes with all of them. The CW-X ones slide down my leg easily and easily collect hair and dust from the floor (ick!) and the grey Adidas ones are too short (where I usually have the most shin splint pain is just below my knee). The sleeves are awesome of actually wearing to ballet (under legwarmers) but other than that they seem to be too tight for extended wear.

Cute and Compact Packaging!

Cute and Compact Packaging!

The PRO Compression socks were awesome. No sliding problems and they felt perfectly snug! Not to mention, they’re a pretty great price if you (40% and free shipping with code BLG13=30 dollars for a pair of their Marathon socks) compared to a lot of the pricier compression socks. And they come in pretty awesome colors, like bright pink.

I felt awesome Friday morning after sleeping in my PRO Compression socks after ballet.

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Pointed Ballerina feet in cute compression socks!

The only cons I found about these (although they’re my favorite pair so far) is that sometimes I suffer from a little too much compression in my knee area, but this is usually solved by pulling them down a bit (probably because I have the bad habit of pulling them up too high because I have to pull my CW-X to get them to stay up). They also seemed to make me slip in my sneakers a bit more, but that wasn’t a huge problem.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend them if you’re looking for some awesome compression socks for a good price. And if you’re interested, Adult Ballerina Project is giving away a pair of PRO Compression socks! Click to enter the giveaway through my Rafflecopter giveaway.

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PRO Compression Marathon Socks were provided by PRO Compression free of charge in exchange for a review. I was not paid for my review.  The opinions contained in this review are mine and based on my experience, and do not reflect the opinions of PRO Compression or anyone else.

Filed Under: Ballet, Etc., Info, Outside Class Tagged With: , , , , , , 17 Comments
March 27, 2013

Squat and Plank Challenge and April 30 Day Challenge

 

Through the Sweat Pink Ambassador network I found an awesome Squat and Plank challenge–which I figured would be super useful for helping to get my core muscles and my legs into better shape. It’s being run over at Live. Sweat. Sleep. Repeat. (you can find the chart on her blog!).

 

Plank on The Mat

Plank on The Mat (Photo credit: lululemon athletica)

 

It starts off fairly easy–but at the end of the 6 weeks it gets more intense (Hello 3 minute plank!). I’ll probably be adjusting to do more squats each day (say, like 3 sets of X) and cutting the plank time in half of what’s planned and doing two of them instead (I’m a wimp, okay? And planks are tough.)

 

There’s also a super awesome Facebook Support Group for it as well which I’m part of. Motivation for a workout challenge never hurts.

 

I’ll also be doing another 30 Day Challenge for ballet-related muscles (the idea sprouted from Thanks & Kittens). Like she recommended, I’d suggest working on whatever you feel you need to. Back Flexibility? Splits? Turns? Do it. I’ll be making a slight adjustment and making my goal to wake up every morning and do this runner’s yoga regime, since it will help with my hip flexibility as well as help prep me for running.

 

If you’re doing either of these challenges, let me know and if you have a blog, link me to your challenge posts! I love hearing about how everyone else is doing and we can motivate each other.

 

Filed Under: 30 Day Stretch Challenge, Blog, Etc., Info, Outside Class Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments
March 26, 2013

My First 5k and Some Shin Splint Tips

My boyfriend and I just signed up for our first 5k–well his first 5k and my first “real” 5k. I ran a Color Me Rad 5k last June which wasn’t timed and wasn’t really a 5k–it was more like 2.7 miles. We’ll be doing the Catch Karl 5k in University City on April 7th. It was a cheap 10 dollars to sign up–which was a super important reason for us since we’re broke college students. The race benefits Camp Kesem, a free week-long camp for children whose parents have or had cancer. Karl is the camp’s caterpillar mascot. It’ll be a nice easy commute via public transportation from my apartment which should make the early time we have to wake up a bit more bearable.

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From last year’s ColorMeRad Race taken by my BFF Sarah

Something I’ve had to keep in mind while training for running is shin splints. I ended up with a really bad case in late January/February from ballet and had to take some time off, so I’ve tried to be really careful as I go back to ballet and work out in other ways.

One of the best ways I’ve managed it is stretching and icing. You can find more information on some stretches  from Self Magazine. Other stretches I’ve done that have been so helpful include using my therabands to stretch my foot in a flexed position as well as the yoga position downward facing dog. These stretches will also be helpful in stretching out your calf muscles if your ballet instructor as been throwing a whole bunch of calf straining barre combinations at you like mine has been.

How do you stretch out your calf muscles and shin splints?

PS. My blog and I were featured on Fit Approach’s blog in the Ambassador Spotlight. I love being part of this program, and if your interested, they’re currently accepting applications to be a #SweatPink Ambassador.

Filed Under: Ballet, Blog, Etc., Info, Outside Class Tagged With: , , , , , , , 2 Comments
March 22, 2013

Ballet Class and Weekly Workout Roundup

MAN, my legs are sore…But in a good way.

Between elliptical training and ballet, my quads are killing me. My severe shin splints have been kept relatively under control with compression socks/compression sleeves, stretching and a little bit of ice. I tried to avoid any activity in class last night that I’ve known has aggravated my shins (ie jumping and moving quickly in and out of a releve position).

For the most part, I attempted to hang out at the middle of barre/back of the studio so that no one would have to watch/follow my clumsy self. That was, until my ballet instructor had me move to the front of the studio in the middle of our center work and to explained to everyone who probably didn’t recognize me (since I haven’t made it to a class in about two months) that I was just back from an injury.

I was relatively pain-free–except when I accidentally attempted a pas de chat when I forgot that I was supposed be taking it easy because I was excited to be in the front of studio. For the most part, muscle memory kicked in and I remembered the moves, but I did have some moments where I thought to myself “Uhhh what exactly are you trying to do there, Kristen?” as I completely messed up a combination.

Overall, I’m really happy with the way the class went.

The rest of my week was:

Monday: Job interview, so other than the mile walk to and from the train station in the cold, I didn’t exercise and came home and crashed after being up at 6:30 am.

Tuesday: My boyfriend and I decided to try the manual treadmills in our school’s fairly new gym but neither of us really cared for them (note: I’m terrified of treadmills. Someone please help me get over this fear). The ellipticals here were kind of pointless because the resistance option was broke on all of them–so we left with me only roughly getting a ten minute workout in.

Wednesday: Finally getting into the swing of things, I did 30 minutes worth of interval work on the elliptical using a Couch to 5k running plan.

Thursday: Ballet class and another easier 30 minutes on the elliptical as to try to not wear myself out.

Friday: An easy 28 minutes  on the elliptical following my schedule. I’ll be doing some foam rolling and stretching tonight to help out my legs a bit.

This weekend the plan is:

Saturday: Ballet class in the am if I feel up to it followed by taking a really easy 30 minute work out on the elliptical.

Sunday: More elliptical training, hopefully a pilates class as well.

Part of what has helped kick me back into high gear with my workout plan (and back into blogging!) has been that I recently became a Sweat Pink Ambassador. They’re an awesome community of women who run fitness blogs.

pink shoelaces

 

Plus, they sent me a bunch of pink shoelaces some of which I’ll be giving away next week!

Tell me, how do you motivate yourself to get to dance class or workout?

 

 

 

Filed Under: Ballet, Blog, Info Tagged With: , , , , , , 9 Comments