April 24, 2014

Why I love Compression Gear: Zensah Socks and Sleeves

I love my compression socks, sleeves (and leggings too!). I have about six different pairs of compression socks and three different pairs of compression sleeves.  By far, the best pair of socks I have are the Zensah compression socks that I won in a #runchat tweet chat a few months ago. I recently bought a pair of Zensah sleeves that I love, too.

Why does compression gear work? Zensah’s got a great blog post on it, but here are some main points:

  •  Compression improves circulation and oxygenated blood flow to improve performance and enhance recovery.
  • Improved circulation reduces the buildup of lactic acid
  • Enhance athlete’s warm-up by increasing the temperature of the skin and the muscle
  • Provide an extra support to stabilize the muscle tissue, reducing inflammation and micro trauma

I mostly wear socks for recovery, but I’ll use my Zensah sleeves during ballet and sometimes while running.

zensah_socks

Chilling in my Zensah socks in my messy room

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April 23, 2014

Ballet Class Recap and General Updates

Since I haven’t posted since last week, I fee like I kind of fell off the face of the earth with this blog–even if it really hasn’t been that long.

I spent most of my weekend (starting on Wednesday, since I worked three days in a row last week) with my family and struggled to get even my homework done for the Coursera Python course HQ and I are taking. I also got in a few runs while at home since there is a nice running trail there. My legs seem to be doing super well, and I’m currently looking for a cheap-ish 5k in May/June to run.

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April 15, 2014

Re-vamping My At Home Workout List + Shin Splint Rehab

I’ve decided to come up with a new at-home workout list, aka my at-home “physical therapy list.”

I’ve mentioned me attempting to do this before (about a month ago), and it pretty much was a failure. I know, I know, I should remember to do these exercises. My my leg was feeling great and I was doing really well, and then after ramping up how many ballet classes I’m doing and my running  workouts–it started to ache a lot again. I had also started to slack a little bit with icing my leg, which I imagine wasn’t helping matters. Fortunately, I’ve done a pretty good job at remembering to drink enough water with a few exceptions.

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April 14, 2014

Refueling Before, During and After Workout Tips!

My local dance studio recently ran an article about how to fuel, before, during and after dance workouts, Eat While You Workout?

The article has great tips such as making sure you aren’t running on empty when you show up to class–I’ll admit, I’m  guilty of this a lot of time. To prevent this,   munch on some fruit, an apple, a granola bar, or even some gels or gummies like many of us use for running (I love Clif Shot Bloks)!  You should also consider eating during (again, the gels or shot bloks are great for this) if you’re taking classes back to back. As always, make sure you refuel afterwards, too. And don’t forget to hydrate!

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April 9, 2014

I’m Looking Forward to Trying X2 Performance #TeamX2

Disclaimer: I’m a #TeamX2 blogger and excited to work with X2 Performance in a paid campaign to help me achieve my fitness goals. All opinions are my own.. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.

I recently became an X2 Performance Brand ambassador and I’m excited to share with my readers and fellow #Teamx2 bloggers my experiences with the product. While a lot of the other bloggers are runners, cross-fitters and triathalon runners, I think being both a ballet dancer and a runner makes me kind of unique. Although some people may see ballet as not as intense as some of these, it definitely can be. Add in the occasional run, and I’m a super active person throughout the week.

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Filed Under: Ballet, Blog, Info, Outside Class, Reviews, Running Tagged With: , , 7 Comments