We all see them right before we head to the check out at the supermarket. They're chilling right beside the tic-tacs and the mint gum we really don't need but suddenly get reminded of their existence when we're ready to pay.

I used to be the type of person who flipped through magazines while I waited for the person in front of me to finish ringing up their order and paying. This goes towards any magazine. Fast forward to present day - I don't really even flip through them anymore. Majority of them are just rumors and you know, actual fake news just to get you to pick up the magazine.



Back to Fitness Magazines. For the most part, majority of the models on the cover are always posed in a sports bra and shorts or perhaps a tank top and shorts. Recently, I came across an athlete* on Instagram essentially talking down on what the women on the magazines were wearing.
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The athlete I am discussing is not an Olympian - just thought to throw in that disclaimer.
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What a woman wears to workout is no ones business but her own. Majority of women on fitness magazines are dressed like that; sure some representation of what other women are wearing would be nice but that doesn't hide away from the fact that there is a good amount of women that dress like that when exercising. Just because it's not your reality that doesn't mean it isn't hers. As long as she's comfortable in what she's wearing, that's all that matters.



There are people that like to wear loose clothing and that's cool too. Everyone has their own standards and often - I think perhaps we all do it in our minds? - we look at fitness magazines and hold what the models are wearing to our own standards.

I'm all about representation. This year there was the first hijab-wearing athlete on the cover of Women's Running magazine - and it was awesome to see someone who sort of dressed like me on the cover of a sports magazine. 
me making sure me & balance are best friends for the .3 seconds it took to take this photo

The point I'm trying to make here is this: Someone may exercise in a completely different outfit than you. There are people who prefer loose clothing. There are people who prefer clothes that stick to them. There are people who wear less clothing than you while working out. Women from either sides do not have the right to police what the other is wearing. Just like what you're wearing is your reality, what they're wearing is theirs. 

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P.S. if you see any of your idols,  favorite athletes, influencers (anyone you look up to etc.) talking down on what other people are wearing I'd like to advise you to reconsider following them on your social media. At the end of the day you have to ask yourself- would I ever be friends with someone who shamed what other women are wearing just because it's not their standard of workout (or any) clothing?

PPS. this was actually just going to be a twitter thread but then I ended up typing here. (Well, before tweeting I was ranting in my notes and then realized WOW THAT'S A LOT OF WORDS I HAVE TO SAY ON THIS.)

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I like to say I'm surprised I didn't complete the full 2 months of the Nike Training Schedule - but then again have I met myself? The first three weeks were amazing  - it challenged me on speed during 400M sprints and on endurance when the schedule had me run 2-3 miles. Though, here's the thing: The workouts followed a repetitive schedule of it's own.

There was a long run, speed workout sprinkled in somewhere during the week, and a cardio workout thrown in to make things interesting. In the beginning, it worked well for me because I wasn't used to any schedule - just ran everyday the same/similar distance. As I got to the third week, I sort of got bored of doing some variation of speed workouts, long runs and cardio. My body was used to keeping endurance for 2 miles, it grew comfortable with the sprints and the cardio workouts chosen weren't that much of a challenge anymore.

The app does move you up in terms of miles each week but finding motivation to continue with some variation of the three workouts soon became difficult. Yes, adding miles to get used to is amazing, but it's repetitiveness of the same thing every week (the only difference was the increase in miles) - it just got boring. (This might also have to do with running the same path on the sidewalk everyday.) It all comes down to motivation - this training schedule didn't really motivate me to continue.

Since the training plan didn't progress with me, I decided to make my own training schedule. Yes, I did this before I signed up for the Nike Training Schedule and found myself also lacking motivation - but I think this time it'll be different. Having the right training schedule keeps you motivated to continue.

What is a right training schedule?
Well, it depends on the person. For me - this month- it's switching around everything every 2 weeks.
(I'll let you know how that goes next month)

I learned I cannot do the same thing every week. If you workout as well, hi you should not be doing the same thing everyday.

Let me put it this way:

Every bone in your body, every muscle, is connected from one to the other, right?

If you do thigh workouts but not calves, your thighs are strong but your calves are weak. The point of working out is to workout your entire body not just one part. Every muscle should have it's time to shine as the focus of your workout.

The only way your body is going to feel strong is if you workout every part.

This is what I've learned since deciding to drift away from the Nike Training Schedule:
‣ Focus on different things each day and have variation
‣ Find a game to play while you're running to keep things interesting 
(I've stopped listening to music on my runs - which means my form is perfect but I find I am getting slower due to not listening to music.)
‣ After 2 weeks - change the entire training schedule (which I'm testing out making my own) to continue to challenge yourself & motivate you to continue.

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What Exercises Am I Doing Now

I've been doing the Body Love With Lucy Challenge for the month of July

 DAY 1: HOME HIIT WORKOUT - 10 MINUTES - FULL BODY WORKOUT HIIT CARDIO (suitable for every fitness level)

One thing I love is that there is a beginners version of the exercise and an advanced on the right. Another thing is how motivational she is in the audio and how body positive the whole challenge is - if you're new to exercise I'd definitely recommend it!

If you give the workouts a try - let me know what you think!

Each day she focuses on a different part of the body which keeps things interesting!


In terms of Exercising Before & After a Run

These are the same as my previous fitness post 

Before Run:
(Personally only use the ones before running)

After Run:

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I am trying to decide if I should write down my average pacing for the month - would that be something helpful to see or motivating to see progress (if there is any) ?

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Missed a previous fitness type post?
Here's the one prior to this -> Motivation




Towards the end of June, I saw that Amber from Barefoot Blonde was doing a gallon of water a day challenge. This had me thinking - how much water do I actually drink in a day?

Well, sometimes I find myself forgetting to drink water and if I do drink water it's only a small cup every few hours. When I go running, I don't really drink water like a mid-break-type-of-thing. This is because:

A. I don't feel like carrying a water bottle in my hand.

B. Taking a string backpack to put only a water bottle in - having it bounce on my back the whole time - doesn't really spell out a nice comfortable run.

Solution?

Drink water before and after a run (though, I do have to admit, sometimes mid-way through my run I do get thirsty and want water to hydrate).

I have seen the I AM RUN BOX backpack and it's made specifically with athletes in mind - doesn't bounce while running- however I think it's a bit too big to just put a single water bottle inside. 

Technically speaking if I exercise a lot, shouldn't that mean I drink more water? Well, that's how it's supposed to be.

You're losing a lot of sweat = you start to get dehydrated = your body is begging you to drink water. 

The only days where I find myself drinking a lot of water is during strength training - those days are intense and if I don't have water I might as well not workout at all.

According to WEB MD it says that a person should be drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water. (Would you believe me if I told you when I first read that, I thought it said to drink 8 ounces of water then had to re-read it.) If you exercise you should be drinking more water to keep yourself even more hydrated because you're sweating so much. You have to drink water to make up for the water your body is losing via sweat.
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WEB MD IS COMING THROUGH WITH THE INFORMATION TODAY:

On the second page it details a schedule go when to drink water before/during/hours leading up to a workout.

If you decide not to read it that's cool too; here's a quote from it:
"I tell all of our young athletes this: you can improve your performance simply by drinking enough water."

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So I decided why not set myself a challenge to drink at least one water bottle a day for July because really I need to start drinking more water, 3 cups a day isn't enough.

According to WEB MD I should be drinking 64 ounces of water. A water bottle is 16.9 ounces. OK THAT IS VERY FAR OFF HOWEVER IT'S BETTER TO START SMALL AND THEN MOVE UP TO 64 OUNCES.

Currently - as of the 4th of July - I've been drinking at least 1 bottle a day & occasionally drink 2 bottles if I'm doing HIIT workouts.

Anyone else forget to drink a lot of water?

Drink water = you won't feel dehydrated & you'll feel more energized

If you drink water bottles regularly, that's awesome keep doing that, your body is thanking you for drinking water! If you don't drink water, and tend to drink sugary drinks, maybe think of joining this challenge with me?