During this pandemic, I have not used the time to start home improvement projects. My house is not spotless. I haven’t made sourdough bread. One thing I have done though is invested in my fitness education.
First I took a Stretching and Flexibility course. That was way back in April which seems like eons ago. Because I haven’t stretched anyone for months I feel like I need to retake this course to refresh my memory!
Two weeks ago I became a Qualified TRX Instructor. I really enjoyed that course and now that I’m back to work I’ve already put some of that fitness education into practice. In case you missed it, here’s how TRX Training Can Make You a Better Runner.
It's been a busy week! Getting some more Fitness Education with @rocktape plus a road trip. And I'm back to work after 3 months! #running #fitnessClick To TweetThis post contains affiliate links.
Fitness Education: FMT Mobility Specialist
On Saturday I took the FMT (Functional Movement Training) Mobility Specialist course. I learned a lot about how to use a foam roller to increase mobility, improve stability, and reduce pain. There’s a lot of new research available which was included in this course. I will, of course, share some takeaways, but right away I’ll tell you that foam rolling is not just about crushing your muscles until you can’t stand the pain.
Before the class, we received several mobility tools, including the Trigger Point Grid, MB Vibe, MB1 Massage Ball, and .the Mobipoint Massage Ball. They were included with the class. I already had several of these so be on the lookout for a giveaway soon!
The only downside to the class was that our instructor, Mitch, had all the clichéd Zoom technical difficulties that you imagine. His audio kept going in and out. The video would suddenly go down. The first half-hour of the class was spent trying to fix that, but even then he had problems throughout the day. Because of that, he needed to rush some of the portions of the class, though I felt that he covered everything fully.
Fortunately, Rock Tape, who puts on the FMT courses, offered us the opportunity to take the class over. I took them up on it mostly for the chance to review the material and reinforce my fitness education. Hopefully, Zoom will cooperate!
All of these organizations stepped up to the plate to provide great online education during this time of sheltering in place. Now, I not only have more than enough CEUs to renew my personal training certification (which isn’t due until October 2021!), I also got great deals on all of these fitness education opportunities.
Road Trip
Like pretty much everyone in the world right now, Alan and I have not traveled anywhere (beyond the grocery store) for three months. So it felt fantastic to take a little road trip last week to Lake Perris. It’s only about an hour from our home but it felt like a world away.
Alan is a triathlete but, since our public pool has been closed, he hasn’t swum since March. Finally, the Lake Perris Recreation Area opened recently so we, along with a few other triathlete friends headed here last week.
I’m not a swimmer so my plan was to take a run. Alan was a little worried about swimming in open water after not swimming for so long, but he did fine. The weather was warm and he actually was able to take off his wetsuit even though the water was still a bit chilly.
Even though Lake Perris is cooler than the desert, the late start made for a warm run. I originally planned to run eight miles but was happy to get in about 5.75. I even managed to get a little lost (which isn’t easy when you’re just running around a lake!).
After leaving Lake Perris, Alan and I met up with my niece Brynne. We hadn’t seen her for months but she is moving to Oregon in a few weeks and we needed to say goodbye. It was weird but we hung out at Starbucks (outside because they don’t have tables at this time). It was actually very nice to see Brynne, meet her new rescue dog Layla, and have the chance to say goodbye. For now. I have so many friends and relatives in Oregon right now I think I may need to take another road trip there!
Back to Work!
I’m a little nervous about this but I headed back to work last Friday. California has given the go-ahead for gyms to open as of June 12. This is our off-season but I have two clients that are still in town so I’ll be working with them three days a week for now.
When I walked in the door on Friday I had my temperature taken (94.6, giving me a few degrees to play around with 🙂 ). Staff must wear masks as do members though they can take them off while they’re exercising. Personal training clients are asked to wear masks, as mine did, but not required.
It was a little different. I needed to instruct some of the things I usually do for my clients. Like setting up the length of the TRX straps. Or helping my clients put their feet into straps on the Pilates reformer. And remembering to keep my social distance throughout the workout.
All in all, I felt comfortable and safe. It was good to see my clients and my co-workers. And it just felt great to work and move. I’ve definitely been sitting too much over the last three months!
This Week’s Workouts
We had another nice weather week. Even though we were hitting triple digits in the afternoons, the mornings were nice for the most part, in the low to mid-70s. Because I knew that I’d be taking an all-day class on Saturday, I designated this a cutback week.
Monday: Prehab Workout. Glute strengthening and core.
Tuesday: 8 miles running. TRX Workout.
Wednesday: 4 miles running.
Thursday: 5.75 miles running at Lake Perris
Friday: Rest day (first day back to work)
Saturday: 3 miles before taking my mobility class
Sunday: 4.5 miles on the trails with Alan and the dogs.
Total mileage: 25.25 (cutback week)
How was your workout week? Did you get any fitness (or other) education during the pandemic? Is your house spotless? Did you make Sourough?
Weekly Linkups
My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Inspire Me Monday with Janet
Tuesday Topics with Kim and Zenaida
The Runners’ Roundup with Rachel , Deborah, Lisa, Smitha, Jenn, and Me!
The Weekly Run Down with Deborah and Kim
The FMT Mobility Specialist course sounds interesting. I love all these massage tools! I always roll my foot on one of these balls when I’m sitting at the desk.
Nice tour to get to Lake Perris! Doing little tours like that make everything feel a little normal again.
It felt so good to get out of our little area! Usually I don’t go because there’s not a lot I can do (except run) while he’s swimming. I’m glad I did though and can’t wait to go again.
I think it’s great that you have used this time to obtain some new certifications. It’s always fun to learn new things. Your day trip looked really fun. Alan looked so happy to be in the water. Good luck at work this week! Thanks for linking up
He was so excited to get back in the water but he feels like he needs to build up some endurance in the pool. We’ll go back but it’s a long way away to go there regularly. I hope our pools open soon!
I love that you have used this time to get more fitness education! I have really used the extra time to focus more on cycling and strength training and right now I’m trying to get back to longer distance running.
On the other hand my running has gone nowhere over the last few months. 🙂
LOL about a spotless house. Hardly. Not even close. Of course I like it to be clean, but I always have so many other things I want to do — like yes, I’ve been doing some education, too.
I would love a road trip (other than to my mom). My guess is I’ll have to go off hiking somewhere by myself one of these days.
Actually going off by myself sounds pretty good. I love my husband but I need my alone time!
A nice little getaway is always a welcome reprieve 😉 My work schedule didn’t change much with all the pandemic stuff, so my house looks like it did before… definitely not spotless (as if LOL), and with oodles of stuff that needs donating. Great to have you joining us on the WRD!!
Is anyone’s actual house ever spotless? Not if you have kids or dogs, that’s for sure!
I’ve been getting most of my CMEs done during the pandemic. I need 80 per year for my license, so it’s been nice to have time to do that! I’m looking forward to learning more from you.
Your getaway looks nice! Is that lake in the desert? It looks sandy there. Like an oasis!
I’m sure it feels good to be back at work. I know I am glad to be there, if not a little nervous too.
It’s been a perfect time to get the education. All online so no travel and many great deals too. The TRX course was free, the Mobility Specialist was half price, and even the stretching course was about 40% off.
The lake is about an hour from the desert, so quite a bit cooler. It’s a state recreation area so it has all kinds of water sports, swimming, camping (which isn’t open right now) and some trails.
I haven’t done anything productive this whole time. I’ve had less time and been busier than ever I think (with no help!) but all your classes sound so intriguing. I think I would enjoy taking all of those just for fun if I had the time!
Well you have an 18 month old so that’s enough right there!
Glad you had a nice getaway!!!
I did something training before Summer School but most was just a review. I did acquire a lot of CPDU hours during remote learning since almost every Friday we had some professional development offered to us.
I am in the process of decluttering so the apartment has lots of stuff for me to get rid of. 🙂
I really do need to do some decluttering. I did it at first when we had to stay home but that got boring very quickly!
Hey you are back at work! that’s great!!
You should be ashamed you haven’t been baking sourdough bread though Deb, I’m so disappointed in you 😉
I’ve done a bit of decluttering etc, but only because we decided we are ready to buy a house together (makes sense since I only moved into Ron’s bachelor pad 15 years ago as a temporay solution haha). But other than that I’ve been working on totally different stuff. Like just trying to keep up with a schedule, get some personal stuff together and come up with a totally different plan if the marathon of Chicago doesn’t happen (which…it won’t, I’m sure).
I love that you’ve been working on training courses. I did two levels of Mobility Trainer here in NL, sounds like it could be similar to what you did! Too bad I went back to my part-time gig in January and in March I couldn’t work anymore.
Your Lake Perris trip sounds AMAZING! Where’s your niece moving? I lived in Portland for 4 years before I came to NL. Oregon is a great place 🙂
How exciting to be (finally) buying a house! Will you be staying in the same area?
Lake Perris was great. We went again today and it was actually chilly (at least for this desert rat). Overcast and about 58 degrees = perfect running weather. My niece is moving to Oregon City, which I hear is pretty close to Portland. I now officially have enough friends and relatives in Oregon that I really have to visit.