I work OUT!

So originally when I started this blog I just wanted it to be about me and my life. My husband was gone working as a general manager for a restaurant, and as we all know that means 80 hour work weeks. I was home alone with the dogs A LOT. So I thought it'd be more of a journal.

Over the past couple of months it's merged into somewhat of a blog about my business .sprouts. I design and create metal work jewelry all by hand. It's a fantastic job and I couldn't ask for more. My lovely followers have made it lucrative enough for me to quit my day job and do what I love full time out of my own home! It's incredible.

Then my love for design and fashion came into play and my husband (who no longer is a general manager, thank God) began taking pictures of me in fun colorful outfits. My friends urged me to begin incorporating fashion into my blog.

AND NOW . . . I've always been into health and fitness. My husband and I try to grow our own vegetables in the garden of our backyard every summer, eat off the land. We're pretty much down to chicken and fish, veggies, rices and beans. We're not big bread eaters or dairy eaters since I'm lactose intolerant. I've always been a runner. For the past three years I've ran the 25K Grand Rapids River Bank Run (that's 16 miles for those who aren't into Kilometers). It's the largest one in the USA marking at over 20,000 runners. It's an incredible feeling to run with that much energy around you! And to see others help one another across the finish line. Last year I saw a veteran run the entire race with a United States flag, talk about some pride in your country! It's absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever been a part of. Well, this year I'm upping my training to include more weight lifting in addition to my cardio routine.

 ROUTINE:

-10 minutes of cardio (2 minutes fast paced - not much resistance + 2 minutes of huge resistance x repeat for ten minutes)
-Back and Stomach exercises (core techniques)
-10 minutes of cardio as above (if running I run on 5.8 for 2 minutes and then 7.5 for two minutes x repeat for ten minutes)
-Leg and Arm exercises (limbs)
-10 minutes of cardio
- Back and Stomach exercises
-10 minutes of cardio
-Leg and Arm exercises

This routine takes me about an hour and a half to do. But it's working! The picture of me on the beach was just in December. I was running a month before that. And I've run a little since then, but tore a muscle in late December and was off of my leg until February. I incorporated running/elliptical loosely to about 3 days a week to build my leg back up.

Then for the past two weeks I've been running 4-5 times a week, and the past week changing it up to the routine above. It's been so encouraging so far so I thought I'd share. I didn't read this plan out of a magazine or anything, I just took the bits I know about exercise and made my own routine.