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ME Time. 4 Tips on how to create this time for busy mamas.

2/4/2021

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My ME time is uninterrupted time for myself, my mind, and my health

Before being a mama, keeping a work-life balance came easy to me. I stayed productive with work, household needs, made time for friends and family, along with time for myself - with ease.  
 
After having Baby Boy, things got tougher. I am even more busy juggling my work-life balance.  Having a tiny human attached to the hip is a beautiful thing, but also makes it challenging to do something for only myself.  My thoughts are consumed with things to better his life, to make him happy, to make sure he is feeling the love always 💕So my needs don’t cross my mind during the day, or if they do, it is quickly forgotten with this mushy mom brain I have acquired 🤦🏽‍♀️😆.
 
During his waking hours, all my attention is on Baby Web.  Trying to find the time to do anything else is tough - I will continue to try, but it is tough 😆 When he naps and is down for the night, I can focus on work or household chores -whatever the priority is.
 
I love the time I spend with Baby Boy, but let’s be real, we all need some time to ourselves, even if it’s for a moment - to meditate/to breathe/to just step away and do something we love. With being a mom I’m finding that the window of opportunity for uninterrupted time is limited and small. (At least for right now. I hear it gets better 🤞🏽😊)
 
For me, the time that I have, uninterrupted, is in the morning before my hubs has to begin work. So, the amount of time I have depends on when I wake up. And with my tiny human alarm clock, I’m guaranteed an early rise to start my day with some me time. 😂 
 
I sometimes spend it with a workout/run and a shower. Other days I may use it to catch up on some sleep and a shower. I use the time for the things that make me happy and help me function better through the day. Comment below and tell me what you enjoy doing during your alone time.
 
Whatever time is open in the day for you - make sure you take it.  Even if it’s just for a short moment. Take that time to do something for yourself, take the time to focus on your health (mental & physical), take that time to do what you need to do so you can be better, so you can feel better. LOVE AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.  ♥️ 

How can we make sure we get this time for ourselves? Here are 4 tips to having your ME time. 

  1. Talk to your spouse/partner/whoever is in your household, to help you out during this time.  Whether it’s to feed your baby milk/food, to entertain your baby, to do some of the household chores so it doesn’t take time away from your only window.  Figure out what works for you and your family, and get the assistance that you need.
  2. Make a plan.  Speak to your spouse/partner on what times will work best for you so that you are both on the same page.  This way, it becomes a part of your everyday routine to make time for yourself. 
  3. Enjoy this time for you. Don’t be afraid to put your phone on silent or turn it off.  Continue the enjoyment of being completely uninterrupted.  Focus on you and focus on what you’re doing by not feeling obligated to answer a phone call or text right away during this time. 
  4. Be productive with your active ME tasks. This is your time, so depending on what you are doing for yourself will depend on whether or not it needs to be productive. If your time is spent catching up on sleep, taking a bath, or just plain old rest - then obviously you don’t need to plan for productivity.  But, if your time is going to be spent in the gym - plan your workout ahead of time.  This will allow you to make the most out of your time, and focus on what you need.  If your time is spent in the kitchen, once again, plan your meals so you know what you need to do for food prep.  If your time is spent shopping, plan out what you need to get, and which stores you'll go to. 
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Tendinitis, you have done it again.

10/23/2014

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Oh tendinitis you have done it again. One quick, unprepared, burst of quickness, only about 10 strides in a sprint, and you have inflamed my right knee once again. You managed to hold back through 3 half marathons and the training in between the runs for the past 2 months, I guess I was due for a flare up soon.

My History

This is something that used to happen frequently with me, but now happens less often. I guess the trick for me is stretching, strengthening, and barely any sprinting. I was a sprinter in high school (200m, 400m, 4x1, 4x4), and it wasn't until my sophomore year of indoor track practice while running through the hallways of Marple Newtown that I developed this chronic injury of the patella tendon, IN BOTH KNEES- oy vey! 
I was told by my doctor to stop running, strengthen my legs, and stretch. But did I do this? Unfortunately not. I was determined to continue running, and didn't do much strength training. 

Throughout college, I turned myself into a distance runner by running 4 miles, at most 5. I was very wary about my knees and always hoped I wouldn't be in pain, limping around for 2 weeks in between my runs which happened often. I was not doing much strength training other than some squats and lunges here and there until around my senior year.

What has helped

After college, and up until now, I have been doing more strength training with my lower body. Adding weights onto my squats, working on my abductor muscles in my lower extremity,  strengthening my lower back, gluteus, hamstrings, and quads. I make sure that my lower extremity muscles are evenly worked, and focus on stretching- to keep my muscles from tightening up. 

With squats, side steps, leg abductions, side lunges, and dead lifts- I have been able to improve the strength of the muscles in my lower body. Avoiding the hard impact of sprinting and gradually increasing my distance, I have been able to build my mileage without too many problems in my knees. Making sure that I am icing after a workout, stretching to keep my muscles lose, and listening to my body during the workouts to know when my knees have had enough. 

I have been able to prolong the amount of time my joints can be work. And I am impressed and very proud of myself. With the mileage that I have ran within the past two months, I have proved to myself that as long as I maintain what I'm doing, I can run the distances I desire. 

What I’m doing now

As of right now, since this dreadful injury decided to visit, I am focusing on R.I.C.E-ing (rest.ice.compression.elevation) my knee until the swelling and minor pain has subsided and has been releaved.  I will be stretching and foam rolling- both legs, to keep my muscles from tightening, and to release the built up tension within my muscles. 

Today I took a good 30 minutes to roll out my lower extremity.
Oh the "hurt so good" foam rolling technique works wonders on breaking up the tension within the muscle fascia. My knee is feeling better already (not fully 100% but feeling more mobile then earlier.)

I rolled out my calfs, gluteus, and hamstrings by using a small ball that really located the tender sections in the muscles. 

I rolled out my quads and IT Band with the large foam roller. And, boy, did these muscles need it! When the tension was released, I felt so great.
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Running is my drug, my love, my passion

I have done a total of 4 half marathons in my lifetime (Delaware, lake placid, Newport-Liberty state park, and Staten Island) and plan to run more, and eventually a full. I will not allow my patella tendinitis get in my way. It may slow me down every now and then, but with the right precautions, I won't have too much to worry about. 

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#alwayskeepactive #motivation #fitgirlwcurls #fitfam #fitness #workout #run #ilovetorun #runner #personaltrainer

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Hydration Is Key

6/29/2014

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Staying hydrated is extremely important for your body.  
Your body is made up of 60% water. 
Water helps to regulate body temperature, transport nutrients and waste throughout the body, and it acts as a lubricant for the joints.
For exercise it is important to make sure you are hydrated before the workout, during, and after.  When exercising, your body loses water through sweating, and should be replenished after.  

How Much Water Should I Drink?                                        

We are told that we should always drink about 6-8 glasses of water a day.
  • A person should drink between .5oz - 1oz of water per pound in body weight throughout the day.  For example, for somebody who weighs 135lbs, they should drink between 67.5oz - 135oz per day to stay hydrated. 
  • Before exercise you want to drink about 15-20oz of water 2-3 hours before the workout, and 8-10oz of water 10-15 minutes before the workout.
  • During exercise, you can add water breaks every 10-15 minutes.  (If the workout is longer than 90 minutes, you should drink 8-10 oz every 15-30 minutes.)
  • After Exercise you want to drink the amount of water that has been lost. For example, if a person is 135lbs before exercising, and is now 130lbs post workout, that individual should hydrate by drinking 2.5oz - 5oz of water. 

Hydration And Exercise Performance                          

Dehydration can occur for a couple of reasons:
  • Inadequate fluid intake
  • Excessive Sweating 
  • Failure to replace fluids lost during and after exercise
  • Exercising in dry, hot weather
  • Drinking only when thirsty (Feeling Thirsty is a sign of dehydration.)

Dehydration can decrease exercise performance and can lead to:
  • Muscle cramps
  • Dizziness
  • Fatigue
  • Heat Illnesses (Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke)


Can You Drink Too Much Water?                                            

Absolutely, it is a very rare thing to happen but  too much water can be toxic to the body. It has been seen in marathon runners and military recruits.  It can occur with somebody who is not as active and drinks too much water.  

Water intoxication, also known as Hyponatremia is when you drink an excessive amount of water which causes the sodium levels in the blood to drop.  This can be fatal.

I Don’t Like The Taste Of Water, What Should I Do?                                                                                                                           

You can get some of your daily water intake from your daily fruits and vegetables.  These types of food are usually made up of water and when we eat them, we can add that to our water count for the day.

Spice up your glass!
Add some flavor to your water by adding local fruits.  Put some strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, oranges, and lemons into your water.  This will help add flavor to your bland drink while keeping it healthy. 
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    Jenna Webster, ACSM, ACE – Personal trainer specializing in empower busy women to live healthy and active lifestyles!”

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