Yoga Fixed My Shoulders

Date: September 4, 2015

Author: astottler

Phew. Yesterday was quite the day!

I started my morning teaching a 7am spin class on campus, which was awesome. I didn’t think we’d get a big turn out because it wasn’t that well advertised and it was early, but I got a good group out, including a friend!

Then, I had a weight lifting session with my trainer. I tried to move it to not the morning I had to teach, but that didn’t work out so I had to suck it up and go in with less than fresh legs. We worked on cleans, back squats, and jerks. I PRed my clean again at 148#! That’s a 8# increase this summer, so I’ll take it! Sometimes being a little tired helps things-I don’t overthink the lift, plus I was super warmed up! I also hit 95% of my back squat max for 2 reps. This is especially good because my max is a year old, and I maxed out at my 95% when I tested it back in the spring.

As for the jerks, we didn’t go super heavy but they felt better than expected. Over the last year or so, I’ve developed very creaky shoulders, especially when I go overhead with the bar. I basically have not been able to go overhead more than once a week without stiff shoulders and pain when I press up. Earlier this week at Crossfit, we did a ton of push presses and high volume overhead work. But, the jerks yesterday felt fine! It was a night and day difference. So what changed? I started yoga about 6 years ago to help with flexibly (because I have none). I honestly think yoga was key for helping me stay injury free in my many years of softball. (I was a pitcher and never had any shoulder/arm trouble which is rare for someone doing it for 10 years!) In the past year, yoga has kind of fallen by the wayside. Last month, I finally started making it to class again, and I’ve noticed my shoulders getting stronger and looser. I felt a drastic difference from just last week’s class to this week’s class when doing low push ups-my shoulders felt strong and were losing their creak. Plus, this week I walked out of class with much less foot pain because I spent 60 minutes stretching out my tight calves. Needless to say I will be making yoga a regular thing again if possible!

After my training session, I met my sister for coffee at Bliss in Redwood City for any locals.

Of course, I got a cappuccino and it was fantastic. It was a light roast, and had premium quality milk foam (which is clearly what matters, if you ask me!)

After coffee, we headed home for lunch. I made myself a salad with truffle goat cheese (because we didn’t have any regular goat cheese), dates, a nectarine, and deli turkey.

Sweet potato seed crackers were on the side.

I spent the afternoon resting, and then apparently going on a baking frenzy.

It’s 4 days into September and I’ve already make 3 loaves of pumpkin bread and a loaf of sweet potato bread. Besides the pumpkin bread, I did lots of experimenting and improvising.

For the pumpkin bread, I baked some Noosa honey yogurt into the center for something fun.

If you take one look at my recipe page, you’ll see that most of what is up there is quick breads and salads. Those are my two claims to fame. I’ve gotten very good and making up recipes for healthy quick breads. I have one base recipe that I use, and I have yet to screw it up, surprisingly, despite how many modifications I’ve tried. (That’s actually not true-the one thing that didn’t work was coconut flour banana bread. Apparently bananas and coconut flour are not good together. It was gross.) I’ve even started making it with gluten free flour, and you would really never know. At this point, nothing contains more than 1/4 cup of sweetener, but you’d never know. Even my sister approved, and she is wary of anything “healthy.”

When the sweet potato bread came out, I decided I am a freaking genius. It was on point.

My third loaf was a total experiment, and I was running out of flour so I had to really improvise. The bread? Awesome. Exactly what I was looking for. The appearance? Uhhhh.

The batter was completely gray-this picture doesn’t do it justice. Anyone want to guess the secret ingredient that reacts to turn this color? I’m guessing it reacts to baking soda/powder. Because of the appearance, I’m not 100% sure I’ll share the recipe. Plus, it still needs tweaking because I think if I had more flour and didn’t have to improvise quite so much it would be better!

As for the sweet potato recipe, it’s coming this weekend-I promise!

That evening, I went to run club at Crossfit. My legs were not really up for it, but I’ve been wanting to go for a long time now and this was the only week I could really make it. Since everything is based on paces, I had to do a timed mile. Blech. I clocked in around 8:10, and with tired legs, I’ll take it. I should probably actually do a timed mile sometime with fresh legs! Back in the glory days, in another life I was actually reptty fast. I think my all time best mile is 6:53, but that’s not happening any time soon! Overall, between warm up and cool down, I covered 3 miles which is exactly what was on my half training plan for the day.

Dinner was another basic one. Stir fry veggies and cheesy polenta. The cheesy polenta was just cooked polenta with smoked gouda stirred in, and it was delicious!

I hope everyone has a fabulous labor day weekend. I’m on puppy duty full time, so I’m trying to think of things to do with her! And check back for that recipe this weekend!

What are your weekend plans?

Exercising Now and Future Plans

Date: June 19, 2014

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Guess what? I’m T-1 day from flying across the country for my internship! WOO! Packing still needs to happen, but future (well, near future) problems, right?

Since I have very few food pictures, I thought I’d spend some time talking about exercise from this past week, as well as injuries and some plans for my exercise when I’m in DC!

Monday-Nike Training Club 30 minute workout with one of my best friends. This one never fails to kill me, but at least I wasn’t too sore after this time!

In the evening, I had my last softball game (since I’m leavening) with my Monday night slow pitch team! We had an awesome game, and my bat was finally alive again! Afterwards, we went out to celebrate, and it was such a great time. My teammates are so much fun!

Tuesday-I had planned to go for a morning run but ran out of time since we were going up to the city. I went to evening Crossfit which was sort of killer. I PRed my overhead squats by 5 lbs, and the WOD was a little too close to 14.5 for my liking! It was a 10 minute AMRAP of 3 thrusters at 65 lbs, 3 over the bar burpees, then 6 and 6, then 9 and 9, and so on. Definitely a rough but good workout!

Wednesday- I got my butt out of bed at the crack of dawn for a spin class with one of my favorite teachers. Since I don’t have a gym membership, I was able to get a guest pass. Such a fun class! Afterwards, I went back to one of my favorite summer running places for a short 2 miles, 80% for picture purposes.

Remember last time I ran there last summer where I almost got attacked by geese? I was grateful to not run into any this time!

Wednesday night, I had a softball game. I did quite a bit of base running, and played shortstop a bit which was fun (I’m normally an outfielder). Unfortunately, I took a particularly ugly swing while at bat and managed to sprain my hand. It feels a little better today, but I’m glad I have some time to rest it before I have to swing a bat again!

Also on the injury front-I went to a different foot doctor today and it seems that I have plantar fasciitis, not tendonitis. Or potentially tendonitis as a result of compensating for my foot pain. Apparently it’s because my calves are super tight and don’t have very good range of motion. The doctor wanted me to do physical therapy, but seeing as I’m leaving TOMORROW I got some stretches to do on my own to try and loosen it up. I also got some more supportive and comfortable work shoes, so hopefully that helps!

In terms of future exercise, the plan is Crossfit tonight, hand permitting. I may go again tomorrow morning, or do a run, before my flight. Saturday I’m planning on visiting my new Crossfit in DC. They seem really nice, and were named the best box in DC last year, so I’m hopeful I’ll love it! Sunday, I want to do a run to explore my new area a bit.

In terms of my general workout schedule, I think I’m going to need to run in the mornings…early….to beat the heat and since I’ll just never get it done after work. I will definitely not be doing this for probably the first week or so because time changes are rough-I don’t need to be waking up at 2:30 CA time to run before work…

Crossfit will happen after work, since I don’t have time in the mornings and since it’s right by my Metro stop coming home. I may try to do some spin or yoga classes at the gym attached to my Crossfit. I’m also eager to try some new (especially budget friendly) workout options, such as November Project (since it’s pretty close to where I’m living). I’m really excited to explore DC on foot, although I know the heat is going to be killer!

Any must see DC things?

The Best, Ugliest Green Smoothie Ever

Date: May 15, 2014

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Today was another warm one here on the West Coast! For most of the day, the heat really didn’t bother me. But now…

Let’s start from the top. I’m being a good person and going to yoga again! I went again this morning after spin (spin is necessary prior to morning yoga or else I’m insanely stiff). I can already feel myself loosening up, thank goodness! My hips were super tight, so we focused on those today. I was the only one in the class-surprise, surprise, 8am fitness classes aren’t super popular with college students. It is really nice to have the personal attention! I want to go to that class as much as possible-I think it’s really going to help my tendonitis.

I was glad I snacked on a granola bar (KIND great grains) before my workout because I was pretty hungry by the end!

For breakfast, I finished up the last of my berries with plain greek yogurt and sunflower seed butter, plus a mango and another granola bar on the side.

I only had one class today, but I had a busy afternoon! Lunch was a quick one-scrambled eggs with manchego and a sour grapefruit!

After lunch, I ran out to embark on the first of many errands. Stop 1-a party store for a tutu for Bay to Breakers on Sunday! I also got some fun socks and face paint! I’m ready! (minus the whole distance running thing. Ehh race clothing is clearly more important.)

From there, I went straight to the allergist. At my last appointment, they tested for food allergies. This time, they tested environmental allergies. The verdict? Welp, I’m allergic to basically everything. Severe to pretty much all the trees and pollen they tested for, as well as pretty severe for dogs, somewhat for cats, and super strong for dust mites. Sooo there’s that. There’s not a lot I can do about it for now, but most of the time I don’t have terrible reactions to things and it’s ok. But let’s just say they had to give me allergy medication after doing the dest because my skin was reacting so severely!

After the appointment, I raced back to school for softball practice. There wasn’t a huge turnout, but I got to play catch and shake out my arm, which was nice. We ended in time for me to rush to the earlier Crossfit for a strength day (no WOD). One of the movements we did was weighted planks-doing a plank with a weight plate on your back. I absolutely love this. I used to do them with my trainer way back then, and I loved them so much I did them on my own a lot. Well, my core strength is about half of what it once was! Hah!

I ended up missing dining because there was a special dinner thing going on that ended earlier, so I went to Whole Foods. I’m trying to be more frugal, and I walked out of Whole Foods carrying all my groceries in one hand!

Somewhere between finishing Crossfit and eating dinner, I got pretty dehydrated. I didn’t go back to my room at all in the 8 hours or so I was gone, so I ran out of water at the end of my workout. I figured it wasn’t a huge deal, but by the time I was walking around Whole Foods, I was deliriously thirsty so I grabbed everything as fast as possible! I got a green smoothie-technically. They were out of mango, so I substituted blueberries, turning my smoothie a lovely shade of brown. I seriously could not have cared less how it looked. Or how it tasted for that matter-as long as it was cold and liquid, it was the best thing in the world. I CHUGGED that smoothie!

On the side, I has cornbread and tortilla soup.

Other eats from the evening: a date with unsweetened chocolate, and some of my beloved goat Brie.

I’m still feeling sort of tired/thirsty/out of it-it’s so hard to cool down! I’ve been chugging water all evening, so hopefully I’ll perk up!

What’s your favorite cheese?

Mother’s Day Fun and Fun-Fun

Date: May 12, 2014

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

I know I’m a day late on the whole Mother’s Day recap-but of course thanks to my amazing mother for being, well, amazing!

On Mother’s Day, I didn’t actually see my mom until dinner. I did have a super fun morning though! My home Crossfit has been organizing Sunday runs, and when they go to one of my favorite places to run, I really can’t pass it up. I’ve never been to this trail before, but it was awesome. It’s paved, with beautiful views. It’s also long enough for me-6 miles each way! And it would be impossible to make a wrong turn…

It was also really fun to run with people-something I hardly ever do! We chatted the whole time, and I probably went a bit faster than I would have otherwise, although it was still a comfortable pace. I did 5 miles.

I haven’t done much (read: any) distance running, and I’m doing Bay to Breakers next weekend, which is 7-8 miles. Bay to Breakers is going to be crazy. If you aren’t familiar with this race…well, I’ll take lots of pictures. Although I doubt they will all be appropriate for the Internet…To give you a sense-the race packet instructions for the bib said “Place bib on your shirt. If you are not wearing a shirt, place it on the from of your shorts.” Yeahhh.

After my run, I returned to campus for brunch, in the form of a veggie panini, eggs, and fruit. The panini was a bit plain/sparsely filled, so I ended up putting the eggs inside and eating it as a breakfast sandwich-so good!

I spent the afternoon doing things not worth mentioning-although I did order new Crossfit shoes, which I’m excited about! The soles of my old ones are getting pretty bare!

That evening, I drove to my hometown (that’s 3 trips this weekend, if you’re keeping track) for dinner at a nice restaurant. Being the total foodie that I am, and totally failing blogger, I of course have food pictures, but no people pictures, or any of the picture frames (with pictures) I gave my mom. Typical.

For my meal, I had red snapper over garlic mashed potatoes and spinach. I realized that although I’ve had this dish many times in the past, I’ve never actually had it at the restaurant-we’ve done take out from there mostly recently! I also had a side of brussels sprouts.

It was a fun night!

I have more excitement to share with you guys today. I played softball! And IT WAS AWESOME. And I again have meaning in my life. I haven’t actually touched a ball since the end of summer season, but at this point in my life it’s instinct. I only got a couple of hits, and my timing is still a bit off at the plate (instinct is fast pitch and this is slow pitch!), but it was just fabulous. Another thing that surprised me was how strong I was. I was not expecting to feel like that. I mean, I was in the worst shape of my life at the beginning of last summer (thanks mono), but it was incredible! Even more shocking, I felt very quick and fast. I had so much energy and was just bouncing around. It was great. I need to study super hard for my Bio midterm next Monday because the test is 7-9 and the game is at 8:50…clearly, priorities! Now, I’m super motivated to find a softball league this summer in DC. Plus, it’s a great way to meet people.

I have to say, I’m so happy with everything right now. I have just had a great couple of days-seeing family, Crossfit friends, running with people, SOFTBALL…so much love!

Do you like running solo or with people?

WIAW-Dessertless

Date: August 13, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Happy Wednesday! That means, it’s time for another edition of What I Ate Wednesday. Thanks so much to Jenn (who is welcoming a new little human to the world pretty soon!)

I’ll make this post pretty short-I need to study for tomorrow’s Psych final! But all you really care about is food anyways, right??

One quick aside-I went to yoga today. Owwww. I haven’t been in over a month and I’ve gotten soooo tight! Lack of yoga could definitely contributed to my calf problem-it felt much looser after class. I need to make weekly yoga a priority as I train for my next run! And just to clarify-I’m only doing the half of the Nike Women’s marathon. To be honest, my feet couldn’t handle more than that. Exhibit A: It’s a week and a half since my last half and I’m still waiting to regain some of the feeling in my toe. So until I get that figured out….

Ok, onto the food. As you may know, I’m doing a no sugar challenge this week. I’m not doing 0 sugar, just no desserts. So a lot of my eats will feature healthier, no sugar “desserts.” Enjoy!

Breakfast burrito pre-roll. Tip: make the eggs for this in the microwave. It saves dishes and time-the texture is only a tiny bit off and you can’t even tell in burrito form.

Breakfast burrito post-roll.

Lunch sides require their own plate.

Tortilla pizza fail-I sort of overestimated the amount of toppings necessary. This was all cheese and sauce. Whoops…First “dessert.” I’ve been loving my fruit bowls lately-especially anything with peaches and banana, topped with sunflower seed butter. Indian food out of a pouch-hey, good enough for me!

Imitation coconut Chobani. I can’t find anything but the coconut flips, so I took matters into my own hands. After attempt #1, this was spot on. I used Oikos vanilla greek yogurt, which was a better choice because it’s slightly sweeter than my normal vanilla yogurts. I added unsweetened coconut and, this was the key I was missing, coconut extract. I then let it sit overnight so the coconut would soften up. DELICIOUS.

I’ve been loving my lunch plates lately. Where’s the other half of the English muffin you ask? I had the biggest fail splitting it, so it came off in chunks unfit for the toaster.

I took it as a great sign that I was craving grapes for dessert after this meal. I’ve also been loving my dried mango lately (the unsweetened kind). But that could just be major mango withdrawals-I haven’t found much fresh mango lately.

Cheesy polenta with mushrooms, a side of asparagus.

Another delicious fruit bowl as a post-softball snack. (I finally hit a homerun!)

Imitation PB&J crackers. Sunflower seed butter and a raspberry on top of a whole grain and seed cracker.

And I’ll leave you with this 🙂 How can I possibly study with that face to distract me?

Sorry for the short-winded post, I have lots of studying in my near future!

What’s the best thing that happened to you this week? What does your cat look like? Have you ever gone dessertless? Results?