A Week of Exercise and Saturday Fun
What a productive and almost balanced week! I kept my movement streak strong with plenty of outdoor walks, Peloton core sessions, and a great strength workout for National Weightlifting Day—though I definitely fell short on my stretching targets this week. I also had to listen to my body mid-week and change up an exercise after a little back tweak, proving once again that smart modifications pay off. Toss in a lovely visit with Foxy Loxy, a few rainy days followed by crisp fall weather, college football, and Tex-Mex with friends, and it was a wonderful week top to bottom!
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Walking: 2.02 miles
• Average pace: 20:20 minute/mile
• Surface: paved, gravel, and mulch
• Elevation gain: 98 feet
• Start time: 1:22 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails to the butcher
• Weather: 82°, cloudy, and humid
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Core: Peloton 5-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell
Short on time for a structured workout, I walked over to the butcher shop to grab chicken to grill for dinner. With my 200th consecutive day of hitting 10,000 steps on the line, I was determined to make it happen—even if it meant a little extra pacing in the kitchen while the chicken and veggies roasted! The things we do to keep a streak alive!
Monday
Walking: 3.11 miles
• Average pace: 15:29 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 124 feet
• Start time: 10:49 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 71° and cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Strength training: Peloton 45-Minute Full Body Strength: HiLit W4 D2 with Rebecca Kennedy
Strength training: 15 minutes of core and stability (crunches, oblique crunches, birddogs, Pilates swimmer, bridge pumps, dead bugs, single-leg balance on pad)
I may not have mentioned it yet, but as another small step toward retirement, I’m no longer seeing clients at the 55+ community on Mondays – so I’m down to just Wednesdays and Fridays there! Not having to rush off to the gym made for a wonderfully relaxed morning walk, during which I even spotted Foxy Loxy sitting on a neighbor’s driveway.
Tuesday
Walking: 2.94 miles (Peloton 45-Minute Hike: HiLit W4 D1 with Rebecca Kennedy)
• Average pace: 15:21 minute/mile
• Surface: treadmill
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 8:11 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 68° in the basement, 61° and raining outside
• What I wore: shorts and sports bra
With rain settled in for the day, I squeezed in my walk right after wrapping up with a virtual client. I spent the rest of the morning catching up on things around the house before braving the soppy mess outside to run afternoon errands!
Wednesday
Core: Peloton 10-Minutes Core Strength with Emma Lovewell
Strength training: 18 minutes of core and stability (crunches, oblique crunches, birddogs, Pilates swimmer, bridge pumps, dead bugs, straight-arm plank)
Walking: 3.02 miles
• Average pace: 17.01 minute/mile
• Surface: treadmill
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 3:30 PM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 67° in the basement, 62° and cloudy outside
• What I wore: shorts and sports bra
Strength training: Peloton 45-Minute Full Body Strength: HiLit W4 D4 with Rebecca Kennedy
In honor of National Weightlifting Day, I made sure to fit in another excellent Peloton strength class! My lower back had been aching and my right foot had been feeling a bit numb for a few days and I suspected it was caused by double-arm bent-over rows. To err on the side of caution, I swapped out those rows for lat pulldowns.
Additionally, even though my treadmill walk ended up being late in the afternoon, I still managed to sneak in two quick core sessions between client appointments earlier in the day.
Thursday
Core: Peloton 10-Minute Core Strength with Emma Lovewell
Walking: 4.29 miles
• Average pace: 15:22 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 218 feet
• Start time: 6:04 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 51° (feels like 45°) and cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, nylon shell, gloves, and slouch beanie
When my eyes popped open at 4:14 AM and I couldn’t drift back to sleep, I decided to just call it a night and get going! I spent a quiet early morning working on client session planning, then took a Peloton core class before heading outside for a nippy virtual walk with Kim. The one-hour time difference between us this time of year really shows in our collage photos—by the end of our walk, Kim barely gets a sunrise while I’m in full daylight!
Friday
Strength training: Peloton 45-Minute Full Body Strength: HiLit W3 D2 with Rebecca Kennedy
Strength training: 16 minutes of core and stability (bicycle crunches, crunches with feet up, Pilates swimmer, birddogs, bridge pumps, dead bugs, straight-arm plank, bear plank with opposite knee tap, single-leg balance on pad)
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
By Thursday, my back and foot were feeling completely back to normal! Still, suspecting those bent-over rows were the original culprit, I decided to play it safe and swap them out for seated rows during my workout. I wrapped up with a few of my favorite core and stability exercises, then headed over to the 55+ community later in the morning to teach my balance and stretching class.
Saturday
Walking: 3.1 miles
• Average pace: 14:47 minute/mile
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 128 feet
• Start time: 9:02 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 61°, mostly sunny, and windy, climbing to 66°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, nylon shell, slouch beanie, and gloves (took jacket, hat, and gloves off after first mile)
Stretch: Peloton 10-Minute Full Body Stretch with Joslyn Thompson Rule
I completely overdressed for my morning walk thinking the windchill would be an issue, but after the first mile, I shed my outer layers and enjoyed a super comfortable stroll! The rest of the day was pure Saturday perfection: watching college football and enjoying a fun dinner out at our favorite Tex-Mex spot with friends.
Garmin Badges Earned
Two Garmin badges made their way to me this week…
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
Questions:
- • What did you do to celebrate National Weightlifting Day? ~ I took a tough Peloton HiLit strength class.
- • How often do you incorporate strength work into your weekly routine? ~ three times a week
- • How was your week in fitness? ~ very good
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
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Oh, that’s a great photo of Foxy Loxy!! What a great surprise on your morning walk!
Speaking of walking, congrats on reaching 200 consecutive days of 10,000 steps!! That’s amazing consistency.
I’m glad the back and foot sorted themselves out quickly – it’s always good when a niggle disappears so quickly!
Foxy Loxy looked as if she were posing for me! 🙂
And thanks, I was thrilled, too. I was already thinking ahead to having to to start physical therapy – I hate it when my brain goes there…
I have never heard of National Weight Lifting Day–and I ran on Wednesday, but I did get 2 days of strength work in last week.
I saw a fox on my way to work a couple of weeks ago–he was sitting in a field watching a gaggle of geese. I wish I could have stuck around to see what he was up to!
Glad your back and foot felt better as the week went on.
At the beginning of either this year or last year I wrote a blog post where I listed all of the national days that reference fitness and put them on my calendar so I’d remember them. I knew if I didn’t, I’d forget 99% of them.
I suspect we both know what that fox watching the geese was “up to.” The real question is, “Was he successful?” 😉
Well, I didn’t even hear about weightlifting day, but I did do a strength workout.
As much as I take core classes I feel like my core is too weak for heavy double bent over rows because I do feel it in my back. I usually drop to lighter weights, but doing unilateral rows is another option that doesn’t bother my back.
I put National Weightlifting Day on my calendar after writing a blog post earlier this year (or last) listing all of the fitness related national days; otherwise, I’m sure I would have forgotten it. I’m surprised/disappointed Garmin didn’t award a badge since they do for Global Running Day. Maybe it’s just better advertised.
I have a bulging disc that gets very angry when I do bent-over exercises despite the amount of time I spend doing core work. I would have done single-arm rows, but didn’t have enough time within the class’s time limits. I’m happy to have other options that work the same muscle groups.
I did not realize it was weightlifting day but I sure honored that this week too. Looks like a nice balanced week for you with lots of core and strength. This is my perfect walking weather (minus the rain!). Have a great week ahead!
I had National Weightlifting Day on my calendar after writing a blog post listing all of the fitness related “national days” either early January 2026 or 2025; otherwise, I would have completely forgotten it. Your strength training is going great and I’m loving seeing your strength gains (as well as my own)! You know I’m loving the Peloton HiLit workouts.
Glad your back is feeling better! It’s nice when you can figure out what caused it and switch things up like that. I was oblivious to National Weightlifting Day (I never know what’s going on) but I did do a short lower body session that day.
Wow- Foxy Lady is beautiful!!!
Congrats on your step streak!
Thanks, Jenny! I was nervous about my back for a few days, but things seem fine now.
The only way I knew about National Weightlifting Day was because I’d done a search and blog post on all of the fitness related “national days” either earlier this year or last and then put those dates on my calendar. If I hadn’t added it my calendar, I would have forgotten it! 😉
National weightlifting day! I have no clue about those days but that one shouldn’t have passed me by! Well, I was in the gym that day so at least I celebrated it as I should.
I’m glad your back settled back down again! There are so many variations of back exercises so there’s always something to substitute with.
Foxy Loxy looks very comfortable sitting there in front of you! I thought they were shy animals.
Just for fun, I should have made a big deal out of National Weightlifting Day with my clients, but didn’t really think about doing that. Oh well, maybe next year!
I think Foxy Loxy has grown a bit too comfortable around humans…
Woot! I did participate in National Weightlifting Day (though I didn’t realize it at the time, LOL)…a tough upper-body session! Last weekend, I did extra trips up & down the stairway to get over 10K 🙂
I didn’t even think to text you to tell you about National Weightlifting Day. Glad you had it covered!
LOL on running laps on the stairs to get in your steps. 😀
Yay on the step closer to retirement! I love that wink from the Foxy Loxy. Do you see the fox often? We have a friendly cat that roams our neighborhood. Not quite as exciting as a fox!
College football and Tex-Mex does sound like an ideal Saturday!
Isn’t that wink cute! We see the fox almost every morning, often walking across our deck. This morning we watched him/her chase a squirrel up a tree. I was cheering for the fox, but the squirrel was too fast.