Transformation 2011 - Day 29

Today is day 29 of my 30 day transformation.  It is a flow day, so I’ll do some sort of Flow workout, which is very low intensity.  And since today is February 1 and a new month, I’ll change all of my workouts.  For the entire month of January, I’ve been using the same movements throughout.  Of course, I’ve been tweaking them in minor ways to either improve my body alignment if something didn’t feel right or to increase the sophistication if I needed more of a challenge.  This gives me a chance to get familiar  with the movements so I can really blast out some serious intensity on Intense Workout Days, and to spend my energy on Moderate Workout Days developing my skills and honing my movements throughout the month.

But then, by changing my movements up each month, I prevent myself from developing my body in any one particular shape.  Because I keep the movements changing up, I get the benefit of multiple directions of movement and different stresses placed on my body.  

It’s always interesting to notice how much my execution of the movements improves over the course of a month.  In the beginning, I’m more halting and awkward, but by the end of the month, I’m really flowing and integrated. 

I woke up today and my legs were sore.  Which was weird because I did no physical activity yesterday.  They must be still recovering from my Sunday workout.  I did a lot of activity on Sunday, including teaching a Nia class, performing in my show with a big dance number, and my intense workout. Even though I usually experience my muscle soreness the next day, it is not unheard of to experience exercise induced muscle soreness for as long as 48 hours after the activity.

The delayed onset muscle soreness is one of the main reasons for Rest & Recovery Day and the stiffness that often results from the lack of activity on R&R Day, is smoothed out during my Flow Day (today).  So, I’m right on track. 

I started off the day with a couple of eggs cooked into the last of the leftover chicken breast in peanut sauce.  That was about nine am.

Then when I got home from the Body Tuning studio, I had a salmon fillet with steamed mixed vegetables and mashed sweet potatoes.

Then, about five o’clock, I did my flow for today. It being a new month, I wanted to change up my routine, so I rolled around and moved in and out of some yoga poses and variations of poses to stretch and stimulate my body. Afterwards, I felt really good, but I wasn’t really sore or anything to start with.  

I had dinner around eight. I made some chicken breast marinated in milk and then coated with ground flax seed and sauteed in a mixture of butter and coconut oil. I served it with cauliflower and carrots sauteed in the same pan glazed with red wine, and I mixed an avocado with black beans and salsa and called it “frijole guacamole.”

About an hour before bed, I wanted a snack, so I made a plate of walnuts and goji berries and drizzled it with honey.  It was actually really good; it reminded me of a healthy version of peanut brittle.