JenFightsBack

Hi! I'm Jen, 32, happily married, trying to take my health back after years of ignoring it.

[jenfightsback]

Put the kids to bed early and it was beautiful outside so I decided to go for a run. I ran for 20 minutes and 1.5 miles straight!! It’s been about 9 years since I’ve been able to do that. Then I walked for another 20 minutes/1 mile. Originally I was going to start running again but it was so nice outside and I was enjoying walking so I kept going. Then I was at 2.5 miles and it was super close to a 5K so I ran to finish the full 5K! Again, first time I’ve done that full distance in 9 years!

Here’s a before, during, and after my run.

[jenfightsback]

Last night’s workout. I’ve really been liking doing heavy farmers walks- makes me feel like super capable. Also split squats are so much more doable (less horrendous) with a smith machine!

[jenfightsback]

I’m not saying that your life would be made better if you made homemade crunchwrap supremes but I am saying that every time I’ve ever made them my life has been better

[jenfightsback]

I found a drawer of previously too small clothes including these shorts and thought I’d wear them for my workout… after I was done, I looked up to see the last time I’d worn them and it was 9 years ago! (first picture above) Then I wondered if I still have this shirt (it’s my lucky math shirt from high school) and I did! I’m actually about 3 lbs heavier today and I’ve had 2 babies but in my mind at least I look more muscular/toned than I did. Anyway it was a good blast from the past!

[jenfightsback]

IMO these are the best toppings for greek yogurt

[jenfightsback]

May end of month summary! Not great fitness wise. Working 14 hour days and some weekend time as well as being sick broke my workout streak ☹️ But I picked myself back up and got back into it!

[a-silly-poll-side-blog-yay]

have you ever had a beef with a teacher/prof

yes

no

hard to say

results

Voting ended onJun 3

[jenfightsback]

Oliver can now pronounce helicopter correctly 😭 RIP “hepicopper”

[jenfightsback]

However, he still calls Pikachu’s trainer “Ass” so I’ve pulled myself back together

[jenfightsback]

Oliver can now pronounce helicopter correctly 😭 RIP “hepicopper”

[jenfightsback]

My gym has finally finished all of their renovations and they got a glute drive machine! So I had to try it out for this workout. So much easier than setting up hip thrusts on the smith or especially regular barbell! My hip bones are sore this morning so I need to remember to position the belt better.

[jenfightsback]

It got to May 26th and I realized that I hadn’t read any books yet for the month (goal is to read at least 2 per month- may have gotten sucked into an AO3 rabbit hole this month which is technically still reading). So I picked 2 books that I could finish really quickly and were available on Libby (where I read all my books now). First was a short series of essays (was recommended for Jewish American History Month) called Pops by Michael Chabon. It was okay but I don’t think it had a clear enough connecting voice between the essays. Next one was The Summer I turned Pretty because I loved the TV show. This was my first time reading a book after a show/movie and the book was good but I think the show was better! Anyway I finished my 2 books in 4 days and resurrected my reading streak.

[jenfightsback]

Did my workout at home yesterday. Ran for 30 minutes and got a PR for distance and time. Was also able to run 1.15 miles without stopping (also a PR for me). Then did some at home exercises with the set of 20lb dumbbells that I have. It’s nice to have the option to stay at home and still get a good workout in.

[jenfightsback]

Hi! Has your improved health made a positive change to your marriage?

Hi! Thanks for the ask! Around the same time that I started working out in earnest (early 2024), my husband moved from a very high stress and time intensive job to a low stress job where he could be home a lot more and help more with the kids. That has made the biggest difference in my marriage and has also been the thing that has made it possible for me to prioritize myself more. Also not having small babies that don’t sleep helps as well.

I’ve seen more of a difference in how I act as a mom- I’m more active, go outside more, and have better avenues to manage my stress.

[jenfightsback]

Good workout but still not sure if my barbell math was right here. 🤔 It gets confusing on pieces of equipment that are plate loaded but have a tare weight because you have to remember if you included the tare weight the last time you did the exercise.

Also I did enjoy my very 2008 workout outfit with my animal print and purple mix. If only my shorts were from Soffee, it would have been perfect.

[jenfightsback]

i was super proud of this workout as I was able to go 120 feet on the farmers walk with 53lb kettle bells (so over 75% of my body weight total) and also got a PR on incline bench press. I found a way to scale up dead bugs so that they’re much more challenging (basically you push on your non moving leg with the hand that’s not moving to create more tension). Basically the kind of workout where you feel good about yourself at the end.

[jenfightsback]

Workout yesterday! They’re doing some construction at my gym so I had to modify some of these exercises since not all of the equipment was available.

[jenfightsback]

Completed my annual dermatologist skin check ✅ and went through my list of skin questions. Is it a sign of getting old when you have to prepare a list of questions in advance so you don’t panic and forget anything in the appt?