I Have a Love Hate Relationship With Burpees. Seriously, I do.

I feel that a workout full off Burpees is a fitness metaphor to life. 

I did not feel like going to the gym today at all. In fact, all I wanted to do today was sleep, and maybe stay on my sofa, watch trashy TV and eat plums all day long. However, what we want and what we need do not always coincide. 

What I needed to do was to get up, take a cold shower, start working on my research for the next article I was writing, and then go to the gym, write the article(S), go pick up more research material, go to a meeting, meet with a friend for dinner and IKEA trip, come home and go to bed so I can get up, go run, plant, etc. Wow, I am tired just thinking about all of it! So, how did I get myself on board with my own day today? Simple.

 I made myself get out of bed and did 15 squats, drank and ice cold glass of water, put the tea on, and stuck myself in the cold shower. That got the ball rolling. By the time I was done and sort of dry, I had my morning green tea ready, my hard boiled eggs (that I peeled the night before) were waiting for me in the fridge and all I had to do, was grab a hand full of spring mix, one orange, and one small whole grain pita and I had my breakfast ready. I love pre planned breakfast because it is so quick and portable, I don't even need a plate most days! 

I sat down to do my research with my breakfast in my lap, and I have to say, by my third bite and my forth sip of hot tea, I was awake and ready to put some damage on the topic I was writing about! By the time my back started to hurt from all the sitting it was already time to hit the gym (don't you love the timing? Your body always knows when it is time to get moving) . I put on my running shoes (still with that vague "but I don't wanna" whining in the back of my head). I told myself that those who give up and skip workouts do not get abs. So, I grabbed my bottle full of Spark and left to go get some burpees done. I hate burpees. I hate them, hate them, hate them. I hate them more than I hate Steve the kettle bell. Yes, I named the kettle bell. It makes it easier to throw my fist up at the sky when my butt is thoroughly kicked by the workout and dramatically curse the day Steve the kettle bell was forged in the deep fires of pure evil. 

My workout today consisted of the following: 

15 pushups (no knees allowed)

30 walking lunges (sing it with me Alicia Keys style: My Quads are on FIIREEE!!!)

15 Dolphin Pushups

15 Mountain Climbers

30 sec rest

So far pretty easy right? Gooood.

15 triceps dips

15 jump lunges

15 pile squats (45 lb KB)

15 burpees

30 secs rest

I HATE BURPEES!!!! (but you have to do them until you love them. That's how that works)

15 curtsy lunges

15 bicycles

15 mountain climbers

15 spiderman plank

Repeat 4 times, for time, trying to beat the previous try each time.  

This almost made me cry. Especially after burpees. I think because I hate them, I try to push through them as fast as I possibly can which just causes me to get more tired and wanting to cry. Usually I feel really good about this workout and can take at least a few seconds off, but today, today I wasn't with it fully. 

At first I blamed in on the fact that I didn't have my pre-workout protein shake. Then I remembered that I did, in fact, have a protein shake 30 minutes before I left. Now, I blame it on not having my head in the game fully.  That's ok, though. At the end of the day, calories burnt, are calories burnt and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. There is always tomorrow to have a great, hard, enjoyable workout. That is exactly what I am planning on. In a few minutes I am going to leave my office and go to Big Peach Running Co. to pick up my sexy, shiny, pair of brand new minimalist shoes which I am planning to begin breaking in tomorrow.

How did your Friday workout go?

Allergies? Cold? Weight lifting? Crossfit?

Although I am not too sure if I am having a really bad case of allergies or if I am beginning to get sick. Regardless, I pushed through my cardio today just in case it is allergies. I regret nothing! Well, maybe I regret that I only had 20 minutes... Either way, it is so unfair to feel this under the weather just days before my race. If I don't feel absolutely horrible tomorrow, I have a date with Murph and hopefully some sore back muscles afterwards. I guess when lifting doesn't get you sore, turn to crossfit! I have high hopes for you, Murph! Don't let me down!

All I Need is 20 Minutes to Feel Human Again.

In the last few days my workout times have been all over the road. I am a person of routine and consistency, I got my body use to having a natural boost of endorphins in the morning and having to work out at night have turned me into a grumpy, stressed, mean girl. I am making it an effort to get my workouts back on normal morning schedule. Even if it means getting to the gym at 5 am.  

That being said, I don’t know what I would have done to the world today if it had been for my 20 minutes of cardio this evening. I wish I had the time for a full 45, but 20 is all I had to spare. I guess you have to get it in where you can, right?

Lift Against Stress.

It has been a crazy day without anything crazy happening in it. Well, not out of the ordinary crazy anyway. Maybe it is because I was over caffeinated this morning, or because I didn't get enough sleep, but I just couldn't wait to get to the gym today. I was driving home, and going through the worst panic attack I had in weeks.When I got to the Rev, walked on the treadmill for a while and then dove straight in to my workout, it felt like a veil has lifted. With each shoulder press, bicep curl, and triceps push-down, I felt better and better. I wish this feeling would last all day!

No More Doubting!!!

Oh, I really should kick all this doubting out of my life for good. My legs are sore today! Yay! I went out to the gym and hit the treadmill for some speed work on an incline. My legs began to feel weak 15 minutes into my intervals, but I finished strong. I can’t wait to be able to run outside! All this pollen is really getting to me today.

Legs.

I had a hard time getting it in gear this morning. I haven’t been sleeping well for the past couple of weeks, now I have trouble waking up. Apparently, I sleep muted my alarms this morning which made me later for my workout. Not to fear, I went to the gym anyway.

You know that saying “you don’t know what you have ‘til it’s gone”? Yeah… Today was the day when I wished I had a person spotting me.  Turns out that I have beastly legs and in order for them to burn out, I have to squat heavy, heavy weight. It scares me. I am afraid of dropping it. After I went through my leg workout (didn’t stop, lifted through the fear, you know the drill) I realized that I could still run around, squat a bunch, and probably go out and run a mile. Plus, I somehow managed to finish faster then I planned (that one is still beyond me. I know I didn’t skip anything). So, instead of giving up and going home, I decided that I am going to do additional 100 25lb squats and hopefully the sheer quantity will get my legs to failure. It didn’t. I will rethink this workout tomorrow morning after I determine how sore I am. If I am not, I got a killer stadium routine that will guarantee to make me run faster and set my quads on fire (fingers crossed).

In the land of rock hard abs today we also reached a wall. I spent a few reps doing weighted incline sit ups with a medicine ball, then captains chair knee raises, then straight leg raises. My arms gave out before my abs did. I had that happen before after heavy lifting and normally I would do something that does not include the use of my arms. Today, however, I was completely blank and could come up with anything.  I need to make sure that I write a backup program to compensate for unexpected body part failure.