Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Wednesday Workout Update - Sweat Monster Edition

Every week I post my Wednesday Workout Update, and every week I get comments along the lines of "you're so inspiring" and "I'm tired just reading about what you do" and "I could never do what you do" and I just wanted to take a moment and tell you a couple things.

First, I do not feel like an inspiration. There are many, many mornings when the alarm goes off and I don't want to get out of bed, much less get dressed and go workout. I have to bargain with myself like you wouldn't believe - tops on the list is that I can go back to bed when the workout is over (rarely have I done this, but I like knowing the option is there). I'm tired! These workouts are hard. I'm even more tired when I'm done! Sometimes I have a post-workout burst of energy, but a lot of the time I'm just plain beat, and my muscles are sore! It's all I can do to get in the shower - and sometimes that doesn't even happen for a couple of hours.

I also want to tell you that my form is not perfect, not even close. My squats could be deeper, my push ups lower, my kettlebell swings higher. There is always someone in my group who is faster than me. There are definitely people in my group who are more coordinated than me. There is a lot of room for improvement, believe me. But you know what? I know all of this, and I still go. And workout, and most of the time I give it, if not 100%, then pretty darn close. For this formerly obese couch potato, that's a lot. And I'm proud of that, and that's why I write about these workouts - to remind myself of all that I am doing, and to let you know that if someone who used to look like this can workout, well, anyone can. So don't read this and think "I could never do that" - read it and try. Because really, that's all that I'm doing. OK, on with the update:

Monday: We did a Tabata Forever in cardio, which means that instead of doing 20 seconds of intense exercise followed by ten seconds of rest eight times, we did it for SIXTEEN times. Yowza yowza yowza. Forever, indeed. I was on the rower for that one. Then we did a long set - I was on the stepper, and finally I got to play on the spinner bike - have I mentioned how much I like that thing? Yes? It really is fun.

In the gym, we did Fight Gone Bad - one minute sets were we build on our reps. I have to say, I was enjoying seeing my arm muscles while I was doing the barbell curls - for a change, the mirror was really motivating to me. It was good to focus on something positive, like the muscles that I have built up, as opposed to my - nope...not going to mention anything bad. It's all about the positive today. Oh...we had a visitor in the gym on Monday - the Sweat Monster!
This is what happens when you flop on the floor after Fight Gone Bad! I think this is me......and this is Kathleen - ooh, scary sweat monsters!!!


Tuesday: I went for a run. Why should this be significant? Um...the fact that I actually DID IT, considering everything (including me - ok, mostly me) that conspired to make it so I couldn't run. Those items would include:
  • Jenny telling me on Monday that she had a commitment on Tuesday and couldn't run with me (strike one)
  • Putting the cats out for the night so I could sleep in (strike two)
  • Moving my clock radio (is this an old-school term - am I allowed to still call it that?) to where I couldn't see it (just a lower place on my nightstand), thereby eliminating both "light pollution" and stopping me from seeing what time it was when I woke up at night (happens often - gotta love 40-something hormones), which also got rid of the "I should get up" feeling (strike three)
  • Weather - we were in the midst of a thunderstorm when I went to sleep (strike four)
I woke up at 8:51 am - and yes, it felt great to get that much sleep - opened the back door to let two starving kitties inside and hello, it was cool and dry. Hmmm. I could go running. Better read the newspaper first - sent Paco out the front door to retrieve it (he's such a helpful dog!). Cup of coffee sounds good. OK, paper read...I could go running, but I better check in on my bloggy peeps. Ooh, MizFit has a follow up to her No Excuses! post. Oh. She's listed and debunked exercise excuses. Well, fine - I get the hint, universe! I suited up, grabbed my iTouch and ear buds and started running down my street - ear buds kept falling out of my ears (I must have the smallest ear canals known to man, or at least headphone makers). It finally occurred to me that my iTouch has a speaker, so I ditched the ear buds and turned up the volume - hey, that worked! It was quite a good distraction, plus I could still hear the cars around me, which seemed like a win, safety-wise.

I ran a 3.5K - that sounds better than 2.17 miles, doesn't it? LOL. Hey - I'm just glad I ran. Next time, though, I might eat a little something beforehand - I was doing great and then all of a sudden died, energy-wise. Probably due to the twelve-plus hour fast from the night before, wouldn't you say?

Wednesday: Linda had us doing a team workout outside - we had to do a certain number of reps per exercise as a team, so say for jump rope, we needed to do 500. I did 100 and moved on to box jumps, where I did 50 (I didn't think I was tense, but my hands cramped up while doing these so I guess I was), then Jeri and I flipped a ginormous tire 20 times, then I did 35 tricep dips, a bunch of kettlebell swings, 25 push ups, and interspersed sprints throughout. By the way, I am not a sprinter. I can sprint toward the finish line, but to do it again, and again? They were jogs, not sprints, by the end!

We did a bunch of isolation exercises in the gym - let me just say that I know exactly where my hip flexors are now! Ouch, ouch, burn...but now I'm done - yay!

Edited to add this picture...doing this exercise is when I found my hip flexors!

21 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your feelings about the comments you get. I make all kinds of "deals" with myself to get my morning workout in. I get a lot of comments in real life like the ones you talked about here and it is hard to explain to someone that they too could workout, just takes working up to what I do.

    The pics of the sweat on the mats was great!

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  2. I also want to tell you that my form is not perfect, not even close. My squats could be deeper, my push ups lower, my kettlebell swings higher. There is always someone in my group who is faster than me. There are definitely people in my group who are more coordinated than me. There is a lot of room for improvement, believe me. But you know what? I know all of this, and I still go

    Ok...it is exactly comments like this that make you that inspiration...you are human, but are overcoming many challenges that keep many of us from even trying.

    I guess you'll have to continue to inspire people...lol

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  3. Whatever. I still think you'd rock a hot pink superhero costume.

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  4. I don't care what you think :lol: you're still an inspiration to me! You still rock and you're still an example!

    Great that you went for a run!

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  5. Blog entries like this one show us that even we can do this because you show your weaknesses and troubles.
    That's why I love your blog!!

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  6. You continue to be an inspiration because you started out like all of us. We can totally relate to you! You seem so down to earth and that is why you inspire me. Thanks for pointing out all of your imperfections! That makes you even more relatable.

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  7. Yada, yada, yada, blah blah blah blah blah.

    That's what I heard for 3 paragraphs ;-)

    You still work out FREAKING HARD. And you're still inspiring.

    So there.

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  8. And, not to hog the comments, but have you actually LOOKED at yourself in the middle picture compared to the hip flexor picture? Seriously, Shelley, you rock!

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  9. Most of us would give anything but what it takes. You give what it takes. Don't fight it ... you're an inspiration.

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  10. My sister reads my blog and she says the only reason we blog is so people will say nice things. I did not start my blog so people would comment and say nice things. Plus I got that comment yesterday about that woman and her boogers. I mean, had I known that one day I'd read a comment with the word "boogers" in it, I'd never have started blogging.
    I rarely know what to comment on over here. I feel totally inept though I keep trying to find something to say that's not cheesy or has much to do with anything you might inspire inside of me. I think I am mostly just proud of you because it's so hard to be fat and to get the weight off, keep it off and wear pink as much as I see you wear it.
    Plus now you have a comment with the word "boogers" in it.

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  11. Hey! Happy Hump Day! Thanks for the summary on the workout. Just so you, I don't think "I could never do that." Instead, I'm getting to the point where I think, "Damn, I need to prioritize myself and do that!" The concept of running a block, let alone a mile is terrifying. More terrifying than getting a tax audit or a root canal terrifying. Not sure where that fear comes from. But your blog is helping me face the fear and realize that exercising will have to be a part of my life. I'll get there, with your help. Thanks Chica! :)

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  12. That is why you are an inspiration my dear, to show that slow and steady does win the race!

    Everyone has room for improvement, but I love your Wednesday workout summaries - it just shows that dedication and determination goes a log way!

    You will always be my inspiration!!

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  13. I am so proud of our sweat monsters!!!

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  14. I can't say it any better than all the other peeps:) I thought of you on Tuesday when I was out doing my jog...I thought if Shelley is jogging today so can I! So yep your still inspiring us!

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  15. Yep, I think about you when I run and when I don't run! I think about how you said you 'hit the wall' as soon as you start--that is SO FUNNY! And I have the same experience.

    And yeah, can you believe you are the same person in both those pictures? SO COOL!

    Ooh, I am not a fan of the hip flexor exercise...my physical therapist had me doing that stinkin' thing. Ouch.

    Yikes. I go to bed thinking about what I will eat the next morning. I think about it when I wake up in the middle of the night. And there is no way in H-E-L-L I would ever get close to going out the door without my precious breakfast first. Gee, do you think I still have a little problem with my food obsession??

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  16. Hmmm.... you are just going to have to learn to accept that you are an inspiration to people. While you may not feel like you are, you certainly do give hope to people that they are able to improve as well.

    We all can improve - even those who we think have no where else to go feel that they could do more. It's what drives us all.

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  17. I'm kinda jealous of your workout buddies!

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  18. You are just the cutest!

    I can't help it, I still feel like a slug. Oh and too bad....you are an inspiration!

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  19. Our flag is blue, red and white but our national color is indeed orange. If you watch the Olympics or Soccer or any other sports event that has Dutch fans you'll always recognize them because they are dressed in orange.

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  20. Need to add to that the last name of our Royal family is "Van Oranje".

    Oranje is Dutch for Orange

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  21. I got some catching up to do if I want to get off the porch and run with this pack.....
    Looks like I'll have to cheer you all on from the sidelines!
    YAY!

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