The Chrissy

Since I decided to quit the “gym” and have an Alcohol-Free-February and I’ve never felt better! Everyday has been a challenge but I’ve learned extreme discipline, enjoying exploring new fitness workouts and literally doing something different everyday.

Not drinking a drop of alcohol has been the biggest struggle… but I’ve stuck to my goal, practiced self-restraint and learned to say no. The first few weekends were hard going out to bars where normally I’d be downing beer after glorious beer… but it’s gotten easier to say no and not feel like I need to drink in order to be social. I even went out last weekend and had an amazing time at a pub with friends alcohol free!

The best part about all of that? The next morning I get up refreshed, bank account still liking me and I have zero guilt about what I did to my body the night before! I’m actually struggling to decide if I want to keep this healthy living going or go back to drinks only in moderation. If anything, I definitely learned a lot about myself and how to use exercise and other positive actions to get rid of stress.

One of the best workouts this week was definitely my Kettlebell workout at Vancouver Kettlebell. I convinced a few of my adventurous friends to join me and Darren showed them the ropes of kettlebell.. and they kicked butt! While they were getting an introduction into the moves and proper form, a fellow kettlebell go-er and I suffered through the “Chrissy.” The Chrissy is an intense workout with just two exercises: the kettlebell swing and burpees.

It looks like this:

30 Burpees
20 Kettle Bell swings

25 Burpees
25 Kettle Bell swings

20 Burpees
30 Kettle Bell swings

15 Burpees
35 Kettle Bell swings

10 Burpees
40 Kettle Bell swings

5 Burpees
45 Kettle Bell swings

Advanced = burpee exercises are done with a high knee jump
Beginners = burpee exercises can be done without the jump

I struggled through the burpee with the high knee jump… which by the last few rounds looked like a pathetic hop instead of a real high knee jump (I’m using Insanity workouts to get some power back into my jumps!).. but cleared the workout in pretty good time (which I didn’t record.. fail!). Once that was over the group was just about to do their first workout so I joined in on that and then we flipped some tires..

and used the ropes!

(Thanks for the pictures Alex!)

This past week was filled with a huge variety of activity once again. I’ve gone running three days this week! I’m aiming to run 3-4 days a week for the next few weeks and seeing how my training goes from there. I’m favourite place to run is on trails so this weekend when my friend suggested we go running through an old growth forest in Vancouver. We intended on running for 30 minutes, we ended up going for an hour! It felt so good and I definitely think I’m starting to love running again… bring it on half marathon!