Everything happens for a reason

After staying out of the gym and taking it easy for over a week, I am BACK!

If you missed my last post, I was off sick from work for four days last week with strep throat… a really bad bout of it. I couldn’t get off the couch until the fourth day and had a very, very low key weekend. I won’t go into detail as to how awful it was, but let’s just say I wouldn’t wish what I had on anyone, ever. Thank god for modern medicine because without it, I don’t know how I would have gotten better as quickly as I did.

The worst part? I missed out on a Kettlebell Instructor course that I’ve been waiting and training for, for months. I was far to weak after being sick and not eating much, to be strong enough for an intense weekend of testing and learning. I could barely stand without getting dizzy the day before it was scheduled to start – there was no way I could do it.

Tough lesson to learn

Here it comes… I was basically just asking for this to happen. Looking back at the past few months, I realize this was bound to happen. The unfortunate part for me was the awful timing. I’ve been taking on far too much and not prioritizing my time (and down time). Starting a new job in itself is stressful enough, but I go ahead and toss on frequently staying up late, not getting enough sleep, over committing myself, filling my schedule at nights and weekends AND trying to eat clean and train. No person can handle all that without getting at least a little overwhelmed. Unlucky for me, I have a tendency to stress myself out… so voila! – Immune system fail.

Looking back at it now, I’m realizing it was probably for the best. I wasn’t mentally prepared for the course and I could use a few more months to train and get my body where it needs to be. I want to feel good about the shape I’m in before I go learn how to teach other people a skill that will help them reach their fitness goals when I haven’t reached mine yet. Sure, taking and acquiring this certification is a goal of mine, but only when it’s right.

I’ve really come to terms with myself on what my priorities are, and if I’m ever going to be successful in the ones which are most important to me, I have to start saying no to other opportunities. It’s going to be tough, but I’ve learned my lesson the hard way and don’t plan on forgetting how horrible it was any time soon. That being said, I’m feeling way better and refuse to dwell on the time lost. I got back to training tonight and it was tough, as expected, but I went easy on myself (even though I know I’ll be feeling it tomorrow!).

Check out today’s workout:

I know I have horrible hand writing, so here it is for you written out:

Warm-up to start (I do a variety of stretches and 3x circuit of butt kicks, high knees and jumping jacks to get my blood flowing)

Push presses & snatches – I do about (10x each side for a total of 40) x 2

Workout:

A) 15 exercises (divided into 3 sets of 5) at 45 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds rest.

You can rest for a minute after each 5 exercise set – or do it straight through. I did it straight through.

Set 1:

1. Alternating reverse lunge (14kg kb)2. Snatches left side (14kg kb)
3. Snatches right side (14kg kb)
4. Inverted row (I used a barbell set on my bench – you can use rings, or TRX here)
5. Burpees

Set 2:

1. Heavy front squat (14kg kb)
2. Single arm swing right (14kg kb)
3. Single arm swing left (14kg kb)
4. Renegade Rows (2 x 14kg kb)
5. Alternating curtsy lunge (14kg kb)

Set 3:

1. Suitcase deadlifts (2 x 14kg kb)
2. Dynamic squats
3. Clean and press right (14kg kb)
4. Clean and press left (14kg kb)
5. Mountain climbers (these were tough at the end!)

* I took a few minutes to rest – this was tough! If I didn’t do it this way, I probably would have done 2 rounds of each set before moving onto the next at 40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest – feel free to give that a shot and let me know how it goes!

B) 3 x 3 exercises at 45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest – no break in between sets

1. Skipping
2. Straight left deadlifts (24kg kb)
3. Heavy front loaded squats (2 x 14kg kb in the rack position)

After this I was completely spent and I think it was the perfect balance for what I needed after not training for over a week.

Let me know if you need some direction on some of the exercises – happy training!

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!