Sunday
I took another day off. I don't even have a reason. I just didn't do anything. It's definitely not how I wanted to start my last week of Athletic August. All I can do is accept it and try to do better.Monday
Well, definitely no excuses now - it's time to finish strong! It was time to go back to the boot camp gym because this week, we are back to the fitness testing we did at the beginning of the month! For me, this month was all about a big push to increase my stats and build better habits. Joining a gym with a fitness test this month was an amazing way to track actual results.Today, we were testing squats, deadlifts, and the half mile run. I improved all across the board but for specific numbers you'll have to wait until the month end post.
I ended my circuit on the rope climb. It was the last thing I did and after the deadlifts, my hands were torn up. I made an attempt to climb but I decided that I wasn't going to push it and not be able to go to the climbing gym.
While I felt like my grip was a little beat up from the bootcamp and I was kind of tired. You know what though? I still showed up to the climbing gym and I didn't take it easy. I still pushed myself to try the harder climbs. My partner and I tried an 11a (which is just about the level we still have a lot of trouble and don't always finish). We definitely struggled on one part but we tried and tried until we got it. Later in the climb, I tried a move that I'm familiar with but never know when to use. I had a total "AHA" moment when the way I used it made the move so much easier. It was so cool to feel like I made a breakthrough. And for those that climb, it was a heel hook.
Tuesday
The second day of testing involved the mile run. At the beginning of the month, I did it in the noon class. I remember it being hot and terrible and making it hard to do the thrusters after. It was supposed to be even hotter this time around so I decided to help myself... by waking up early and doing the test at 7am when it was cooler out. Waking up early to exercise is not my thing. But... all of my running races are early so obviously I can do it. This seemed like a good time to play that card. Also, it meant Dan and I could attend together since he usually can only go in the morning. |
| Thruster!!! |
The first time around, we started with the run. While this makes the run way easier, it definitely affected my thrusters (this is basically a squat that thrusts you into a push press. The first time around, my legs were jellos from the previous days' squats and the run. Starting with them, didn't seem like a terrible idea. And that's what I did - we could pick where we started our testing and I went to the station that gave me the most trouble first. I went from 2 thrusters to 14. I truly felt like I couldn't do another one after too. No really, I had Dan take a picture of me doing one after the class and it was a struggle.
I also went from 20 pull-ups to 27 (with the resistance band). My mile increased 7 seconds though. While that probably counts as breaking even, getting even 1 second faster would have felt like an improvement.
Working out in the morning also felt like victory. This was the second time I made it to the 7am class and... it wasn't that bad. It definitely gives me a burst of energy to make it through the day.
Wednesday
Push ups, burpees, and sit-ups oh my! If you've read my other posts, you know I hate push ups and burpees. I didn't even do the initial testing day because 1) I hate them and 2) I was so sore and wiped out from the other two days of testing. While I had some soreness, it wasn't enough to stop me from seeing what I could do. It's crazy how I went from avoiding these exercises to really embracing them and trying to improve. Big steps!
Anyways, I had to wear my T-Rex Hates Push Ups shirt and it was a huge hit in the class. I also was really happy that I fit in 30 burpees in the 3 minutes. I didn't test it but I was trying to do 30 burpees a day and I had to break them into little groups to do this. This was definitely an improvement. I had just read about how burpees are a great way to improve overall athleticism and it made it even more poignant that they were a big piece of Athletic August.
Thursday
I finished of the month with one last climb! My original plan was to try to work out later too but I have a lot of chores to take care of so it was nice to just end on this.
My partner and I did a variety of levels and frankly, we struggled on some of them. It stinks when you're trying to get better and you get stuck on some really hard climbs. We had to just give up on those this time but luckily, we were able to power through some other hard ones and finish on a good note.
It was really a good metaphor for this month. I had my struggles and days where I didn't meet my goals but I finished strong. Monday-Thursday of this week have been shining examples of what you can do when you work hard. I've gotten so much better in different areas of fitness and even my climbing is looking stronger.
This may be the end of Athletic August but I'm excited to keep these habits going!
So no end of the week summary since it ended on Thursday and I have the free version of the app so I can't customize things. Oh well! The good news is, it's the end of the month! There are a whole lot of thoughts and summaries and stats.... that will be in my monthly report. Yup! You have to read another whole blog post! Or just scroll to the bottom for pictures! I'll never know!
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