A Year of Athleticism

A particular good day at the gym

Last year, as part of my movement to build my habits, I created some monthly goals to really push the best out of myself. August was Athletic August and I had a serious of things I wanted to focus on over the course of the month:

• Do 30 burpees a day
• Do Pull-ups 
• Work out every day of the month
• Show a noticeable increase in the things I do already
• Try to do well on my kickball league
• Take advantage of promotional month at a gym we'd been wanting to try

For the most part, it all went really well. Nothing was perfect but it was probably an A- (except pull ups - anything that ends in "up" is still the bane of my existence). 

The biggest thing though - was that it didn't end when August ended. I used the month as a jumping off point for a whole lifestyle centered around fitness.

AND GUESS WHAT - I had the foresight to take a picture of how I looked on August 1st 2017!!!!

8/1/17

Honestly, not too shabby. To be really real here - I wasn't out of shape when I started this project. I was already going to the gym about 3 days a week and going on a hike or walk another 2. So 5 times a week, I was doing something active. I ate healthy. I was skinny. For most people, this was already goals.

But I had bigger goals. I always wanted to get the Spartan Trifecta. It went on and off so many resolution lists. I wanted to be better at things - faster, lift heavier, climb harder climbs, have more endurance. Athletic August wasn't about being really awesome for a month - it was about making a habit of fitness so that it was easy to keep it all going.

So here's where we are a year later!!

8/1/18

It's probably hard to notice a lot of differences but I can definitely tell. There's more muscle definition, I'm standing more confidently, I love the shape of my arms, and, most importantly, my clothes still fit. My goals have never been to lose a ton of weight - I always wanted to just build muscle, but it goes both ways. You can work out a lot without becoming stick thin or turning into a hulk. Those things take a lot of focused effort. You can exercise and still look feminine.

But that's not all! Obviously people work out to be really sexy, but like I said, I already started out fit. Changing my looks wasn't my main goal and frankly, it's not the main thing I got out of this.

So here are all of the other things I've learned or accomplished from my year of fitness.

Actually Work Out Everyday - OR MORE!

We even workout on vacation! - like once

In the lead up to the Spartan Beast, I really wanted to push my fitness to the max as well as challenge my endurance (it was a half marathon length obstacle race after all). I really wanted to try to get to the gym or do something every day. Some days I'd come home from the gym and still have energy so I'd pop on a workout video that was more cardio and stack my workout. That would give me two hours of high intensity fitness time.

By the last few weeks I was doing 12-14 workouts a week and just feeling like an actual beast. I'm sure I should have taken more rest in there. Some of the second workouts were yoga or walks so it wasn't all craziness. I'd also take it easier if I felt like my body was actually maxed out.

Stay at the Gym We Tested

I mentioned that we did a 30 day gym trial that August. Well, near the end of that month, we decided to sign up for a 6 month membership... which then rolled into another 6 months. We're pretty regular fixtures at the gym now and the owner jokes that we're on the lifetime membership plan. We've made a bunch of friends at some of the regular classes we attend, participated in competitions with them, and are part of their obstacle racing team. When we don't show up for a few days, they ask where we've been (which is actually tricky when "No Excuses" is in the name of the gym). It's nice to mix something I love with a sense of community and having my fitfam has been a big positive presence in my life.

Do What You Love

For the longest time, that was rock climbing for me. I did it because it was fun and I never took myself too seriously. I would constantly learn things and slowly improve but mostly I liked the level I was at because I enjoyed those climbs.

However, over time, I noticed that the climbing community isn't ok with that. I constantly felt pressure to be more and do more. If I didn't jump on the extra climbing wagon, I was left behind and made to feel less than because climbing wasn't my whole life. It finally came to a head when someone actually told me that I couldn't possibly know something about climbing that they didn't because it wasn't my number 1 hobby. That definitely began a lot of reflection for me and I realized that after joining NXPT and feeling a really supportive gym community, it made the lack of that in the climbing world glaring to me. I wasn't excited about doing something where I constantly felt judged or like I could never give it enough. It wasn't fun anymore and after almost a decade, I decided to no longer be a rock climber.

I like being in a community where we hold each other up

 Hit a Wall and Climb Over It

At some point, in the beginning of this year, I was worried I was hitting a wall. I knew I hadn't reached my max potential but I felt like things I'd been working on for months were still challenging. I mentioned it to one of the trainers and to Dan and they were both like "nonsense." They started putting heavier weights in my hands during classes or pushing me to push harder during my workouts. I started attending the lifting class more regularly. I used any frustration and motivation to fuel my climbs. I dug deep and after a few weeks of really pushing myself I noticed I'd pushed through that wall. On days when barbells were set up, I noticed I wasn't always going for the lightest ones, I was burning calories faster on the assault bike, I was non stop on my ab work while others had to rest. It felt good to jump over my hurdle and seeing that progress helped motivate me to continue to want to push harder.

Within the last couple of months, I really shattered that wall. I noticed that I was keeping up with some of the really athletic members of the gym when we did free flow circuits. I finished the warm-up first one class. I started lifting weights I couldn't even consider before. It felt great to go from feeling stuck to feeling like I'd risen to the top of the athletes at the gym.

Weight Gain

Take a look at my before and after pictures again. I look pretty much the same right? Well, I actually gained about ten pounds in the last year. That is 10 pounds of pure muscle gain. It's also one of those reminders that weight is not the most important thing. There has been this chart going around about acceptable weight for you height. 1) it's bullshit to begin with 2) according to the chart, I'm overweight. There is not a doctor or mentally sound person who would think I was overweight. That's because weight doesn't tell you everything. If you want to start a fitness plan, I'd recommend doing a body scan every few months to track how your size changes. These will help you determine how much of your weight is fat vs. muscle and more accurately reflect the changes in your body. Don't have access to a scanner or can't afford one? You can do it manually by measuring key areas of your body and tracking that over time. There are a lot of resources online to help you do that.

Power of Positivity

When I started Athletic August last year, I wasn't really in a great place. In hindsight, I was probably depressed. I had so little confidence, I was upset about several losses in my life, and I was feeling generally unsure about a lot of things. By the end of the month, I could tell I was already in a better place. A year later, I feel like a different person. Working out makes you feel better mentally. It gives you more confidence (not just because you look better and are stronger). Sometimes I feel like my friends here are still getting to know me because the me today is more like me than the me they met a year or two ago. It also makes me feel like its ok if they don't like this side of me. I'll be ok.

And sometimes you just feel better when you get to punch something

TRIFECTA

An obstacle I'd never been able to do before

Of course this is my pride and glory. The Trifecta has been a goal for years and I kept thinking that I couldn't really do it or I'd never really be fit for it. A couple of years ago, I'd decided that it probably just wasn't ever going to happen for me. Joining NXPT changed that for me. It brought out a fire and showed me I really can do more than I think I can. The longest race, the Beast, definitely was the hardest thing I've ever done. I definitely walked off the course ready to retire from Spartan. A few months later - I'm still on indefinite hiatus but I know I'll be back on those courses some day. I just don't recommend doing a Beast at elevation - that was too much for me.

Other Accomplishments

4th class of my 6 class day

I've also been able to do so, so much more. I finally got to the top of the rope in class (which is scary when you have a cement floor 8 feet below you). I've been able to run up hills (something that I always claimed to be allergic to). My Spartan finishes were in the top 10% - amazing for someone who loves to quote Baymax's "I am not fast." People at the gym see me as someone who works out hard. I did a whole day of working out (6 classes) FOR FUN. This year has been completely crazy for me in a good way. I did so many things I was afraid of and it's made me so much stronger physically and mentally.

Lastly, it's probably important to mention that this has all been great for Dan and I as a couple. We did all the Spartan races together and try to go to the same gym classes as much as possible (one of us insists on getting her beauty sleep which makes it difficult). I've heard frequently that working out together is great for couples in which case we're in for a long haul. It's also nice to have someone to always push me. On my own, I probably wouldn't always be as motivated as I should be but since Dan eats exercise for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he doesn't really put up with my crap when I say I'm too tired to go to the gym. So... thanks my love!

So What's Next???

That's a great question! And I don't have a lot of answers for it. The past two months since I finished the Trifecta have been meh for me in regards to the gym. I think between finishing a really difficult goal, going on vacation, and getting a lot more responsibility at work, it's been really hard for me to get back into this intense gym mindset. I also don't have a goal right now. There are some good reasons for that, but I'm starting to think that a solid goal is really what I need. I'm a goal oriented person and while I love working out, it can be hard for me to go to the gym just because.

I'm thinking about signing up for another half marathon so I can focus around that goal. I also have some ideas on how to train better knowing everything I know now and I'm excited to try it out.
I still have to make a decision but it seems like a good idea. Otherwise (or in addition to), I need to start making some training goals for myself so I can keep up all the hard work I've accomplished in the last year.

I also think some basic goals around exercises I don't like would be good. I still struggle with pull-ups and push-ups (those up exercises kill me) and making a solid effort to improve them would be really good for me. In fact, I think I'm going to start thinking about all the things I struggle with and don't like and come up with some plans to target those trouble areas.

Guess I might be doing this noise again

Also, I haven't (or have... whichever) forgotten about the World Cup Eating Challenge. Life has been crazy lately and it's frankly just not high on my priorities. I'm trying to focus on a few different things that are making it harder for me to want to take on a new project.

Athletic August 2017 - Monthly Update #8

Hmm.. this feels confusing. I probably should have had a better title for my weekly updates so that the monthly one stood out.. Oh well!

Designated Date Time/ Family Time

Oh look I changed the name again! Actually, this month, I spent more time with the rest of my family as well. Dan and I had a race in LA. I invited my dad to come watch and afterwards we all got dinner. We all had breakfast together as well. That may not seem like much but we spent hours talking. My dad has been in real estate forever so it was great to bounce some questions and frustrations off of him. He's also been talking more about his life experience and it's been really interesting. I know how important this time together is and I feel like we've connected more on these visits since my mom passed away.

I also have a brother who lives in San Diego and we've made some more time for each other this month. Despite my races and his travel, we managed to have a day we were both in San Diego and he invited me boating with him. It's nice spending more time with him and I like that we can get along as friends as well as siblings.


Lastly, of course, I still needed time with Dan. We're still trying to do nighttime family walks with the dog whenever we can and that time is always nice just to chat about our days. I felt like the race weekend was the most connected though. The day after the race, we stopped on the way home for a nice lunch date and some shopping around Downtown Disney. We were still sore and tired so to have just a nice, lazy Sunday together was so nice. Since the dog was at home with the dog sitter, it kind of felt like we didn't have "the kids" for the weekend and it was really pleasant.

Stick to a Regular Fitness Schedule

This was totally THE goal for the month. Of all my monthly habits, this is the one that I always felt like I was failing at. I had my climbing schedule and semi-regular body pump but that was only 3 things a week. My goal was way more than that. I feel like I finally hit it and have set up some ways to make sure I continue to keep it up in the future... but you'll read more on that later.

Meal Planning

This goal has been a slow improvement month over month. Since I spent so much of August running to and from gyms, I really needed to set up dinners that would be easy for me to make and would last a few days.


Luckily, I had just received a new cookbook that focused on this kind of meal planning. One of the first recipes I made from it, was called Sunday Gravy. It's a tomato sauce full of vegetables and different meats. I made a ton of it and we were able to make a lot of meals out of it and freeze some too. I also did this with soups and pulled pork and other things that can be made in large quantities. Our dinners were a little less exciting this past month but it happens.

I've also gotten so much better at doggy dinners. I had started making 2-3 dinners for Harley at a time so she wouldn't need cooking every night. If I had more than 2 made, I would freeze the extras. That way, when we went out of town, I could just pull her meals out of the freezer for the sitter. 

Take an Annual Trip with My Husband

Not even on our radar but we finally finalized all the travel for the 3 weddings in 2 months that we have coming up! It's going to be a busy Fall, but it's nice to have a good reason to use our Southwest points and see friends and family.

Read a Book a Week

This went so much better this month. I still felt like I was reading a lot of heavier, slower books, but I finished Alexander Hamilton which was a huge win.

Near the end of the month, I also had a huge realization. I let my books be governed heavily by what I get from the library. I was getting really burnt out on non-fiction and heavy, dense books. I really wanted to read something light or suspenseful - quick reads. However, I got another historical fiction from the library. It's been renowned as one of the best books of the year and I'd been waiting for it for a while. I really wanted to read it... just not now. I needed a break from this type of book. I didn't want to get back in the hold line, but then I thought "...why not?" It's got a little bit of a wait but it's not crazy. The book is being made into a movie next year anyways so reading it closer to that makes more sense for me. Lastly, why keep pushing myself to read books that I'm not feeling at that moment. I would enjoy the book so much more if I could read it in a couple of months when I've taken some distance from this genre so that's what I decided to do! Such a relief.

After coming to that conclusion, I stuck to reading what I wanted: quick reads! Whether they are suspense or chick lit, I'm heading into October with a pile of fun reads.

Me Time

There's something really interesting about adding more to your schedule. I knew focusing so much more time on exercise had the potential to overwhelm my schedule. It actually had the opposite effect. 

I found myself choosing quiet, me time over going out a lot. The first weekend of the year, Dan was out of town for a bachelor party. I was worried about being really lonely and had thought about making a lot of plans with girlfriends. That Saturday, my friend group had made plans to go to a cheap concert. I wanted to spend time with them but I wasn't excited about the concert itself or driving a long distance at night, in a situation where there was drinking. I was torn over my options and in the end, decided to just stay home. I caught up on work, made an amazing dinner, read, drank a bottle of champagne, and played video games. It felt amazing and it made me realize I don't do it enough. It set a standard for the month of doing less sometimes and really helped me remember why this goal was so important. 

Athletic August 

This is going to be more of an overall summary of how this month went. The picture above are my pre and post fitness test results and it makes me so happy to see so much improvement. The rest of this post is going to get into some more of the summary and how the month went for me overall. If you want more of a day to day feeling for what I did and how it felt as I was going through it, I also have weekly posts:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

• 30 burpees a day - I definitely skimped on this after my race. I think doing a little bit of an exercise doesn't make as much of an impact as doing a whole lot all at once. While my burpees got better, it feels like a side effect more of the boot camp gym. With that said, this might be a good goal to continue in a different vein. Maybe doing 100 burpees every Sunday so it's one big focused push.
• Pull-ups - .You know, I never really attempted an unassisted pull up. I'm sure I could do one now though. With all of the rock climbing, and rope climbing, and assisted pull ups, that area is so much stronger. I did see my assisted pull-up number go up a lot so this is on the right track.
• No days off - I skipped maybe 3 days total and had another 3 where I did something really light that's hardly a work out. I think that's awesome. It's not perfect and I would have preferred 6 light days instead of doing nothing but it's still a solid effort. 
• Level up - This one makes me so happy. I definitely was doing harder climbs by the end of the month and I had several AHA moments of using a technique that I'd seen but didn't know how to implement. If you look at the chart above, my fitness test results totally improved across the board too. Except running. I still hate running. 
• Kick it! I've been really loving kickball. I've felt my athleticism improve because of my other fitness pushes. I'm still not amazing. I started kicking fly balls instead of foul balls though. I learned that I can catch the ball. I'm really fast the rare times I get on base. It's cool to feel ok at sports. 
• 31 days of fitness - We totally loved going to the boot camp gym (Which is called NXPT btw). I'm not going to lie, I could have done a trial there 100 other times, but I was afraid. I've seen their team at races and I was intimidated that I would be the worst in the class. 1) I wasn't. 2) It wouldn't have mattered if I was. The gym isn't about competing with your class. It's about competing with yourself. I think the trainers do a good job of knowing when you can push harder and when you're trying your best and motivate you appropriately. I'm excited that we have another 6 months there and ever since we extended our membership I've been trying to make it more of a community. 

I also feel like I learned a lot about myself through this goal. Prioritizing fitness and exercise rippled through so many other areas of my life:

• Drinking Less - I love a good of wine. A lot. Sometimes this has been a reward for getting through a tough day of work or another challenging situation. Through this goal, I was going to the gym after work. Even after a workout or my race, I felt so tired and dehydrated that I just wanted a lot of water before anything. After other races, I'd go get bottomless mimosas. This time I had one light beer and then just wanted all the water. I definitely still had a few fun weekend days but I can see my focus changing and that's big.
• Less Stress - The first two weeks of the month, my boss was in Europe so I had many more responsibilities in his absence. I was still juggling this with my exercise, real estate job, and all of the above goals. Things that would have normally stressed me out, just really disapated. Even when I dealt with some drama, it just didn't bother me as much as it would have. I think when you're physically tired, you don't really have enough energy to be emotionally tired as well. The only thing I'd have capacity for were mental challenges which is way better.
• Weight - I ended up gaining about 6-8 pounds this month. It's definitely due to muscle tone. I'm pretty much the same size but you can see my ab and arm muscles much more clearly. It's definitely conflicting seeing a higher number but I know that it's a good change. Do I still have areas that I'm sensitive about and would like to tone up? Totally. However, you can't target specific areas of your body to shrink through fitness. You need to do that through diet. I eat super clean already and there's not a lot left to cut out. The changes I would need to make in my lifestyle aren't really worth the tiny change in my thighs so I think weight gain is going to continue as long as I keep building muscle. 
• Laundry - omg, when you work out like this, you are changing clothes and showering several times a day. We had to do laundry so much more often. It wasn't even about going through the clothes - Dan was just worried about the smell building up in our laundry basket. Definitely an unexpected side effect. 
• Sleep & Time Management - I'm not a great sleeper. Now that it's been a month, I'm noticing that I'm so tired by the end of the day, that I fall asleep quickly and sleep through the night. That also means that I'm naturally waking up earlier and with more energy. What that also means is that the time I'm getting in the morning from sleeping better makes up for the gym time. I also just feel more focused through out the day and I'm going into September with a better mindset. 

All in all, this whole month felt like such a win for me. Of all the goals I've had, this was the most quantifiable. You can't look at me or the numbers and not know that it went really really well. I feel great and I have so much enthusiasm to keep this up. I love it.

This month also really felt like my Whole30 month. It was a similar idea - 30ish days of a personal challenge that required hard work and sacrifices everyday. Some days were hard. Even though it was a win at the end of the month, many times along the way I felt like giving up or that I just didn't want to do it. I think that's a very normal part of any long term, consistent goal. It takes time for you to mentally and physically adjust to a change, even if it's positive. A lot of the beneficial feelings I had, didn't really start to come about until the very end of the month. The point is - be patient and believe in yourself whenever you're trying to build a new habit. Push through the hard days to get to the good ones.

Steady September

Now that I finally feel like I've had a month where I nailed the monthly habits, I don't really feel the need to build on it. Athletic August went so great. I did well in my other goals, but really nailing the workout habit took from other areas. Now that regular gym time is a solid part of my life, I want to make sure everything else with work and family and life is fitting in together well. It's not about adding any new goals, it's just about making things work.

The beginning of the month has already been filled with some wins and losses. We started September off with a weekend out of town for a friend's wedding. We got to see a lot of people and do a lot of fun things. We then came home to an extremely full schedule where we had plans just about every waking hour. We had to take a step back and realize that's not manageable. I remember how much I liked having that day off to myself in August and I'd like to make sure I have some of those this month as well.

So yea, September is all about finding balance. It's about making real estate and exercise and time off all work together. It's about doing it all and then taking some time to breathe.

Athletic August - Week #5

It's the end!!! We managed to get 5 full weeks out of this somehow. Oh August, you're so full of tricks.

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!

What about the sit ups? So these were smack and taps - meaning you fully extend your arms over head and fully sit up and slap the ground in front of you. I'm not sure that description makes a difference to most of you - they're sit ups! I actually love sit ups. I know a strong core is important to all of fitness and... I can do a bunch without feeling tired! But I got there by making myself do a whole lot all of the time. I used to hate sit ups the most. Maybe push ups and burpees will get there too. Who knows.

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!

Athletic August Week #4

So close to the end! Somehow August has like 100 days though and this is going to spill over to a 5th week so you get some extra updates.

This week has been night and day from last week. I think last week was really my hurdle to get over. Seeing how I did after my Spartan race and getting into more of a stride were really what I needed to keep going.

Sunday

Treat Yo'self

The day after a race, I'm never going to go big. It doesn't make sense. If I have then energy to do a big workout, I didn't try as hard as I could during my race. Dan and I both fell asleep really early Saturday night and were super sore on Sunday. We still had to drive all the way home to San Diego so we decided to just to have an enjoyable, easy day. We spent the morning eating breakfast and talking with my dad. We then drove to Orange County and took a pit stop near Disneyland for some lunch and shopping. I'm sure you could count that as "walking" and it probably was more distance than I walked last Sunday but I wasn't tracking it and I'm really not that concerned with it. Today wasn't about working out - it was about recovering and celebrating a race well done.

I also decided this was a good time to suspend the burpees challenge. After the race, their usefulness was gone for now and fitting them in late at night or on days I was really tired wasn't very enjoyable.

Monday

Back at it! My climbing partner asked if I'd still be up for climbing since it was only a couple of days post race. In the past, I'd still be too sore a couple of days after a race, but I was already feeling better. Knowing that all my hard work had shortened by recovery time was a big added bonus. Being sore stinks so being able to get back to something I love a couple of days after a race was awesome.

We also had a great day climbing. I didn't go nuts but we tried a couple of higher level climbs and were able to do pretty well at them which was a great feeling. We also planned out what we would tackle on Wednesday when I'd had even more time to recover from the race.

Tuesday

Now that I was fully better, it was time to head back to the bootcamp gym! It was crazy to think I took a week and a half off. Even though we've only been going for a few weeks, I've already grown really attached to the gym and the challenging workouts. They really kick my butt but each day is different enough that I don't get bored with it. I always look like I jumped in a pool after class which makes me feel a little guilty that I usually go grocery shopping after. Sorry other shoppers!!!

It also was pull up day! I tried to challenge myself but using less resistance than last time but I actually struggled a lot more than the testing week - even when I used more assisstance. I think there was still some soreness from the race and climbing holding me back. Hopefully there's still some improvement before next week.

Wednesday

Since Wednesday is a climbing day but I was loving the feeling of going back to boot camp, I decided to do their 30 min lunch time class... and it was shoulders. Perfect from a pre-climb workout (sarcasm). We started the class with a ton of burpees as a birthday gift to one of the other members. Our stations then involved a lot of core and shoulder work including pushups, push presses, and more burpees. It was a tough 30 minutes.

Luckily for the gym, Dan and I decided before that class that we would sign up for another 6 months at the gym! We've both really enjoyed it were feeling sad that our month trial was coming to an end. We worked a way to make the cost more manageable so we could justify signing up for more time.

I still had climbing to go to though and on Monday we had picked out a bunch of hard climbs to try. One of them totally kicked my butt. I pushed through one move and felt my back totally tighten and I just couldn't get through more than 75% of the climb. Even though I had a huge knot in my back, I didn't want to end on that note. I chose a few more physically easy but mentally challenging climbs. I love that climbing involves so much more thinking than normal exercise and being able to make that shift when I'm tired is a great way to change up the challenge.

Oh - and if you're worried about my back, I'm ok. It felt tight all night but I got Dan to massage out some of the knots. I'm going to pull through!

Thursday

Dan woke up and went to the 7am bootcamp class and reported that it was back, biceps, and squats - the three places I really need to recover. I definitely have to take the day off from the gym which stinks because one of the exercises was rope climb. I really want to keep practicing there but I do feel better knowing that we have 6 more months at the gym instead of 1 week. If we hadn't extended our membership, I would have felt compelled to go in and work the muscles that sorely needed a day off.

We ended up doing a family walk after dinner and it just reminds me how much I love those. No matter how I love them... Harley loves them more. It's adorable how excited she gets about going on a walk with both of us.

Friday

Back to boot camp! Friday's are always "best of" and you do the hardest workout from each day.  That meant another chance to try things I struggle with like pull-ups, thrusters, and the rope climb. Even better? I got to the top of the rope! The gym owner held it down for me and gave me some tips but the climbing was all me. It's nice to have checked that off my list and hopefully I get some more chances to try it before the month is up!

Saturday

Nothing to report here - Saturday was a really busy day for me. Dan woke up early to go to a special boot camp on the beach but I just didn't want to. I also had plans at 10 and knew it would be stressful to fit both in. Instead I had an easygoing morning before meeting up with friends. From there, I ran some errands, made lunch, spent time with Dan and then it was time to head out again. I was hoping to fit a workout video or something in there but by the time I could, it was time to shower and head back out again. I didn't want to keep skipping days but it would have been way more stressful to fit another day in and honestly, my body appreciated the rest.

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It was so nice to bounce back after the week before. It's not surprising that I hit a rut in this - it seems pretty normal when you're trying to build a habit. The key is being about to push over and get to the other side. It's so crazy that I'm coming into the last week of this.

Athletic August Week #3

RACE WEEK!!!! Everyone treats race week differently. For me, I spent a lot of the week recovering mentally and physically from over training the week before. I learned in track that it's good to relax your training right before a race. While this could have been limited to a day or two, I decided it was better to take it easy all of week 3 than risk injury or burn out from pushing harder than I should.

Sunday

Sunday Funday! Since I went a whole week without any rests or light days, Sunday was the perfect time for it. I was going on a boat ride around the bay all day with my brother so I also had to think about what my workout would be. I figured just a dog walk would be great - I'd do my 20 burpees and take Harley for a stroll and then go on the boat ride. I knew doing it in the morning was key because I'd be tired from being in the sun all day.

...the morning got away from me. I got home and was tired as expected. I showered and ate and then it was almost time to pick up Dan from the airport. I decided I'd grab the dog and we could walk along the bay while we waited for him. It was a short walk, but at least we did it. I had to bail on my burpees though. By the time I got home, I was just beat. Double burpees Monday!

Monday

Ready for excuses? Great! I was totally thinking I'd wake up and be ready to go. NOPE! I slept horribly. Our smoke detector beeped randomly at 1 am and I could not fall back asleep after. I don't know what I thought it was but I started getting the crazy dreams and I had such terrible sleep.

Despite that, I had big plans for the day. I was going to buckle down on work, take care of some other errrands, get an early start on dinner, and go climbing. Well, around 2pm I realized I didn't get that start on dinner which meant I wouldn't finish it before gym time. I could have put it off but I'd bought the ingredients Friday and wasn't sure it should wait another day. My climbing partner was cool with pushing it back a day and I decided I could just do a workout video at home.

I put that off too and when I finally went to do it, I realized I still needed to do Sunday and Monday's burpees. I got to 50 and I just felt terrible. My muscles were tired, I felt out of it, and frankly I just didn't want to do it anymore. I decided to bank the last ten and give myself a day off. Maybe I needed more rest days the week before? Maybe it was the crappy sleep? Maybe I'm dehydrated from all the sun? I don't know. The point is, I listen to my body and it wasn't feeling it today. My plan is an earlier night tonight and getting back in the saddle tomorrow.

Tuesday

After the last couple of days, I was in a rut. I was going to go to bootcamp for lunch but didn't get my work finished in time. Luckily, I had my make up climbing that afternoon but man, I just wasn't excited about exercising.

I tried to figure it out - was it from two days off? did I overdo the week before? was I distracted? burnt out?

I don't know - but I felt much better after climbing so probably option 1. We didn't climb a ton but we did a lot of routes that were more technical and logical so it was a really fulfilling day at the gym. We didn't stay long because we had plans later but something is better than nothing.

AND I came home and did my 40 burpees so I'm all caught up. Doing more than 30 really sucks so I hope I don't do anymore make up days. I also felt really good about just doing it. I need to remember that even if I'm in a rut or distracted or want to take the lazy option, I feel much better and more productive after exercising.

Wednesday

At some point today I was like "Yay Thursday, week is almost CRAP IT'S WEDNESDAY." That's where I am this week. After crushing it last week and being in a lull this week, I think I've found that I have more energy the more I work out. I was crashing hard by the end of the work day which hadn't happened at all the week before.

I hustled though and made it to the climbing gym. As soon as we were strapped in, I saw a pretty hard climb and decided we should just go for it. It was tough and our forearms were aching by the end but it got me warmed up fast. For some reason, many of our climbs felt really challenging today and it felt great to push the envelope and come in fresh.

We had a friend over for dinner and traffic had me running late so I had to put off my burpees until he left but the endorphins from a great workout and catching up with an amazing friend made them no problem for me.

So I'm still trying to get to the bottom of my rut. I feel better the more I workout for sure. I can get exercise before the afternoon, I get an energy rush that gets me through the day and it's incredible. On the flip side, my upper back is starting to pinch during my burpees. My climbs have been better this week when that's been my only workout (instead of coming second to a lunchtime bootcamp) but still have felt strained (probably due to that pinch). I'm not sure if pushing hard is helping or hurting more.

Thursday

Two days before race day, I definitely did not want to push too hard. Dan thought I could still make it to boot camp but luckily he took my car to work so OH WELL WON'T MAKE IT.


BUT - he took my car to work so that I would be forced to ride my bike down to the beach to meet up with him later. This is one of my favorite workouts and I love when we can coordinate to make it happen. The path from our house to Dan's work near the beach is mostly flat and downhill. It's almost completely bike path and about half of is through parks and adjacent to the San Diego river. It's incredibly pleasant, but at 9-10 miles, it's still a considerable workout. I love it.

The point of riding to the beach, was so that we wouldn't have to get too vehicles home after drinking. Responsibility first! However, in all of my fun, I forgot to do my burpees.

Friday

Kickball day! I was excited to have a really easy going workout the night before race day and kickball was perfect. The game was cancelled but a handful of us decided to stay around and practice. Normally I play catcher but I went into the outfield to help out since we had so few people. I actually ended up catching the ball a few times which is something I though I wasn't able to do. I'm not sure if it's related to fitness or confidence or the rum drink I had before but I was really happy about it.

Afterwards, we met up with some friends but I made sure to do all 60 of my burpees before going to bed.

Saturday

Race day!!! Spartan races make me nervous. I definitely did not eat enough for a 2pm start time race because of it but oh well.

So this race was a stadium sprint - that means the course wraps around the stands of a professional sports stadium. This one was at Dodger Stadium and  FUN FACT my first Spartan race was also a stadium sprint, but at SF Giants AT&T Park. While the stadium of the first was much nicer, my athletic performance was much better this time around.

2014 AT&T Sprint

2017 Dodgers Sprint

I love looking at side by side results like this. It's clear that everything was better - my pace and my rankings in all categories. I also like that it has some other statistics though. It was 10 degrees hotter in the middle of the day during today's race. Racing with hot sun overhead is hard. All of my running races are in the morning and the majority of my obstacle races are before noon as well so this was a real challenge. Despite that - I improved.

However, that heat and sun were my biggest obstacles for sure. I was definitely feeling physically ill from it by the end of the race and it was a real struggle to get through the last bit of it. I avoid training in conditions I don't find ideal and it really showed during the race. It's a good lesson that I need to push myself to run even if it's hot and gross and I hate running.

On the plus side though, many of the obstacles were the same as they were 3 years ago. I remember some of them being impossible for me to do without help or a lot of struggle. Many of those like the wall climbs, Hercules hoist, and giant jump rope - were much easier. I still had trouble with the rope climb, monkey rings, and spear throw - but I'm happy to have at least mastered some of the things I struggled with before.

Oh and the burpees... well, I definitely got at least 30 in yesterday! I think it's time to retire that goal though. It's purpose was to prepare for this race and that's done now. I do think I'll pick it up leading up to other obstacle races though because I hate them but they're so helpful.

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This week was so different from last week. I spent a lot of it really feeling unmotivated to exercise. I'm not sure if it was over-working the week before, stress, muscle tweaks, or the solar eclipse but something was off. Despite that - I had some good progress in climbing and my race was a huge improvement. Fitness can be such a slow progess and that comes with the occasional setbacks or bad days. It's important to do things that will allow you to see marked improvement because seeing how far you've come is the best way to get out of a slump.

Athletic August Week #2

I'm changing the format a little for week two. I'm going to have the summary at the end so it's not my header picture and I can put up something more fun. I'm also going to sort out the post by weekday instead of numbering the days because that seems harder to keep track of.

Anyways, here's a photo of me from the boot camp gym. You can kind of see the layout but it's not too important because every day the gym has a different set up depending on the circuit. So far, it has been different every day which keeps it really interesting.

Sunday

After Saturday and the whole week that I had, I was totally exhausted by Sunday. I was planning for it to be another low key day and I really just wanted to do a core workout that was primarily ab focused. That was one of the few things that didn't feel like it was worked enough the week before. I subscribe to some online workout videos but the core videos all use legs and back as well and those needed a day off. I was hoping to maybe find some YouTube videos or something but eventually I gave up on looking and just did some yoga poses and a little bit of ab work. I had the right idea but a video is so much more motivating than just doing sit ups by myself. I definitely will need to find some better solution for these kinds of days.

Monday

Monday is a climbing day!!! Climbing is my sport. I've been doing it about 8 years now which seems crazy - mostly because I've only improved slightly over the last 6 of those years. Part of this goal has been to make a big overall improvement and climbing feels like one of the areas this might be the most challenging.

My partner and I decided we wouldn't get better unless we really pushed ourselves. We've decided to start jumping on much harder climbs and then switching to an easier one when we get stuck. Both of us have been able to get much further along the hard climb than we expected which felt really nice. I think sticking with this plan will really help us get to the next level.

Tuesday 

Two a day Tuesdays!!!  ... were a horrible idea. Since I was still feeling like my core was under-worked, I decided to do one of those core videos from Sunday. Since my legs were no longer sore, it wasn't an issue doing a full body core workout on my lunch break. The video is only 30 minutes and overall feels pretty low intensity, so I decided I'd go to boot camp class as well. For the record, the video advises against doing any strength training after the core workout...

So after work, I head to boot camp. I'm looking around at the set up and see the dry erase board has some exercises written on it... V-ups... bicycles.... omg it's ab day at bootcamp too. Long story short - I got a double ab/core workout and it was rough.

Despite being so tired from my workout, I felt full of energy at home. I played with the dog, made dinner, helped with dishes (which are my absolute least favorite thing), and then after dinner still managed my burpees while playing with the dog some more. By the 30th one though, I dramatically fell over to show Dan how tired I was... and felt like I pulled something. Luckily it didn't hurt too much the next day but it showed me that I need to be careful about how I stack my workouts.

Wednesday

I got to cheat a little on Wednesday. Since I was feeling a little beat up from all the ab work on Tuesday and my butt still hurt from my fall, I wasn't sure I was up for more boot camp. Luckily, Dan went to the morning class and was able to tell me what to expect - back and biceps! Those two muscle groups weren't hurting so I decided I'd go to the lunch class which is only 30 minutes and then try to walk the dog later. Normally, I climb on Wednesdays as well but my partner had to reschedule so this sounded like a great way to mix it up.

The class was great. There was still some core work but most were back and biceps like Dan said. Since this is what I would have worked out climbing, I liked that I was still able to do it. Those are also muscles that I think look really nice so that was a plus as well.

There's not much to say about doggy's walk but I took her back to a park we used to live near and I think she really enjoyed returning to her old marching grounds. Even though she's barely spent any time there the last couple of years, she still remembered where everything was and was so excited to be there. Dogs are so smart sometimes.

Thursday

I got to cheat again. My plan was to do the 30 minute bootcamp class AND make it to body pump which I'd been skipping. However, Dan went to 7am class and reported that it was a million push ups. NO THANKS. I'm trying to get stronger and I know push ups are part of it but I hate them more than burpees. Hard pass.

No back for me!

I also had some struggling with going to Body Pump. Normally we go to a class at Dan's work with some friends but Dan and said friends started playing volleyball at the same time. It doesn't feel worth the drive to go without them. There's a closer gym that has it as well but it's always crowded. It feels like a lose-lose and to top it off, I had a work fire drill to put out right as I was signing off.... Luckily, I have an app for all of that. I pay a tiny fee to have online access to Body Pump whenever I want. I decided to pick neither gym and just do it at home after I solved the work crisis.

The other benefit was catering to my sore muscles. My biceps were really sore after the previous days exercise and body pump is a full body workout. I'd either have to skip that track or go very light weights and in a class, the former is really difficult. During the warmup, I realized my back was also super sore and I'd have to skip that track for sure. Fitness and classes are not worth hurting yourself over. I decided to do my burpees during those tracks instead... and ended up finishing them all so quickly, I was still able to do the biceps track on the lightest weights. It was a win all around.

Friday

I had an early start on Friday. Dan was heading off to the airport for the weekend and I offered to give him a ride to the airport.... which had me waking up at 5am. I'm not functional before 8am but I love my husband and I know he would have done the same for me so I got up and at 'em much earlier than usual. I was back home a little after 6am and had to make a decision. Do I try to go back to sleep for a super short amount of time? Do I go to the gym? Try to do something else? I didn't want to, but I chose gym.

Fridays at the bootcamp gym are "best of" for the week. Some of the exercises were ones I'd seen and some weren't (UGH PUSH UPS, REALLY???). All in all, I crushed the circuit. I made it through 4.5 times. It would have been an even 4 rounds with a mile run, but just as I was finishing my stupid push ups, the instructor said no more running and just go around again. Pssh... I could have run in that time. Anyways - I didn't want to choose the gym option but I did and it gave me an energy boost that got me through the morning.

I crashed a little after work but I still had kickball so I had to hustle. I made myself an awesome dinner and rushed to my game. It didn't go great but I got on base a couple of times. I love the game but I am terrible at kicking. I'm a decent catcher and I'm fast on base so I really want to get this kicking thing down and be able to contribute more for the team.

Saturday

The end of the week!!!!!! .... I'm tired guys. I think it has more to do with waking up so early Friday morning and then sleeping poorly Friday night (I don't like being alone in the house, ok?) than everything else but... I'm tired. I had breakfast, went to real estate work, and then to the climbing gym. I definitely didn't plan this out well because I was HUNGRY by the time I got to the gym. I DO NOT work out hungry. I am usually really good about planning meals and snacks out so I have enough to workout on but I'm not so full I'd sick. It's an art. I failed today. After 3 climbs and a pinch in my triceps (UGH PUSH UPS), I asked my partner if we should do another climb or just go get tacos.

I think you know what won.

Anyways, the important thing is that we went and did it. We climbed even if it was half the time. Honestly, after the week of workouts and lots of two-a-days, I could not feel bad about it if I tried. If you're going to do something like this. You have to listen to your body and my body said "TAAACCOOOSSSS."

I got my tacos, I took a nap, I ran some errands, and then I had a really relaxing night with my fur babies, chick flicks, and a bottle of champagne. I earned it. I had a hard week at work, a harder week of workouts, and I believe you have to treat yo'self. I even did my burpees just before cracking open the bubbly - I even threw in an extra 10 because I think I only did 20 yesterday.

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My weekly summary never came through but I was still able to grab my stats from the site.

I know, the other summary was way prettier

11 workouts, 9 hours of working out (I rounded up because I usually only count half the climbing time since I'm not climbing the whole time), and 3500 calories. What a week!!! I'm so proud of all the hard work I put in and felt really great. 

It felt like week 1 was a really struggle. I felt really sore the whole time and needed a lot more breaks to stretch and recovery. I really hit my stride in week two and really didn't get super sore or need much rest. I wonder what week 3 will bring!