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#WorkoutStreak Challenge – Thanksgiving to New Years!

I don’t want to wait until the New Year to consistently start my workouts again like some people do, so I am starting a #WorkoutStreak challenge.  I started yesterday on Thanksgiving and it will go till (at least) New Years.  I always have had issues with being stuck doing one kind of workout.  For instance, when I was marathon training, I was only doing cardio or running-related workouts.  Before that, I did a lot of strength training at the Sweatshop.  I never have had a good balance between cardio and strength training.  For this challenge I will mixing between yoga, running, and strength training.  The requirement for every week is that I do at least two yoga workouts, two running workouts, and two strength training workouts.  On the last day it can be a wild card day – any workout.

Yesterday I started with yoga.  Because of the amount food I inhaled during Thanksgiving, I decided to do Caley Alyssa’s cardio yoga again on Beachbody On Demand.  This time I opted to do the more difficult track and used the yoga blocks less.  As you can see, there was a good amount of sweat steadily streaming me into my eyes.

#WorkoutStreak Challenge Day 1
#WorkoutStreak Challenge Day 1

Everything is better if you have a group to join you! Who wants to join me? Leave a comment below to let me know if you want in also!

The #WorkoutStreak Rules:

  • Challenge goes from Thanksgiving (11/23/17) to New Years (1/1/18)
  • Workout every day in any way you like: gym, running, walking, yoga, etc
  • Use the hashtag #WorkoutStreak with a picture/stats from your workout
  • (optional) Follow me on Instagram or Twitter so we can track each other

Let’s get going!

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Intensity

Every so often my trainer Matt from the Sweatshop sends a motivational email to all of their clients.  This week was really got to me.  I thought about it the rest of the week and how this may have just started as an email about working out, but it can also be used in life.  To make changes, you have to be willing to go outside your normal routine and push a little bit harder.  Here is part of the email he sent out:

SWEATSHOP RULE: “INTENSITY“
Whether you’re trying to lose weight, blast fat, get stronger, faster, leaner, etc.
You’re going to have to WORK HARD.
You’re going to have to PUSH YOURSELF.
You’re going to have to STEP OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE.
Read it here-
SIMPLY GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS WILL NOT GET YOU THE BODY THAT YOU WANT.
Do you know when REAL change happens?
It’s when you can barely lift out those last few reps because your arms are on fire, and everything in you wants to give up…
BUT YOU DON’T.
It’s when you’re gasping for air out of breath, your heart is beating out of your chest, you still have 20 more burpees to go, and everything in you wants to give up…
BUT YOU DON’T.
It’s when you’re brain is telling you that you can’t possibly do that…
BUT YOU DO IT ANYWAY.
No one said this was going to be easy, but you know what?…
That’s why the majority of the country is out of shape, overweight, and at risk for numerous health diseases.
BECAUSE IT TAKES HARD WORK TO CHANGE YOUR BODY AND MOST PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR THAT QUICK AND EASY FIX:
That next diet, that next gadget, that next workout fad, that next “magic” pill…
THIS IS NOT YOU.
You DO NOT talk on your cell phone in between sets.
You DO NOT spend 90 minutes pacing yourself during a workout.
You DO NOT make excuses.
You DO NOT always choose the “easy” road because it’s “easy.”
You DO NOT simply go through the motions.
You DO NOT listen to that little voice in your head that always tells you to stop.
YOU DO NOT GIVE UP WHEN THINGS GET HARD!!
 
YOU DO demonstrate “INTENSITY.”

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Suffice it to say that this week’s workouts after receiving this email were incredible.  As much as I have been working out since the New Year, I admit I have been pacing a bit through the workouts.  Time to push a little more, run a little faster, and breathe a little harder.  Once I can get into this groove I think I will be good, but until then, I will be exhausted after workouts.

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Hundred Push-up Challenge

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Last week, I asked one of my friends from DailyMile about the hundred push-up challenge he kept posting about. He linked me to the hundredpushups.com site, which is basically a six-week program that is supposed to get you strong enough to do 100 push-ups without stopping. I sent the link to a couple of my co-workers that have been or trying to start up working out. Coop and Sam accepted the challenge and last week we decided to
start off the program with the initial test. Cooper did 27, Sam did 31, and I did 35, but I don’t think I went low enough on all of mine. According to the training if you were able to do more than 25 in your initial test, you should start on week 3 in the most advanced level. So this week we did.

Monday Coop and I went to the gym at lunch to start off Week 3 Day 1 as instructed by the program. The first day for our level had us doing 5 sets: 14, 18, 14, 14, and then max (but at least 20). I got the sweet app for my iPod Touch that tracks your progress on this program. Geez, there’s an app for everything! I was able get through the first four sets pretty well. I really had to push out the last couple. When I got to the max set, I only got to 11. Then I did the last nine over a couple more mini-sets. Hah!

Today I went after work to do my push-ups. Day 2 consists of 5 sets once again: 20, 25, 15, 15, and then max (at least 25). Again, I got through the first four sets alright. The second set of 15 was a little tough, I really had to push out the last 4 or 5. Then when I got to the max set, once again I collapsed at 12. I finished off the minimum 25 over a couple of mini-sets once again.

I am feeling okay after these first two sets. Not overly sore or anything like that. I think months (if not the past 2 years) of pushups really helped me out. I want to be able to max out to the minimum in the 5th set of the workout. I will most likely repeat this week’s workout next week as well, of course around my running schedule. Wish me luck!