Just Doing It

Like my highlighter art on a 5x7? No I'm not in high school. I was just taking a break from staring at my computer screen at work one day and that's how this piece of art came to be. 

So here's a pretty tough, 3-part circuit-style workout, and I invite you to to give it a shot. The "circuit" (part 2) is meant to be repeated 3 times before moving on to the run. If you're more of a beginner, then do it only once or twice through. If you're more advanced you can do it 4 or even 5 times.

So here we go...

1. Elliptical.
You can spend these 15 minutes however you please, but try to make your time worth in on the machine. I did an interval-style workout, going 2 minutes hard and 1 minute easy and repeating that cycle 5 times. Whatever you do, try to keep your RPM's from fluctuating too much, and keep your heart rate and breathing up. This is cardio, and that's how you work your heart and lungs!

2. Circuit.
For each bullet, do the exercise for 45-50 seconds each, and then rest for 10-15 seconds before moving on to the next exercise. That way, each run through it should take no more than 5 minutes.

For the first one, the squat/shoulder press/side leg lift, you can do the exercise somewhat like this exercise from Women's Health.

...except you don't have to use a step (I didn't, I just did this standing on the floor), and you can use dumbbells instead of a weighted bar. And to make it truly a "shoulder press," press the bar or weights above your head when you move from the squat position to the standing on one leg position. Alternate sides as you are doing this.

For the last part, where I wrote Russian twist and plank, you can really do any abdominal or core exercise you please. I just wrote these down because I know they are always tough and it's easy for me to tell if I'm slacking off or cheating with these (because my form goes to crap).

3. Run 400s (that's one lap on a 1/4-mile track).
I know you don't want to do it, but it really is for the best. The idea here is to just drain the rest of your energy. You'll be able to tell if you were really pushing yourself or not from the previous circuit based on how fast you can run the 400 meter repeats.

If you're not lucky enough to have a track right by or in the gym, you can use the treadmill and do the same distance on there. Yeah, I don't like the treadmill either, but you've got to run on something with a marked distance.

This part is all about speed. Any energy you have left should be gone by the time you're done. You should pace yourself to go very fast during each 400, but not an all-out sprint, because you want to actually be able to finish each one running. After each 400, rest for about 1 minute (no more than 1:30) before getting back to the starting line and going for the next one. Be sure to make a note of your time after the first one and try to either match or beat that time for subsequent laps.

4. Cool-down.
This is going to feel so good, because you are done! You can walk it or jog it, or do a combination of both. Just catch your breath, lower your heart rate, and try to loosen up your muscles.

Be sure to get a good stretch after all this too. I was pretty sore the next day after doing this workout (mostly legs), and sometimes there is no amount of stretching that will alleviate that pain, but it can help a little bit.

And in case you're wondering about the status of my bum ankle, it's feeling about 99.5% better, so I deemed it safe to complete this workout. When it's back to 100% you better believe I'll be adding back in some lateral hops and trickier balance moves...there's been nothing worse lately than my bum ankle making the rest of me feel like a bum, so I am very ready to get back on the workout train hardcore this week!