Still Pushing Play

Rest Days Gone WILD!
Tuesday was my rest day... and it started off pretty good. Well, actually it started kinda off because my initial plan was to go for a leisure bike ride to Washington Park. But the weather interceded on that plan. It also interceded with plan B: to do my light errands on foot. It wasn't the worst thing in the world since I really should have been letting my muscles calm down from Monday, especially the first week back into these very intense workouts. It really is important not to overdo it... now when I consistently get through three weeks of them, perhaps then it will be OK to do a little more activity on Tuesdays and Sundays... but yesterday, I probably should have done SOMETHING because the day somehow turned into an emotional eating day. I worried myself into a frenzy about some personal issues and before I knew it had eaten two honey buns... "Well, CZ, why do you even have honey bun's in the house?!" I don't know, dear reader... I don't know why I even bought them. *lowers head in shame*

And then around midnight I added to the mayhem... when I should have been asleep, I ate a pizza puff and fries made in the comfort of my own oven. The good news at least is that the fries are gone. And I have vowed not to buy processed, already made cut potatoes for frying again. lol But instead try sweet potato fries/chips made in the kitchen. I still have pizza puff's.. they're not as bad as you might think though: 400 calories. What I usually do, is cut it in half. Give half to the boy with pretzels or calorie pack chips and eat half for myself with a big salad full of veggies and light dressing.

So yes, yesterday was a mess. BUT, bad associations spoil useful habits. Those damn fries were badly associated with my freezer! And today is a new day...

Burn Circuit 2... kicked my butt! But this day has started off a lot more awesome than Rest Day. I woke up on my own will at 6:24 a.m. Then after about 7-10 minutes of getting my eyes to focus, I headed downstairs to get my day 2 on. And I drenched sweat for that lil 38 minutes.

I could feel every muscle working and some reps were just plain difficult to get through, but I did. Those of us who workout have all had that moment at some point. You feel so fatigued and exhausted... every weight, even your lighter sets, feel like they weigh a ton. But we can either quit or PUSH through. You always have to push through. Unless you physically feel like you are experiencing a problem: heavy chest, heart rate way too abnormally high, working out through the "pain" to push past your boundary and comfort level cause that's what's going to make us stronger. Not just physically, but mentally.

I stopped for a couple brief (10-15 second) breathers during the workout when I felt like it was too much. Serial workout enthusiasts (myself included even though I am just getting back on the scene) can sometime feel guilty about doing this but it.happens. You can do that, or you can also slow your pace (pausing in between sets for lifting). Try a new exercise... doing the same exercise over and over can really get boring. I worry about this having to do five of the same workouts, five days a week for four weeks. I will try to combat any boredom by upping the weights to keep challenging myself. That will distract me from the fact that I am doing the same routine.

Morning Workouts
My morning workout, I've learned is a great, great motivator. I get it out the way in the morning and feel determined to be great the rest of the day. Not to eat too much or poorly because it will counter effect all my good work. If you can workout in the morning I would seriously give it a try and this is coming from one of the most NON-morning people ... ever. But it beats doing whatever the hell I want all day and then trying to workout later in the day and it barely puts a dent in what I ate or drank. I feel my muscles working... feels good and I wanna keep that good feeling going!

Make sure you motivate yourself... because you are the one that has to ultimately do this for yourself. And I will need a lot of motivation. I am in the hardest stretch of my workout: four consecutive days. One (today) down. Three to go!!!

Off to have a nice bowl of cheese grits, my daily vitamin, and a 1/2 cup of skim... do your best today. Log your food, workouts. You deserve it!

cheese grits, sprinkled with chopped turkey
bacon bits, paprika and cayenne
brendan brazier strength training