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When Gaining is Good
Jan. 20th, 2009 01:57 pmI am limping around the job site today. My hamstrings are so tight, it hurts to walk, stand and sit. (The muscle that connects your butt to your knee... or something like that. don't quote me, but I know what it feels like.) My arms, shoulders and pecs are also sore from weight lifting and yoga. I've been pushing myself harder since I entered the 12-week window for my next race. Go figure. I also spontaneously switched to a morning work out over the holidays and it's kicking my butt more than the evening ones were.
It turns out the morning workouts are more intense and driven than my evening ones because of the time-factor. In the evening I have lots of time whereas when I arrive at the gym at 5 am, I'm already counting down to the time that I must quit working out in order to get to work on time. That time pressure has really slapped me in the face with how valuable my time is. I walk into each workout saying, "I will get out of it whatever I put into it. And my time is my most valuable commodity, so I might as well make this worthwhile or I shouldn't have even come." Also known as "bring it or stay home."
( gorey details and how I kick my own butt )
One of the questions I always get is "how do you make the time to do all that." Or others say, "We know you don't sleep."
Truly, I do sleep. I function pretty nicely on 6hrs of sleep, especially when I'm in my fitness groove. In fact, sleep is very important for thinking clearly at work, being nice to people, and physical health. Sleep is good. I don't like less than 6 hours sleep and I refuse to tackle Mt Diablo on less than 6 hours of sleep.
Work-out time does not create itself. I have to make the time to work out. I was done getting kids into bed, doing some more sorting/organizing in my closet, and packing my gym bag at 9pm last night. I chilled out in the office with F for an hour (I was perusing my one of my triathlon magazines) and I went to bed at 10 pm. I had 1 hour yesterday where I wasn't commuting, working, child-rearing, working out or doing chores. 1 quality hour spent relaxing with F. I used to spend hours and hours playing computer games and watching TV, but I've traded that in for something that makes me feel better.
It turns out the morning workouts are more intense and driven than my evening ones because of the time-factor. In the evening I have lots of time whereas when I arrive at the gym at 5 am, I'm already counting down to the time that I must quit working out in order to get to work on time. That time pressure has really slapped me in the face with how valuable my time is. I walk into each workout saying, "I will get out of it whatever I put into it. And my time is my most valuable commodity, so I might as well make this worthwhile or I shouldn't have even come." Also known as "bring it or stay home."
( gorey details and how I kick my own butt )
One of the questions I always get is "how do you make the time to do all that." Or others say, "We know you don't sleep."
Truly, I do sleep. I function pretty nicely on 6hrs of sleep, especially when I'm in my fitness groove. In fact, sleep is very important for thinking clearly at work, being nice to people, and physical health. Sleep is good. I don't like less than 6 hours sleep and I refuse to tackle Mt Diablo on less than 6 hours of sleep.
Work-out time does not create itself. I have to make the time to work out. I was done getting kids into bed, doing some more sorting/organizing in my closet, and packing my gym bag at 9pm last night. I chilled out in the office with F for an hour (I was perusing my one of my triathlon magazines) and I went to bed at 10 pm. I had 1 hour yesterday where I wasn't commuting, working, child-rearing, working out or doing chores. 1 quality hour spent relaxing with F. I used to spend hours and hours playing computer games and watching TV, but I've traded that in for something that makes me feel better.
