besides my obsession with turbokick, i did get in two strength
training workouts this week which were a nice little change. they were
around 25 minutes a piece which actually was perfect since i feel like i
have been running around like a crazy person trying to be wedding
productive.
in regards to strength training and working
out in general i want to share something with you. i was at they gym
on thursday morning and i felt so energized and motivated but my body
was a little sore so i decided i just wanted to lift lighter weights and
treated the day more like a rehab day for my body more than anything.
i
was still so happy to be there. happy enough that i didn't even put my
head phones in as i was so content just listening to absolutely
nothing. it wasn't very busy so it was almost as if i really wasn't
hearing much of anything except an occasional treadmill here and there.
after about 10 minutes into my work out i was doing some bicep curls
with 12 lbs. a man walked by and started up a conversation with me and
what he said made me wish i would have been listening to my iPod rather
than having empty ears which was more or less an open invitation for him
to talk to me. i don't need to list everything that he said but it
mostly centered around this:
- i needed to lift heavier weights
- i needed to stand against a wall to make it more difficult
- i should try cross fit
- my 'workout' plan for the day wasn't productive enough and i should probably just stick to the one he told me to do instead
i thanked him for his advice and tried to move along
and continue my workout. i put my weights down and went over to do my
second round of 3 circuit push-ups. i started to breathe heavier and
became irritated because i started telling myself things like, "maybe i
should be lifting heavier weights," "maybe i shouldn't have had a rehab
day," and of course this question had to come to mind..."if he is
telling me that my workout today isn't good enough how am i ever
going to create effective plans for clients?"
i stood
up and went for my second round of bicep curls. this time i grabbed
17.5 lb weights and continued on. i did not want to be lifting that
amount. it was heavy and i did not want to stand against a wall. and
within seconds i just wasn't having a good time anymore. i felt
uncomfortable because i felt as if he was watching me and critiquing
everything that i did. i put my weights down and reminded myself why i
was there in the first place: rehab day. i wanted to go put
my head phones in to hide myself from his comments but i just couldn't.
i wasn't going to be afraid of him like that. i put the heavier
weights back on the rack and grabbed the lighter weights and looked up
the original workout i had planned in my phone and finished it with a
smile on my face. he walked by a few more times during that time and
tried telling me things and i just continued to thank him but told him i
didn't need his help. i was content doing the workout i wrote out for
myself and ya know what, it felt good to say that.
my
point is this. it is so so important that we listen to our bodies when
we live active lifestyles. i had already had 3 hard workouts that week
and my body was telling me that it wanted weights, but wanted them in
light doses. it doesn't matter that everyone else there was lifting
more than me and it doesn't matter if one person thinks there idea or
plan is better for you because actually the only person that knows whats
best for your body is you. whether you run 30 miles a week or jog once
or whether you bench press 150 pounds compared to just the bar, never
ever feel intimidated by others at the gym. they don't know what you
did prior to that workout or what you have planned for the rest of the
week. if i know that i'm not going to work out for a few days, i push
myself hard during that final workout. if i get in a funk and am just
too lazy to do anything there, sometimes i sit on a yoga mat and talk
with co-workers instead of pushing my body over its limits. you know
you best and there is only one person that can judge you and i promise
you that he loves you just the way you are.
i hope
that when i post workouts on my blog you take parts of them that you
love and do them and i hope you ditch the parts you hate. if i write
down 25 reps of something and you want to do 10, great! if you want to
do 30, awesome! it is never my intent to push you further than you can
go or not push you hard enough. they are just workouts that i love to
do and love to share and i never want to make you feel inadequate for
either not doing them or disagreeing with them. as long as your being
you 100% of the time, that is what counts!! the 17.5 lb dumbbell curls
were not me that day and as soon as i realized that, my workout ROCKED!
New to your blog- LOVE it!! :)
ReplyDeleteThat man was just RUDE. Unsolicited advice is not appropriate! Props to you for remaining pleasant- I probably would have growled at him!