Happy Friday everyone! It's officially summer as of this week and the temperatures are starting to catch up. Hopefully everyone has already stopped in and picked up an Air conditioning unit and is staying cool when they can. I was struggling to think about what to write about this week and then I realized I could kill 2 birds with one stone by writing about a workout blog. I was sick for the past couple weeks and slightly fell off with my daily workout routine. I was hurting and tired and couldn't find the motivation to workout especially in this heat. But now that I'm starting to feel better I'm going to use this blog as a reminder and motivator to get back to what I was doing and push through it. I have never been one to like working out. From stretching to running to lifting I don't really enjoy any of it. I don't feel that "runners high" people talk about or any sort of elevated mood while working out. But I do love how much healthier and better I feel afterwards. Since starting to work out consistently the past year and a half I feel so much better just going through my every day life. But as someone with back issues who hates the workout process but loves the results I knew I had to focus my workouts on something I could maintain and keep going long term. I knew if I tried to go full force, especially at the beginning I would never keep up with it and eventually stop all together. So this might not fit everyone but this is what I do every day that's helped me transform my body and life to a much healthier place.
Morning dog walk- Having a dog is a huge help for me getting cardio. I just really dislike running/walking. It's boring to me and I'm constantly just waiting to hit my mark and be done. Thankfully my dog loves walks and makes them much more entertaining for me plus I feel like I'm doing her a favor which makes me more motivated to actually get up and do it. So I wake up, get ready and take my dog for a 1-2 mile walk/jog until she's tired and ready to come in. This may not burn the most calories but this might be the most impactful workout all day as it really wakes me up and sets the tone for the day.
Push ups/Sit ups- During my lunch break while working from home I'll go to the little home gym I bought in my basement and do 200 sit-ups and 100 pushups in multiples of 25 alternating exercises. This is the hardest part of my workout and the numbers I do change. Having not really worked out the past couple weeks I'll probably cut that number in half starting out and work my way back up which is how I started. Both of these are pretty low stress on my back and can be modified slightly to switch up the muscles you're working.
Weights-I alternate which muscle group I work out that day but after I finish work I go and either focus on my legs, arms or back doing some light exercises with dumbbells and weights. I'll usually take one day off a week from weights as I have found that's what helps my body heal and recover the best. After I lift I also drink a protein shake as I've been dieting the past 2 years and don't always get enough protein from my meals.
Evening dog walk/Run- Especially now that it's summer I'll usually wait till a little later in the day to avoid the heat at all costs. But I start by walking my dog for however long she can go for and then I drop her back off at home and run 2 miles as fast as I can and track my times. This allows me to set benchmarks and goals and makes running a little more fun. Plus if I'm going to run, I'm going to run as fast as I can to just get it over with. After the run I'll come home stretch and then start making dinner.