You know that saying, “You’re only one workout away from a good mood?” I experienced that in a major way last Thursday. I was scheduled to teach BodyPump at the Y but I came up with a list of reasons why I didn’t want to teach and even sent out a last minute sub request.
1) I’m too tired.
2) I am too stressed about work and shouldn’t leave to go teach.
3) I have a headache.
4) I have social plans tonight and no time to get everything done, teach and make it out with my friends.
5) I’ve done too much CrossFit this week.
No one was available to sub my class so I sucked up my bad attitude, got my work and life stuff organized and headed over to the Y to teach BodyPump 83.
I walked into the gym and gave my co-instructor a hug and was almost on the verge of tears because of my general exhaustion and headache but then I looked up and saw 30 students ready to sweat and work hard and I realized that whatever I was dealing with didn’t matter. I was there to teach them and give them the experience they came for. And wouldn’t you know that by the time warm up was over and we made it to the squat track that I was smiling and my headache had dissipated.
When I took over teaching at the halfway point I was back to my normal, over enthusiastic self and remembered why I’ve shown up every Thursday for the past three years to teach BodyPump. It’s so much fun and a killer workout! I’m really digging BodyPump 83…especially back and hamstrings, lunges and shoulders.
Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish whether you really need a rest day or are avoiding working out for whatever reason. It’s easy to find excuses not to workout but would say that I almost always feel better mentally and physically if I can find a way to get it done (this is of course excluding scheduled rest days – those are good!). Getting through BodyPump last week totally turned my entire day around. I was so stressed about work and feeling overwhelmed and teaching put me in a totally different place. I walked in mopey and dragging and left smiling and full of energy.
Is this true for you too? Does working out elevate your mood and energy when you’re having a rough day?
And a few things to share from today…
Breakfast after teaching a yoga private was overnight oats and coffee.
I took a yoga class midday and it completely crushed my soul. I was ready to refuel when I got home for lunch. I sauteed chard with olive oil and then topped it with reheated ristotto. I mixed chopped artichoke hearts and leftover grouper and topped it with feta and added some sliced avocado on the side for extra fat/staying power.
A couple of hours later I had a peanut butter and banana protein shake. Sullie was very hopeful that I would share but she was out of luck!
I taught a circuit training class at the gym this afternoon and we did a little “Tabata Tuesday.” Since it’s all bodyweight exercises, I thought I’d share it with you guys. Tabata workouts are meant to be very high intensity. You go as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 and then repeat for 6 or 8 total rounds before moving to the next exercise. So you would do all 6 or 8 sets of burpees before moving on to flutter kicks. Let me know if you have questions about any of the movements.
Off to teach yoga. I’m a little teaching machine today. Y’all have a good night!
