How Hard Do You Train?

Is it just me, or am I just getting old?  Yes, I'm getting older and my body can't do as much physically, but crikey - some days I feel like absolutely shagged!  I think about women who work full-time and workout and I wonder how they do it.

Yesterday I started my day at 4:40am.

You see...I took my daughter and nephew to the Qld State Library yesterday.  I knew it was going to be a long day, and prepared all my food and Philomena's food the night before.  I knew I wouldn't feel like working out, considering it was a strength training day, and at the moment these sessions are pretty taxing.  So I decided to do my training before.  My sessions ATM including about 20mins rehab, take 2.5hrs, so I needed to get to the gym early and have time to come home and pack our bags, etc before heading off.  I also have to eat before a strength session and I like to eat no less than 1hr before I train. 

By the time I got home it was around 6pm after dropping off my nephew, etc, etc.  It was good that I got in my early morning session.  I was in bed by 8:30pm last night.  I could have gone to bed earlier if I didn't have to eat dinner.

Anyway...for those of you who work full-time, and in your 40's and have to train early in the morning...how the hell do you do it, day-in-day-out?

Now Liz did warn me that my sessions would be very taxing and I needed recovery-time.  Well at first I just shrugged it off, but now I get it.

When I first start a new program I'm so excited and motivated and I imagine myself doing all these amazing, adrenaline-pumped, crazy workouts where I'm pushing myself like mad, and then I go home and do all the other stuff in my life that I plan each day and what others consider a normal part of being a mother, wife and general Mrs Fix-it...and...I'm still smiling and bouncing off the walls.

But often when I get home, reality kicks in and all I feel like doing is reclining on the couch and having a good old snooze....for the rest of the day!  Then reality kicks in once again - I rest for about 10mins and then I get up and push-on.  You know?...what most mothers do.

My strength sessions start off with a 5min warm-up on the X-trainer, then 10mins at moderate-high intensity. I then do my rehab and begin strength training after. My new program entails four simple exercises - Squats, Press, Deadlifts, Pull-ups. I then finish off with a 15min moderate intensity run, just to make sure my legs are depleted. 

Seems pretty simple right?   How hard can that be?  Apparently it looks simple, but hugely taxing on the body.  I can testify to that.

So what is my mindset?  To be honest...I dread my strength sessions!  You know why?  IT'S FU*KIN HARD WORK!

But I also know that once I'm inside those gym walls, I'm rockin'! 

I have a certain pre-training ritual.  When I put on my gym gear (my super hero outfit) I'm getting ready for action.  I shower,  pull my hair back for training; I prep my gym bag, throw on my runners and sunnies and I head out the door.  I must listen to my favourite work-out track on the way to the gym - it gets the juices flowing.  When I get to the gym there are two vital things I MUST HAVE before I can begin.  One is my training diary and the other is my I-Pod.  Without these two things, my mojo is compromised!   If I forget them, I swear and curse myself over my stupidity.  Sometimes I have to go home to get them if that's what it takes.

I walk downstairs to the main training area and I do a quick sweep of the entire floor to get a feel of the mood of the place.  Atmosphere for me is really important for my workouts.  I thrive on that energy that everyone gives off.

I go to the toilets and get out all my stuff.  The last thing I do before I head out to begin is I put on my headphones.  Once I put my headphones on, I can't hear anyone or anything.  I AM NOW IN THE ZONE!    I don't need to know what everyone is saying - I shut out all the noise.  I just  feed off the energy.

When I train I don't talk to anyone.  I might just smile or give a nod.  I completely zone out. 

Regardless of how I feel, I cannot slack off!  In fact, I like to give it my all.  I like to train hard.  I like to do one better than I did the last training session.  If I'm really fatigued or feeling flat, then the minimum I expect from myself is to maintain what I did the last session.

If I'm not in a ball of sweat - I'm not training hard.  As in Pauline Nordin's photo above, you don't look pretty when you workout!  That's how I like to train - hard.   Hard for me anyway. Because my thinking is...it's only temporary.  If I train hard and give it my all now,  I can go home and relax.  But out of the minutes and hours in the day, whatever it is that I'm doing, the time required isn't all that long, and then I can rest when I'm done.  So I put in.  I don't think of my whole workout on strength days.  I just stay in the present and give my all to whatever set or reps I'm doing. 

The hardest part of my strength sessions at the moment is that last run.  My legs feel a little wobbly to start and I just want to go home.  Sometimes I entertain the idea that I should cut down the time or the speed, but then I know I would be cheating myself.  It's just a psychological thing.  It's all in my head.  My body can handle it quite alright, but it's just my head telling me otherwise.  And like I said, I can't not do it.  I must at least equal or better what I did last time.  How else am I going to progress?

So regardless of where you are when it comes to fitness training, be honest with yourself.  How hard are you training?  Don't compare yourself with Jo Blo next to you.  Compare yourself with your last effort.  Always put in your best.  You'll get days where you feel like shit!  If that's the case, congratulate yourself for turning up.  You've conquered the first major hurdle by getting your arse out the door and training.  Because if you want to know how to get fitter, faster, stronger, better, all you have to do is better than you did yesterday...rinse and repeat!