Last week’s workouts were in one word…AWESOME! I have really been focusing on CrossFit and running lately and it’s paying off with results. I hit a new deadlift PR in CrossFit this week and ran the longest and fastest that I have in years. It feels SO GOOD!
On my run this morning I was reflecting on why I workout and while I do appreciate the benefits it has for my body, I absolutely love what it does for my mind. It’s therapy. It’s stress relief. It’s emotional release. It’s confidence building. It’s moving meditation. It can totally turn around my mindset or the course of my day.
Here’s a breakdown of the week in workouts!
Monday
CrossFit
I visited CrossFit Ocean Isle Beach while I was on vacation in Sunset Beach and drug my friends along with me. It was their first time CrossFitting so I was kind and took them to the “fitness” class that used kettlebells and bodyweight movements instead of the barbell class. We did the workout that you see on top. We moved through four rounds of four stations of kettlebell swings, wall walks, step ups and planks and then finished with a 5 minute AMRAP of man makers and burpees, which was killer.
I loved the gym and got a great workout in. There was no AC in the gym (we are so spoiled at Metro) so the combo of beach humidity + summer left me drenched in sweat. It felt great! The best part was that my friends loved the workout too!
Tuesday
4 mile beach run
Wednesday
REST
Thursday
CrossFit
I got home from the beach Thursday and I was ready to hit the gym! I did a workout that one of my coach friends wrote out for me a couple of weeks ago but I decided to save for later.
This was a LONG workout. It took me over 30 minutes. The highlight of the workout for me was finishing up all 215 double unders in sets of 25. So much improvement on the double under front!
Friday
CrossFit
On Friday I decided that I needed a new deadlift PR. There’s a small group of us who workout at 5:30 p.m. on Friday evenings and I decided to take advantage of having my coach there to get me through it. (I usually have to workout on my own.)
My previous deadlift PR was 155 and I haven’t tested it in a really long time. I’ve been focusing a ton on deadlifts lately so I felt confident that I could hit a new PR…and I did! 15 pounds up at 170! Not the most beautiful deadlift ever, I wish I could have kept my back a bit straighter but I’ll take it!
After strength work it was time to WOD. We did a 15 minute AMRAP of 3 deadlifts, 6 dumbbell snatches (3 each arm) and 12 box jumps. I got 10 rounds + a few extra reps in. I was toast after this workout and sore for two days after from the combo of Thursday and Friday’s CrossFit.
Saturday
7.3 mile run
So…I got a text on Friday from a yoga friend inviting me to run with her over the weekend. She’s a rising senior and on the cross country team at her school (Side note…she was the youngest teacher trainee we’ve ever had do yoga teacher training and she’s rocking it teaching now. So cool to see someone so focused at her age.). She gave me the option of a speed workout of 3 miles at a 7:00 pace or a long run of 7 miles at anything below a 9:00 pace. Given that my 5K PR isn’t even a 7:00 pace, I chose the long run!
Conditions were perfect for our run. It was overcast and in the low 70s. We averaged an 8:33 pace and covered 7.3 miles. I was so happy to feel really strong and good on the run. My legs felt great, the pace felt comfortably challenging and I recovered quickly after. I can’t wait to do it again!
Sunday
Yoga
I finally made it to my yoga mat for a much needed stretch. I took my friend Kyle’s class at Charlotte Yoga and it was perfection.
WHY do you workout!?
7.3 mile run….you go girl! so many reasons why I workout, but mainly it is my therapy…”me” time…and I love to sweat. It feels so good!
So awesome~
I love working out because it calms the chatter in my mind, it makes me feel my own strength and reminds me that I am stronger than i think. I love that you and V went for such an awesome run!!! Rock on!
My why has definitely evolved over time (for the better). I am at a place now where I mainly workout because it’s a release, like you said it’s therapy in a way. 🙂
Congrats on such an awesome week of fitness with PRs and long runs! Your Thursday workout looks tough but really fun!
That WAS a rockin’ week of workouts!! Thanks for sharing them, always inspired.
I just wrote this morning on my blog about why I run – to feel the most like me. When things in life getting nutty and out of control, running each morning (well almost every morning lol) is my time to feel that things are right in my world. It is so a part of my routine, really is better and cheaper than therapy and totally just makes me feel right and puts a positive spin on every single day. Even a bad run still makes me happy.
I always tell my workout classes that being active is so much more than burning calories/losing weight/shaping up. If you can push yourself through 50 burpees, or PRing a lift, think about how much you can push through in your normal everyday life! The mental aspect of working out has a lot of carryover, I find.
Great week of workouts. Inspiring as always! 🙂
You are always such an inspiration!
I workout to keep my brain sane, to keep my body in motion, increase flexibility, and to stay in good health all pregnancy long. I hope that all of the squats and continuation of lifting weights will aid in a good labor for both baby & I. 🙂
Plus, all the workouts I choose to do are fun, so I don’t ever feel like it’s a chore or that I’m forced.
you rock girl! awesome job on your workouts and 170 lbs & 7.3 miles!!! Woohoo!! I workout to get away from emails, texts, and technology. sometimes i feel like i’m attached to my phone and it’s so freeing to turn it off and just listen to my thoughts. it reminds me that i’m in control and helps me to be more in the moment.