Heaven and Hell Bootcamp

Tuesday nights are usually a designated workout time and Wednesday nights I usually rest because I stay at Phil's place and generally want to spend time with him instead of going to the gym. I have a busy weekend ahead of me and have been looking at my closet in dismay these last few days, feeling like I have nothing to wear. I was in a cleaning and organizing mood last night, so I decided to sacrifice my workout in order to get some things done that needed to be done. Success - I realized that there are plenty of clothes in my closet and I don't need to go on an emergency shopping spree!

This morning, I intended to wake up at 5:45 and get to the gym a little after 6. My alarm went off and I hit the snooze button. 10 minutes later it went off again. I shut off the alarm and lay there for a minute, contemplating if I should continue sleeping or not. "You're never going to get all your workouts in each week if you don't start going a few times in the morning," I thought to myself. "Plus, you're only going to get about another hour of sleep anyway - that's practically nothing." FINE, brain. I'LL GO.

*Sun isn't up yet, but here I am!*

I made it to the gym at about 6:20, and needed to leave a little after 7, so I had to have a shorter workout. Taking baby steps here when it comes to waking up early! I did 2 sets of 3 weight machines focusing on my arms and back, then got on the treadmill. I only had 20 minutes for cardio, so I made up an interval workout. It went something like this:

2 minute warm-up at 5.5 mph on a 1.0 incline

Alternate 1 minute walking at 4.0 mph pace on an 8.0 incline,
then run 1 minute at 6.0 mph on a 1.0 incline

Minutes 10 - 20 same thing, but run for 2 minutes at a time instead of 1

2 minute cooldown at 3.0 mph, 0 incline

I felt surprisingly awake and energized for the rest of the day and feel positive about making morning workouts for the rest of the week. I still prefer evening workouts - they help me feel I am working off the stress of the day. I also don't feel as pressed for time as I do in the morning. But a short workout in the morning is better than no workout at all!

On Monday, I purchased a deal through Amazon Local (they are starting to get some good stuff! I check out their site, Groupon and Living Social every morning) that was $20 for a month of bootcamp classes at Heaven and Hell Bootcamp in Lisle. Regular price is $85 for the month, so this was an awesome deal!

I've been contemplating for a couple days if I should take on the morning or evening classes. Feeling inspired by the fact that I got my butt out the door this morning, I called and booked my classes as soon as I got home from the gym. I decided to do a mix - class at 6:15 AM on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays and then 7:15 PM on Tuesday and Thursdays. The classes are 30 minutes long. I opted for this schedule because I meet my good friend Christina for breakfast every Tuesday, and I stay over at Phil's from Wednesday to Thursday, and he lives a bit farther from the classes than I do. I like this schedule as it doesn't completely lock down my evenings, but also doesn't require me to wake up early for 5 days in a row either ;)

I'm going to attend my first class this Friday. I'm a bit nervous about my back...so shhhh, don't tell my chiropractor about this! I'm looking forward to this challenge and changing up my workout routine, but I know I need to be smart about it too. The chiropractor explained to me back in May what type of exercise can be bad triggers for my lower back, so I will just have to modify or avoid those types. Basically, anything where you are leaning over at a 45 degree angle and using weights is bad for your lower back. I plan on mentioning my back issues to the instructor before the class.

Check back Friday to hear how the first class went!