Mixing It Up

"The only way that we can live, is if we grow.  The only way that we can grow is if we change.  The only way that we can change is if we learn.  The only way we can learn is if we are exposed.  And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open.  Do it.  Throw yourself."  - C. Joybell C.

It's amazing how quickly we can all get stuck into a routine and not really be too adventurous on branching out of it.  Be it with work, our personal life, our exercise routine or just everyday life...we get into the rhythm of a routine and that's how we see the world...through our tunnel vision.  Well this past weekend I decided to change up the workout routine that I've been doing for the past few months. To try and challenge myself in new ways and to try and bring some excitement back into my workouts.

On Friday, I drove down to Manitou Springs with my friend Cory to do the incline.  Now it's been months since I have last done this and given the setback from my injury, my level of endurance is nowhere near where it used to be!  About a third of the way up I could already feel my hamstrings becoming increasingly tight and it felt like someone was standing on my chest.  Haha to say it was rough, is a HUGE understatement!  By the time I made it to the top, I was happy of the accomplishment, but was so beyond exhausted!  The good part of doing this and mixing it all up a bit was to enjoy a view such as this...

After Friday's crazy workout, I was able to enjoy an outdoor yoga session in Denver on Saturday morning.  Yet another new turn in the workout schedule that I'm finding is increasingly important to mix back into my workout routine.  Taking 1 hour out of my day to just be grateful and reflect on what was and is going on in my life was a great reminder to slow down a bit.  What was also a great reminder was realizing just how tight and sore my muscles were and how important deep stretching is.

Sunday...the day of "rest" was anything but that!  I woke up early and took my first ever golf lesson.  With a handful of charity golf events looming in the near future, I felt it was time to step up my game a little and learn the proper techniques.  In that one hour, I learned SO much about form that it was unbelievable.  After hitting approximately 200 balls, my session was over but not without me wanting to test out my new found knowledge out on the course.  So 5 hours later, Cory and I made our way back to the golf course to play 9 holes.  I learned a few key things out on the course that afternoon...

1. Golfing at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon is never a good idea...it's too busy!
2. Walking 9 holes and golfing in 90 degree sunny weather in Colorado exhausts you faster than anything else!
3. I need to buy a ball marker...lol nothing says "rookie" like a penny marking your ball on the green!
4. I clearly need to learn how to hit a ball out of a sand trap.  If strokes counted that day, I think I racked up about 4 just trying to get my ball out of the sand!
5. Hip mobility is something I seriously lack...time to start working on that!

It was for sure an eventful weekend...one full of new challenges and now sore muscles that I never knew I had!!  It's great to have a routine and it makes us feel good when we know we can excel at that routine because we do it so often.  But how do you grow if you constantly just do the same thing over and over again?  Growing oneself is about challenging yourself to do things that you might not have once deemed possible.  So get up, get outside and try something new...who knows, you might find something you absolutely love and with a little time, practice and patience....something new to excel at!!

Advice From Others

I've said it before...I'm a stubborn individual and that's not something that you can necessarily change overnight no matter how much you recognize that it can be a problem at times.  After pushing myself a little too much with an incline climb and an 8 mile hike back to back, I've been nursing some super tight hamstrings.  I've realized that I've been doing too much of the same type of workout and overtraining the same muscle group...never a good thing.

Well sometimes you have to humble yourself and ask others for their opinions and advice.  While I know what I SHOULD do to get better, sometimes hearing it from somebody else makes it a little more real and a little bit more plausible to change.  So after speaking with my cousin Sarah who is a Physical Therapist and my friend Cory who is a Personal Trainer and Coach, I came up with a plan based on their suggestions of actually taking "rest days" so that I'm not overtraining, mixing up my workouts a bit and getting a massage.

Yesterday morning I decided to follow through with the workout part of the suggestions and created my own version of a 30 minute plyometric cardio workout!  To say it kicked my butt is probably an understatement...I'm sure I looked like a crazy person doing burpees and mountain climbers in the gym by myself, but one thing is for sure, I maximized those 30 minutes!  And yes, as soon as I can figure out how to upload my workouts to this site, I will make sure I add it so you can try it as well.  :)  Later in the day, I attempted a very easy 1 mile trail run...not my finest form or time for that matter.

After all of that yesterday I decided last night to go and get a massage from Maxi at Hand & Stone in Cherry Creek (http://www.handandstone.com/spa/Colorado/Cherry-Creek).  Simply put...she's UNBELIEVABLE and I highly recommend this place!  That followed by an epsom salt bath (ok with a glass of wine) truly helped to loosen up my muscles and rejuvenate me a little bit.

I guess listening to other's advice was a good thing because today I did a two mile run on the trail and rocked my time with a 7:39 pace...back to where I wanted to be!  I'm hoping that I can maintain this by continuing to mix in plyometric workouts to my routine and by taking time to relax and rest my muscle groups as well.

So as stubborn as I might be, and others as well, sometimes it's important to reach out to the people in your life that have the expertise to give you good advice.  I encourage you to take advantage of the different resources you have available in your own life so that you too are able to maximize your training potential!