Hi everyone,
This will be a quick one as I am simply exhausted, and I need to go and collect Marmalade from the Vet shortly as she was in getting spayed (God love her). I am exhausted because I was working 2 nights off one and in for another 2, I finished this morning and I couldn’t face doing the essentials around here, never mind a workout 🙁 Sad, but true – the energy and ability to workout, does reach a limit, so I need a little rest.
This workout was filmed on Saturday, after the first block of 2 nights, and I thought I was tired then LOL! Still I managed to do this really difficult workout as I failed, yet again, to go to the gym after work.
I really really hope I can snap out of this lull, as I just feel the dark days, cold weather and all this change has really impacted on my motivation. With so many plans and goals, and so many eyes watching, I feel like I have so much to do, but no time to do it. Please tell me this is not just me?? I know I could do so much better here and in my training if I didn’t have to work, but if I didn’t work – none of this would be possible. It’s a catch 22 I guess.
The Workout
This workout is body weight only (bar a couple of stability ball exercises). It is interval training and 20 minutes long. This is a tough one guys – make no mistake. Two rounds of 10 exercises. Set your Gymboss Interval Timer for 20 cycles of 15 seconds recovery, and 45 effort. I have indicated, in brackets, both my reps per exercise and each exercise’s focus with my nifty “key”. As in, cardio (c), strength (s), resistance (r), plyometric (p), stability (st) or core activating exercise (cae).
The exercises are:
- Squat Down Pistol Up (s,st,cae) (7,6)
- Half Burpee (c,s,r,cae) (22,19)
- Dynamic Squat (c,p,cae) (33,31)
- Stability Ball Pike into Pike Push Up (cae,st,s) (8, 7)
- Tricep Dips off Bench and Stability Ball (s,r,st,cae) (18,16)
- Reverse Lunge and Kick Up (right) (c,r,cae,st) (22,23)
- Reverse Lunge and Kick Up (left) (c,r,cae,st) (24,23)
- Stability Ball Jacknife (st,cae,r) (26,22)
- Power Jacks (p,c,st) (16,13)
- Elevated Plank Climbers (s,cae, and a little c) (21,22)
What a great variety of exercises, working nearly every part of the body, in different ways! Challenging and effective. As I said in the video, flexibility is my weakness, and I really want to get better at pistols again (Melissa has motivated me to do this). My strength has definitely improved, but strength is not complete without flexibility. As I intend on doing my Olympic Weight Lifting Course next March, then I need to get my finger out and start working on my weakest link!
OK everyone, that’s it for today, I will be back soon with more. In the meantime, let me know if a) you liked this workout b) if you find sometimes you lack energy to train, how do you combat this? I would love to say that I have a magic cure, but I don’t – I suffer just like everyone else. After all, this is why I started this blog, because I wanted to show the REAL LIFE struggles we ALL face. When I get disheartened, my diet suffers, so I am so scared of undoing all my hard work – and I don’t want to let anyone, especially myself down!
Right violins away, time to go and get my poor wee kitty from the evil vet 😉
Looking forward to reading your comments.
Cheers
Marianne
Marianne,
Great stuff. Really enjoyed it. I will try to implement some of your examples on my site and mention you. Let me know if there is ever anything I can do to help or if you need a guest writer always willing to write.
Thanks,
Cade
Thanks Cade 🙂 Will think about it.
Cheers
Marianne
Hmm. I am not so sure about that…
Marianne,
I saw this when you first posted it and knew it was one I had to try. I finally got around to it today, and as I’m sitting here dripping sweat and still panting, I had to let you know it was a good one! I had to sub the TRX for the ball but I think it gave the same effect. I couldn’t figure out how to work the TRX along with bench dips, so I just did the tricep dips suspended between two benches and left out the TRX/stability ball.
Loved it!
Glad you liked it 🙂 Your Subs work well btw.
Cheers for letting me know you did this one.
Marianne
I can’t wait to try this workout, however, i don’t have a stability ball, well i do, but i don’t have a way to get air in it. Where might i get a airpump that with air it up quickly without me losing the air. ha ha
This looks like a good workout, the rear lunge with kick is always a good one. I might attempt this next week after all the hustle and bustle.
p.s. you are way to hard on yourself. I would say the weather definately has a way to change our attitude about life in general. when its cold i don’t want to get off the couch.
Thanks Tempest, Good to hear from you 🙂 Todays’ training went much better. Enjoy the workout – hope you get some air 😉
Did it but I could only fully get through the first round. The 2nd round was minimal effort. I ran out of juice. Great workout!!
Great comments Marianne and Gillian. I think it is OK to go through a lull period, it is more harm full to beat ones self up and then end feeling guilty.
I will give this evil workout a try this evening. I wish I could workout in the morning but I usually have zero time for anything other than a shower and a coffee in the morning, I think I would perform better If I worked out in the late morning and also the afternoon.
I find a lot of motivation from visiting myomy.tv. let’s keep pushing through this low period, I think it is a seasonal thing.
Cheers
Mickela
Thanks Mickela for the vote of confidence, it’s nice to have so much positive support. We will all push though together 😀
Cheers and good luck with this “evil” workout lol
Marianne
Hi Marianne,
I have just read your comment on Melissa’s site: it’s funny because we wrote something similar 🙂
I also read about the experiment you were talking about with Andrew: that would be so funny! (And I am pretty sure it would work!).
I loved this workout: I am stubborn too and, though I will never be able to do pistols without breaking my legs, I want to at least learn how to do push-ups normally (not from the knees, as I do them now).
I have also ordered some barbell plates to do hip thrusts and I am very excited: I’m turning my little house into a gym.
Cheers
Bianca
Sounds great Bianca 😀 I’m sure your home studio will put mine to shame!
Pistols are hard on the knees, I remember when I did them bofore I got achy knees, so I won’t be including them that often in my workouts, I just wanted to punish myself that day!
Glad you enjoyed the workout all the same. Will go and read your comment on Melissa’s site shortly 🙂
M
Ahh, this is how I feel right now! I have been on low cals for the past three days (in preparation for Thanksgiving here in the US) and I have had really low energy. I usually workout about 90 minutes with the warm up and cool down, usually RoP KB or Tacfit KB, then a bodyweight routine and then abs! I”ve been doing this for months, so I thought I was pretty well conditioned. Usually I eat a lot though, so I think Sun with low carbs, and Mon & Tues of fruit and veggies took its toll. I really had to push to do anything this morning, so I tried this workout, and it was really tough, as promised! Here is what I did:
13 inch box pistols (could not do squat & pistol on left at all) 12, 8 assisted
1/2 burpee 14,12 (boy am I weak today!)
dyno squat 29, 29
Stability ball pike, pike push-up 8, 7 (tough, I felt as though I was going to fall on my head!)
tricep dip on bench and ball 18, 18 (not much time to get into this)
rev lunge & kick R 17,18; L 15,16
stability jackknife 17, 20
power jacks 21, 23
elevated plank climber 12, 10 (really tough)
I feel I was really compromised, so I will have to try this again when I feel more normal! I cooled down, and then did 5 box pistols each side to make up for the assisted ones.
So how do you get through the doldrums! I think that is what sets those who do this forever and those who quit — you have to have some sort of internal drive that keeps you going no matter what. I don’t think everyone has this because so many people give up on a variety of endeavors. Most people are quitters.
It is extra hard when you work out hard and hit a plateau of some kind, like you are working out and not getting any changes. The only thing you can do is keep going (I have a quote from Churchill on my wall: “If you are going through hell, keep going.”) No matter what, do something! Anything, even if it is a little easier than usual. I did not expect this workout to be easy, but compared to what I had been doing, it should have been easier! I am just glad I finished it!
There two other things that help tremendously and which sites like yours provide: variety and support. You offer tremendous variety in workouts and that way we don’t get mentally bored and our bodies are always challenged with something new. Also, just talking about it is supportive. We are mostly working out at home, alone, where we don’t have much if any input. Again, your site offers this: we all cheer or commiserate together… it is like a little community, just an electronic international one!
So now, I get to have my normal breakfast of oatmeal and fruit and a green smoothie and then I need to get some ingredients to make a good-for-you pumpkin pie and some brownies! I wanted to go raw, but all the pumpkins are gone from the stores, so I guess I will make something more conventional, but still not especially refined.
So, Thank You Marianne! We all have the same issues, and you have offered us tremendous support!
~ Gillian
Thanks Gillian, I always like to hear your input 🙂 It is an internal drive, that makes me want to keep going, you are an inspiration as you have travelled an amazing journey so far. We all have these days or even weeks when we chase our tails and wonder what to do next, it’s like you know something needs to change, or something has changed, but you don’t know what or, how to deal with it just yet.
Your plans for Thanksgiving sound yummy, I am glad we don’t have it here though, or I’d be a bloated mess by Christmas LOL. Just wait until you see my pre and post Christmas videos and you’ll see what I’ve been packing away 😉 I love food so much !
The workout was tough, and I am glad you made it though with your energy being low. You did way more power jacks! They kill my quads, you must have great explosive ability.
I do find working out at home harder sometimes. I find I need that competitive edge that going to a gym gives me. Even though I not a show-off, if I know people might see me, it makes me do more lift more, or advance more LOL I need to be the “best” 😀 I know I’m not, but no harm in trying.
It is frustrating when you see people give up and slip backwards – I don’t know how I would cope if I lost what I have gained. This journey, for me, will be for life, I am never giving up. I am stubborn, persistent and I hope, motivational for others to join me! We can all be stubborn and persistent TOGETHER. Nobody is allowed to quit here 😀
Thanks again Gillian
Cheers
Marianne
Its fantastic to go back and do an ‘old’ exercise again! I thought this would be way easier than it was though, so I am still humbled… 4 months later!
So today’s (march 8th) stats are:
1. Squat Down, Pistol up 10, 10 (still needed assistance)
2. Half Burpee 14.5, 13
3. Dyno Squat 30, 29
4. Ball pike and push up 10, 11 (still awkward, but better! )
5. Tricpe dip off ball & bench 23, 22 (yowzer these are tough!)
6. Rev lunge & kick R 19, 16
7. L 18, 16
8. Ball Jacknife 20, 20
9. Power Jacks 18, 20
10. Elevated Plank Climbers 12, 12 (still seriously hard!)
So when I compare back to November, I would say I am a little stronger in the upper body and more consistent overall (my numbers don’t change a lot in the 2nd round.)
It is fantastic to have this record so I can see what changed there are. I do have a workout log, but I also write down what workouts I do in my iCal, which is easier to search. When I knew I had done this workout before (I didn’t remember it!), it was easy to check here and see what my past comments were.
So, this is still a tough workout that is worth doing, esp when you are pressed for time!
~ Gillian
Glad you enjoyed this the second time around. What is an iCal?
Cheers
iCal is a little calendar on Macs. They are really convenient as you can sync them with smartphones and ipods, so I can easily carry my datebook with me. You could just as easily use google calendar I suppose.
I have a long handwritten workout log, like most of us do, but it is not easily searchable. I use my iCal to keep track of general workouts: what I did on what day and how long it took. So as long as I wrote the name of the workout correctly, I can search it, just the same as I can search anything on my computer.
Oh, I can also make alarms, so it will warn me about appointments, and that syncs with my phone too.
I have no excuse not to be organized and on time!
~ Gillian
Ah I see, sounds handy, must check out google for that 😀
Thanks
Great workout today. I like the pike ups and pike pushups. (when I say love, I really mean hate) 🙂
Amanda
LOL I know exactly what you mean, challenging, but horrible too – love/hate, I get it 😉
Marianne
Lacking energy to me means overtraining!!! time for a few days off I would say.
I have been following your workouts and some of the other fitness blogs out there just to get different ideas. I am a PT and mostly prefer to do my own workouts- i am also a spinning instructor and the same thing with that… i get frustrated in other people’s classes! but its really nice to get different ideas and stay motivated. I like you attitude and approach to fitness and my advice would be to take a few days off and see what happens.
I’ve been feeling a bit weak and tired myself the last few days so last night i ate a whole lot of cookies and will have a few days off and then get straight back into it!
and you certainly won’t ‘undo’ your hard work if you slack of a bit. obviously you don’t want it to spin out of a control. but it takes some serious damage over an extended period of time to ‘undo’ anything. i am pretty sure it will re-charge you.
best wishes to Marmalade i am sure she will up and about and chasing mice in no time.
Thanks Amy, both for leaving your comment, and your advice. I am feeling much better today after a good night’s sleep. Doing a class tonight, then a new workout tomorrow. After nearly 3 days off in a row, I am feeling more re-charged. I will maybe take things easier for a while and see if my energy returns 🙂
Marmalade is doing well, though she’s not impressed at having to wear a lamp shade around her head LOL
Thanks again
Marianne
Hi Marianne
No one would ever suspect you were lacking any energy if you didn’t say so. You alway’s come across as the energizer bunny lol For me, if I don’t push myself to workout before work ( so around 6.30am ) then it will not happen. I get home at 8pm most night’s and all I want to do is eat, watch some trash TV, and go to bed. As you can see, I lead a very exciting life lol. I have no helpful suggestions on combatting insomnia for Sara I’m afraid. My own job is more a mental brain drain, than being physically tiring, so I usually have no problem falling asleep at night…thank goodness. Now, actually getting up in the morning without hitting the snooze button more than once, is another story 🙂
This workout was tough, but I love the fact you used a stability ball. I have never been able to do pistols or pike pushups without struggling, and I hate struggling with particular moves during a workout. I get very frustrated. I would rather practice them when it’s not part of a workout, and I don’t feel any time pressure lol. So.. I did pass on those, but still want to repeat this particular workout with two alternative exercises. If you could suggest something, it would be most appreciated 🙂
Thanks
Sarah
Hi Sarah, sorry for late reply, was so tired last night and had an all day work training day, so only getting a minute to spend on the blog now. Nightmare LOL
Looks like I disguise my mood well at times, or at least when I am on camera. You should hear me when I mess the talking part up like a million times at the start and end of the videos LOL, not so nice then 😉
Those 2 exercises are very challenging and I totally get why you would want to practice them outside of a workout. So, as a substitute, for the pistols you could do deep bulgarian squats, and for the pike push ups, just to them with your feet on the floor. This way you will still build up the strength for those muscles.
Hope this helps. Melissa over at Fitmiss.tv has been working on Pistol progression and does airborne lunges. You could check out her site and see. This she has linked to some great trainer for other helpful progession advice etc.
Hope this helps.
Marianne