Listening To Your Body

I titled my post that because I feel as though the only productive thing I did today was get in workout clothes and move my body. That's not entirely true. I woke up bright and early (after a bedtime of 1am) to drive the hour out to my mom's school for a CPR certification class. But that feels like it happened days ago because I was definitely not awake enough to be sure if it was real life or a dream. I did capture this photo from the drive, so it must have happened.

I kept telling myself that after my nap (I don't nap, that's how tired I've been all day) that I would strap on my Garmin and take a jaunt around the neighborhood. I really was not feeling HIIT today. Well, when I woke up the weather had taken a turn for the worse and I chose my dad's treadmill instead, because I'm a baby.

I slowed myself down today because my body was telling me to take it easy. With this full, very busy year upon me, I need to start listening to my body so that I don't crash and burn and end up really sick or injured.

While in the room with my sister during her delivery, I was amazed at how well she knew and listened to her body. She was even making jokes between contractions because she was so in tune with when she was in pain and when she was able to take a break from the pain. It got me thinking that every woman (and man) should be that in tune with their bodies. 

Everyone should listen to the little things their body tells them. If your body needs to slow down, slow down for the day, you can go faster tomorrow. If you are sore and really want a rest day, take it, and you will be able to go harder tomorrow.

I am honestly the worst at this. I tell myself I will go slower because my body is tired, but then actually go harder because I can go slower tomorrow. I will tell myself I will lift lighter weights, but then go heavy anyway because I'm "not that tired."  Lately, I have realized that this is my only body and I need to show it love and respect otherwise, I may not be able to run and lift the way I want and need. So I'm getting better. But I did do a 30 minute HIIT video after my run.

Then I showered and ate this random meal.

So I had a much lighter day of exercise and activity, but I am not beating myself up about it. I am praising myself for actually listening to the cues that my body didn't want to go hard. And that's almost as good of a feeling as the runner's high after a PR.

Do you listen to your body well?

HIIT Wednesday

First of all, let me just tell you how fantastic it is to have my own personal masseuse. I've recently hired one and I only have to pay him in kisses.

Don't let the face fool you.  He adores me.

Wednesdays are my day off from strength training since I do a four day split. So now Wednesdays have become my unofficial HIIT day. High Intensity Interval Training is fantastic for fat loss as the calorie burning continues for 24-48 hours after you do the workout. The point is to bring your heart rate up quickly and then back down again. It hurts, but it's important to include in your weekly routine.

SOURCE

Today I started off with sprints on the treadmill. I do a 5 minute warm up, then 10 sets of 30 seconds of sprinting followed by 1 minute of recovery pace. After the 10 sprints, I cool down with 5 minutes of recovery pace.

Then I got on the stairstepper again. Stair stepping is my version of hell, but I put on the interval setting and do 10 minutes of 40 seconds work, 40 seconds recovery. I actually lasted the entire 10 minutes this week! My calves were burning when I got off.

Then I head upstairs to finish up my workout with Tabatas. I grabbed a Kettlebell and did swings, sit ups while holding the kettlebell, and weighted squats. I had dinner plans with the best friend, so I only did 3 rounds of tabatas instead of four, but my Mexican food was so worth it.

I know I will be feeling the HIIT tomorrow, but this week I have been experiencing a lot of DOMS this week for some reason, so it will only add to my already sore chest and triceps. I love it, though.

I highly recommend adding HIIT in at least once a week. Choose a cardio that you enjoy doing and then do it as hard as YOU can on and off for as long as YOU can.

Do you already do HIIT in your workout routines?