This school year, more than any other, has left us really struggling to keep up with our workouts. And that's huge in our house. We both notice issues with depression when we are not working out on a regular basis. And I have a waist line that will not be contained (since I can't seem to moderate my eating as much as I should) when I am not regularly hitting the gym.
So ... bottom line (yes, pun intended) ... we NEED our workouts.
But what to do when our work and home schedules are getting out of control? Wonder Dad is a 'night guy' and as such, early morning workouts of any shape are really not in the cards for either of us. We get to the gym as often as possible, but to be honest, there are some days when we barely have time for dinner, none the less the type of workout that will battle the blues and keep me in my current wardrobe.
Last fall, we were turned on to 'Tabata' or Crossfit workouts. Short, but incredibly intense. I contend that's a perfect match for me! :D
The idea is to do a few "functional" movements grouped together over short bursts of time. If you have ever watched the Crossfit Games on TV, then you have an idea of the extreme side of these work outs.
In addition to the tighter time frame (a typical Tabata workout should not exceed 25 minutes and honestly, we rarely make it past 10 or 15 minutes) one of the biggest 'perks' to these types of workouts is that you do not need a gym or a lot of special equipment. You can do so much with just body weight exercises like squats, jumps, burpees, push ups, and sit ups.
So Wonder Dad and I jumped in. We did a few of these workouts and let me tell ya ... they kicked our TAILS!
We are not sedentary people. We work out an average of 5 - 6 days a week all year long. We play on a soccer team and we take Judo classes (when my shoulder isn't bothering me too much).
When we saw some of the sample "Workouts of the Day" (WOD), we even dialed them WAY back. And yet, each one left me gasping for my inhaler and wondering if I could even manage to crawl out of the way so that Wonder Dad could take his turn.
You might ask, why would we put ourselves through this? But in the 4 or so months we've been trying these workouts, our bodies are already starting to respond. At first, we could only manage one of these workouts a week (we would do more traditional workouts the rest of the week). Now we are doing at least 3 per week. And more often than not, these are the only type of workout we are doing. Some days we can even manage a run afterward! I think that's some pretty awesome progress!
And in addition to kicking up the intensity of our workouts, we are doing quite a few of them at home. This really cuts down on the time it takes to get in a good workout. Some days we go out to the garage and get in our workout while Wonder Boy is inside finishing his homework. And even better than that, some days Wonder Boy joins us in the garage and does the workout right along beside us. Talk about SWEET!
So ... if you are looking for something new to "spice up" (& speed up) your workouts ... I suggest that give Tabata/Crossfit a try!
If you think this might be up your alley, check out this web site for some no-equipment-needed workouts that you can do right at home! And on this site you can find the "named" workouts and a generator to help you build your own WOD.
Have fun!
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