When is it okay to skip the gym?

When is it okay to not go to the gym?

When is it okay to skip a workout?

Short of recovering from an injury, is it ever okay to not complete, or even start a workout?

That conundrum has been plaguing me all week.

 

Because I'm training for the Indy Mini Marathon, I'm "running" 5 times a week now, upwards of 20+ miles per week.

Note: I put "running" in quotation marks because I don't actually run the whole distance. I've only run a mile without walking a few times, and I'm not even consistent at doing that.

Last week I was on vacation in Key West, Fl. Sunday we flew back and my plan was to go straight to the gym, before heading home from the airport. I didn't sleep much the night before, and while I can sleep on planes, I never sleep well. Leaving the airport I was tired and stiff, and I still have over an hour long drive to the gym, a mental battle raging the whole time of whether or not to complete the 2-3 miles scheduled.

It wasn't until just before I pulled into the gym parking lot that I figured out the cause of the mental battle that was then hours old. Of late I've developed a reputation of a hard-core-no-excuse-maker that never let's anything get in the way of a workout. Most of the time that's great because it keeps me accountable and it inspires other people as well. Other times it's not great because, like on Sunday, I didn't go to the gym because I wanted to, or even because I thought it would be beneficial. I went because I felt pressure. I went because I felt like I had to.

I kept saying to myself that a real athlete, a true distance runner, pushes through the workouts that don't feel good. After all, it's the ones you force yourself to go to that make the real difference between you and the rest of the folks at the gym. Those are the ones that create the mental toughness that you need. Skipping that workout - that easy workout on Sunday, is a defeat.

Was it really? I don't think so. Honestly, I was exhausted. An improvement in fitness would not have taken place. I needed rest. I don't regret skipping that workout.

Tonight... Not so much.

Tonight was another easier workout - 3mi, but I only made it half way through. I don't know if I was still exhausted, but even my warm-up pace, and rest/recovery pace felt like I was pushing to the absolute max. I felt stiff and tired the entire time. Usually the feeling of moving through hummus goes away after a few minutes, but tonight it did not. In fact, it got worse. A mile and a half in, I called it a night.

Quitter? Maybe. Should I have toughed it out? The jury's still out.

So, when is it okay to skip a workout? That answer's not always easy to answer.

What it Takes

Yesterday in was scheduled to complete a 6 mile run, but didn't because of the weather, so instead I did it today. A few exciting things happened and I also realized something.

First of all, I ran a full mile at 13:20! Not my fastest mile ever, but definitely the fastest without walking!

The 6 miles as a whole felt really good. It was hard, yes, but I slowed my pace down so that I didn't feel like I was going to die halfway through it. I did run when I could, but after pushing for a while I allowed some longer walk breaks. Felt good!

What happened afterward was pretty neat! There was a woman a couple treadmills over from me who approached me as I was cooling down. She said that I made that workout look easy and that I inspired her! She was bigger as well, and I've got to give her credit because she was at the gym working out! She asked me if I had support from friends and family, to which I answered that I did. She told me that she came from a family of marathoners and that she was the black sheep. I didn't get a chance to ask if she had support, but I did thank her. Even though I only did 6 miles (as opposed to 26.2 which is next year!), she said she could never do what I did!

That got me thinking... Anyone can do what I'm doing, but not many will. What I'm doing - going from almost 400lbs to a marathon and beyond - requires dedication and perserverence. Results will not come overnight, and the final goal takes a long time to happen. A lot of people give up long before they hit their final goal, and don't see the vast improvement that's already taken place. Getting healthy requires stamina. Mental stamina. Mental stamina is necessary LONG before physical stamina. (A lesson I'm still learning!) Last of all, getting fit does require support. If the people you surround yourself with don't support your efforts to be fit, then find new people to surround yourself with. As I've said before, at the end of the day, the buck stops with you, however, I would venture to say that it's impossible to make a major lifestyle change on your own.

If you want it bad enough, and you stick with it long enough, you can do it!

Fitness Bucket List

I've said from the beginning of my journey that I don't have a weight-loss goal in terms of a number on a scale. I'm more concerned with accomplishments and being able to do things without being held back by bad health. Here's a few things I want to be able to do before I die. My fitness/strength bucket list, if you will!

Run a marathon.
Complete an Ironman
Be able to maintain a 10 minute mile for at least 30 minutes - without stopping to walk.
Deadlift more than my body weight.
Leg press more than my body weight.
At least 3 unassisted pull-ups.
Body weight tricep dips.
Be able to climb a rope.
Be on the awards stand for a race.
Do at least 20 pushups on my toes.
Do a handstand.
Walk on my hands.
Vertical pushups.
Have a 6-pack.
Have muscular and defined legs, arms, and back.
Prove to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to.

One more I'm not ready to state out loud just yet...

Okay, that's a scary list, and putting it out there is even scarier. I'm sure it will grow and change and time goes on, but as long as I can do those things, quite frankly, I don't care what the scale says.

Is being fat okay?

I've seen a lot of stories and blogs over the past few months about "fat-acceptance", and I have to say, I'm really torn about how to handle the issue. I've been shunned and bullied because of my weight in the past, and still deal with the scar tissue from that, but is making obesity okay or the norm really the best way to handle the issue?

In my ever-so-humble-opinion, no.

I don't think obesity should ever be touted as an acceptable, alternative lifestyle. The health risks involved affect, not only the obese person, but the people around them. The human body was not designed to carry so much excess body fat.

That being said, people should never EVER treat an overweight or obese person as less than a person. Snide comments are never acceptable, and also, fat jokes, are NEVER funny! (Trust me, I've been on the receiving side of them more times than I care to count, and even when fat-jokes are made about someone else, or even in general, they're not funny. Don't use them!)

Furthermore, I can tell you from personal experience, that healthy changes and lifestyle improvements are NEVER birthed from self-loathing. Those who are overweight and obese shouldn't hate themselves, and shouldn't be made to feel like they should by others. A person needs to see themselves as Christ sees them - and love themselves - enough to want to make the changes themselves. Not everyone comes to this realization at the same time, but they need to come to it on their own terms.

Just to be clear, loving yourself does not always equate being okay with being overweight - although sometimes it will. Loving yourself enough to improve your physical health, is what I mean.

This is kind of a hard post to write because I've been on the receiving end of fat-jokes and been made to feel less of a person because of my weight. I don't think, however, that the answer is to make obesity perfectly acceptable. It's my opinion that we should strive to be as healthy as possible, and that's exactly what I'm trying to do, but if someone is overweight and is completely fine with that, other people shouldn't demean them. I can say from personal experience that most overweight people DON'T want to stay that way but they're either too afraid to say anything, or too afraid to make the change themselves.

In closing, there are many reasons why I struggled with this post, but I'm going to keep it to this: Fat-shaming and fat-acceptance are essentially the same thing. Focusing on something that's not healthy. We should focus on feeling well, and being fit.

Breaking Through

This is Part II of the post I wrote last night. If you haven't read it yet, click here and do so. Don't worry. I'll wait.

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Done? Good. Now you've got some context.

The 12 minute mile last night did not happen. I'm not at all disappointed however, because I still shaved more than a minute off my previous PR of 13:31 which is over a year old at this point! Last night I finished at 12:21 thanks to my trainer who kept pushing me when my brain was ready to give up.

Stupid brain, it was ready to throw in the towel before we were even half way through! It was hard, don't get me wrong, my legs burned, my chest burned and at a few points, I really didn't think I could go on. It took everything I had to go from 5mph to 3.5 or even 3. I did go down to 4.5 a couple times, and at one point, went down to 3.8 for a few seconds, but finished strong at 6 to close it out!

:)

The new mile time was not the biggest thing that happened last night, however, I learned 2 very important things. First, make sure to take proper recovery steps! I cooled down and stretched, but I didn't do any kind of recovery shake or meal until over an hour after I finished. Bad idea. Later last night I developed a migraine that didn't go away until less than an hour ago!

The second thing was more of an epitome than a lesson. My belief about myself and what I could do shot through the roof! 21 seconds is nothing. I will beat that before the month is out. :)

In closing, to those of you who read this and encouraged me online, over the phone, or otherwise, thank you!

On a side note, this blog post is very applicable as well. Check it out!

How fast can I run a mile?

Heading to the gym tonight for a Monday workout with my trainer. I've made it a rule to never miss a Monday workout, unless I have a mixer scheduled, but that only happened once a month. Even then I try to get one in during my lunch break at work.

Anyway, I digress.

Tonight's going to be tough and I'm really nervous about it. Last week we did fartleks on the treadmill. Apparently he was quite impressed and thought that I could do much better than my current mile time of around 14:30. (Up from 13:31 last year. :-( ) He said that I have a lot of mental blocks to break through and that I could definitely go much faster at the current fitness level I'm at.

I think he's crazy.

He went on to say that at the session tonight, we're getting on the treadmill again, and going at 5mph for a full mile. That's a 12 minute mile for those of you like me who's strong point is not math.

Now I know he's crazy!

I'm trying to talk myself out of being so nervous, but I really am! I really want to be able to do this, but this really puts me face to face with a lot of my insecurities and doubts about myself.

In a way it's very much like my AdvoCare business. There's a lot I want to be able to do, and think I can do, eventually, just not as quickly as getting it done tonight!

I know I've told many many people that running is 80% mental. I thought I've broken through a lot of the mental barriers I had, but apparently, there's a lot more that still need to be shattered.

What if I can't do it? What if I do it, but I'm breathing and heaving so hard that everyone around me wonder's, what's that fat girl think she's doing? 12 minute mile? What's the big deal? Why am I making such a big deal of this? If I can't do it tonight, big whoop. I'll get it done later on. But I really want to! What an accomplishment to say I've done it! What if I can't do it though? What if people hear how hard I heave and think that AdvoCare's not all it's cracked up to be because the fat girl on the treadmill obviously isn't very fit and healthy like AdvoCare reps should be?

See what I mean? I've been going through this cycle all day. I wish I could just tell my brain to shut up!

This has become a very vulnerable post...

Anyway, one way or another, I'm getting my workout in. We'll see what happens!

Results

I almost forgot what a great workout felt like. Even more so, I forgot what it was like to be excited about results and progress!

I've been a member of LivRite for around 2 years now. For a while I worked out by myself and it went to just fine. However, I'm doing the Imdy Mini this Spring, so I'm training for it now. I've read a lot of conflicting information about endurance training, weight loss, toning and strength training. As a result, I decided to work with a trainer at my gym.

Tonight was my second session with Steve. I'm excited about the progress coming in the next few months. There was even progress tonight! It was nice to have some structure and instruction in the gym.

The work out tonight alternated between cardio - running - and resistance - squats. We finished by doing sqats on the bosu ball, which was different and challenging, but a lot of fun!

I'm excited to see the scale go down again, my mile time go down again, and my waistline go down again. Finally, I'm excited to show other people that just because you're almost 400 pounds, does not mean you're stuck there. It's not your lot in life.