Even at my increased rate of practice, I was still astounded at how little I could bend my body compared to others.  I was so stiff it was at times embarrassing, as no posture came easily to me.  But soon, I had a wonderful epiphany:  I was the “stiffest” person in the class, and I may always be.  And for the first time in my life that became okay.  I decided to give myself permission not to have to be the best or compete like I’d been trained to do in sports-compete until you win or die trying.  I knew it wasn’t possible to win this time, and I would never excel at this, but I still loved it.  So, I gave myself permission to be the stiff guy in the back row the guy who was trying hard but was kind of embarrassing to watch.  I just didn’t care anymore, and it felt so good to me.    

Max Strom, “A Life Worth Breathing”

If I had a nickel for each time I’ve heard, “I can’t do Yoga I’m not flexible enough,” I could make a really large contribution to a deserving charity somewhere.

Were you strong before you started going to the gym?  Do you have to be skinny to start a diet?

They seem like silly questions, but the answer is the same, you can’t start changing anything until you start.  And besides, it is a rare occasion to see a someone in class stick their leg behind their head or some other crazy move.

What if you just came to a yoga class and started to move and maybe then you would become more flexible.  Think about it, your inflexibility to try something new is keeping you inflexible.

Complete 3 rounds, 10 reps each!

MMA Treadmill/Sidewalk Series:  3 Rounds

Typical of an MMA fighter’s match, this workout consists of three 5 min. “rounds” separated by 1 minute exactly of rest.

Round 1:

• 45second treadmill sprint: set the machine at a speed roughly 75% of your maximal sprint speed.  The speed increases with each and every sprint.  So set it and push it up from there. [Tip: if you are comfortable, don’t cut the treadmill off between sets—use the rails and jump off to the sides while it is still moving. Do so at your own risk!]
• 15 Squats
• 45second treadmill sprint
• Reverse Lunges [8 each leg]
• 45second treadmill sprint
• 15 Plea Squat

Rest 1 minute exactly

Round 2:

• 45second treadmill sprint
• 15 Push-ups
• 45second treadmill sprint
• Plank with Knee Taps [15 each knee, 30 total]
• Hold in a plank and drop your left knee cap to touch the ground, then return it to plank position. Drop your right knee cap. Keep alternating as quickly as possible.
• 45second treadmill sprint
• 15 V-Up’s

Rest 1 minute exactly

Round 3:

• 45second treadmill steep incline power walk
• 10 Burpees
• 45second treadmill side shuffle [left foot leads] on a medium incline
• 10 Jump Squats
• 45second treadmill side shuffle [right foot leads] on a medium incline
• 10 full situps

Jamie was here to greet us at 6am. Robyn, Emily and I were ready to rock. Always a good warm up with Jamie. He sure likes to get our joints moving with bear crawls and crab walks up and down the turf.
We started with a ten minute set of 10-10-10. 10 pushups, 10 squats and 10 leg lifts. I was able to go nearly ten times through in tens minutes. So that was 100 pushups, 100 squats and 90 leg lifts. Working the chest, quads and abs all in ten minutes. Wow!

We had our second round with 10 body pulls, 20 walking lunges with weight and 20 flutter kicks. I amped up my ab workout and did 40 scissor kicks (foot over foot) to really feel that burn. I was only able to get through 4 sets in that ten minutes, which is still a lot, but the lunges just take a bit longer.
Next we finished up with some sled action! Gotta love the sled and how you instantly feel it in your legs when you push it down the turf.

Today was a great workout and a sweaty one too. I love to sweat cause I really feel accomplished when I do.
See you guys Wednesday!

-Jessica

This morning Robyn and I were greeted by the newest member of the SGF family, Jamie! Jamie will be training us on Monday and Wednesday mornings at Innsbrook now.
The workout today started with a good warm up that some people would call their actual workout!
We quickly got moving on to the good stuff and that can only mean one thing…
It’s workin when it’s hurtin!
We got in 3 rounds of bear crawls, crab walks and inch worms down and back on the turf. It doesn’t sound like a lot but it took more time than one would think.
Next circuit was 40/20 sets of squats, pushups, body pulls, reverse lunges and plank.
Robyn and I being the go-getters we are, decided to up our time to 50/10 for the next two sets. So 50 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest in between! Go us!!

And last, but not least was our final push to the finish line of our 6am workout with Jamie…
One of us was pushing the weight loaded sled down the room and back while the other person did burpees. Doing each twice was once through that circuit. We did that circuit 3 times.
That sled sure felt heavier and heavier each time we pushed it down the turf. As I write this tonight, I can already feel the fibers of my muscles screaming that sled’s name! Thanks Jamie! You sure knocked our socks off in your first workout at SGF!!
Welcome Jamie to team SGF and we’ll see you Wednesday morning!

-Jessica

This morning, Whit was back, fresh from Raleigh and got our week started right!
We started out with a good warmup and then on to our 15/15 workout. First was box jumps, then box squats. The box jumps really surprised us. It’s crazy how much of a mind trick jumping on to the box in one hop is. Once we got into it though, we got it down!
We did some cone drills with sprinting from cone to cone. We also got to use the overhead bars (pullup bars) which really surprised me. The exercise was to jump up to the bar, then lift the bottom half of your body up and attempt to touch your toes to the bar where your hands are held. Well, I say attempt because Whit made it look easy, but it was surely not. It was still quite the ab workout. Even though I could only bend in half, my abs are already feeling the burn tonight as I write this blog!
What a great start to this 47th week of the year! 5 more weeks in the year. I’m excited to see where I’ll be in 5 weeks. I have to get ready for the New Years party dress!
Until Wednesday…

-Jessica

Jessica checking in again after a good morning workout. Mary, Robyn and I got to do a good kettlebell workout with Whit this morning at the Innsbrook location. At SGF we have the 15lb and 25lb kettlebells. Lucky for me I got to use the 25lb one to do out kettle bell circuit.
We did a timed circuit of  Kettlebell swings, rows, lifts and toss, single arm swings and halos around our heads. Let me just say, that 25lbs got heavier as I worked my way through the circuit.
Our next cardio workout was “Death by 10 meters”. So basically we had 30 seconds to go from one cone to the next which was 10 meters away. We did a build up in how many runs from cone to cone we did. First was one time in 30 seconds, so it was just a walk. Then it was down and back, which was two in 30 seconds. Then 3 times, and 4 and so on, all in 30 seconds of time. The higher the number you get to the faster you have to sprint to make it to the last cone in that 30 seconds. We were able to get to 8 times in 30 seconds. It was quite the heart rate raiser. it may not sound hard but that was NOT the case at all.
We finished our last circuit of the workout with some cross-training sets. Each one of us chose an upper body, lower body and a cardio exercise and then did it for 5 minutes in repeat. We then taught each other our set of exercises and did one anothers set for 5 minutes. We called these the SGF Quickies. Basically a quick exercise you can do when you’re not at the gym during your off days. It’s important to get your heart rate up for at least 30 minutes a day when you’re not doin your regular workout. It will help you reach your goals faster!

Friday, we’ll be doing a Yoga workout at the Innsbrook location. Can’t wait to let you know how that goes.

Have you signed up for your free 2-week trial at Styles Group Fitness yet? If not, I encourage you to start now, no need to wait until January 1st. Start now and get a head start on the rest of the New Year’s Resolution Maker’s!

Happy Wednesday!

Jessica