I attempted to do my Pull Ups on Saturday morning because I promised you all that I would. If I hadn’t made that commitment to you I probably wouldn’t have done them. My body was sore, I woke up tired, and I just felt a little on the blah side.

I chugged coffee and told myself I was going to do the pull-ups and after hyping it up in my head that I could complete those 5 Pull-ups I attempted my own challenge.

After 3 reps… my attempt at 4 was a complete fail. My arms gave out even though my brain said I could keep going.

I was frustrated when I let go but I knew I gave it my best shot.  After I finished I questioned whether or not I would have completed more pull-ups if my “pull up challenge” was on a day that I wasn’t sore. That created another challenge in my head… and I will keep at it.

SO backing it up a bit..

Here’s what my Pull up Workout looked like:

SET #1: 3 REPS (this was the only set I planned on doing)

SET #2: 1.5 REP (I convinced myself to get to 5 reps even if it wasn’t consecutive)

SET #3: 2 REPS (I got to 5 reps and kept going)

SET #4: 1.5 REPS (my arms were shot…. but it felt great)

Going into my challenge I really only planned on doing one set of 5, but I am glad I kept going, Believe it or not my 4th set felt better then my 1st set and I was overly pleased with my mini workout.

So I know I’m kinda rambling here a bit, but I’ve learned that creating challenges for myself is the little push I need to make me stronger.

Can you do a Pull-Up? If so, do you find them to be easy or challenging?

What’s an exercise you love doing? 

]]> http://thefitskool.com/?feed=rss2&p=7436 2 http://thefitskool.com/?p=5512 http://thefitskool.com/?p=5512#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2015 15:14:51 +0000 http://thefitskool.com/?p=5512 Continue reading →]]> HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

I am always looking forward to the weekend because it’s time to spend with friends and family! Free time is always nice.

Tomorrow morning I am running a morning Boot Camp class, and then Ava & I will be going to Stratford, CT to hang out with my best girl friends for the afternoon.

This week I started the Insanity MAX30 program. They are 30 minute bodyweight workouts that are seriously no joke.

I even took a selfie so you could see my sweat..

BUT you can’t see it in the pic. Just super red cheeks. This workout was similar to my boot camp workout but I was dying and I maxed out at 9 minutes and 55 seconds. I was gasping for air but for some raeason kept going.

I also started drinking the Shakeology which pairs with the workout and it is super delicious. I looked forward to drinking it last night after Boot Camp.

On Tuesday I completed a quick back workout that I wanted to share with you.  I didn’t have a lot of time to spend in the gym for myself so I got to it right away with an 8 minute Warm-Up on the elliptical. I got my heart rate up and my body warm pretty quickly. I then completed this workout:

15-MINUTE BACK WORKOUT

Complete 3-4 sets of each exercise.

SEATED ROW (single arm attachments)

Set 1 Complete 10 reps

Set 2 Complete 8 reps

Set 3 Complete 6 reps

PULL-UPS (using assisted pull-up machine)

Set 1 Complete 10 reps

Set 2 Complete 8 reps

Set 3 Complete 6 reps

SINGLE ARM DUMBBELL ROW

Set 1 Complete 10 reps

Set 2 Complete 8 reps

Set 3 Complete 6 reps

For each of these exercises I increased the weights with each set. I also took 30 seconds rest in between each exercise.

In combination with shoveling my back was crazy sore the next day! Wow

Do you ever focus on just lifting your back?

Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?

*** Always consult your Doctor or Physician before beginning a new workout program***

So its early Thursday morning, and as I sit down to blog, I thought of my workouts so far this week.  Instantly, a common thread between them came to mind…

I really didn’t want to work out or go to the gym before any of them.

Sunday I kind of had to drag myself to the gym mid day before football started and I became a waste of space. I didn’t work out at all on Monday and it had nothing to do with time. After a kind of hectic day at work, I came home and whole-heartedly planned on going to the gym once Ava was asleep. Then I got lazy, watched an hour of TV on demand with Kelly, and then convinced myself I should just stay home.

Fearing the same thing would happen after a long day of work Tuesday, I made myself go to the gym later in the night.

I made it there around 8:30 and knew any workout was better than nothing. After a quick 5-minute warm-up on a bike, I did a shoulder workout that I figured would torch my shoulders. Here it is….

SHOULDER SCULPT WORKOUT 

Complete 3 SETS of the Below Exercises

Alternating Balance Shoulder Presses, 12/10/8 reps

Alternating Front and Side Raises, 12/10/10 reps

Seated Shoulder Presses, 10/6/6 reps

Seated Shoulder Fly’s, 10 reps each

Swimmers Press, 10 reps each

I also incorporated several high repetition rotator cuff and labrum exercises at the end using lightweights. 

***Except for the seated shoulder presses, I used moderately lightweights and limited my rest time between sets. This kept my heart rate up throughout the entire workout ***

Examples of a few of the exercises:

Alternating Balance Shoulder Presses 

Front Raises

Lateral Raises

When I left the gym on Tuesday night, the way I felt could not have been more different than Monday night, which lead me to this thought; sometimes it is doing the things that you do not want to do, that make you feel better at the end of the day. 

You have to step outside of your comfort zone at times. Do the things that you have been putting off, or dreading, and once it is completed the sense of relief will far out weigh that looming feeling you had prior.

How do you motivate yourself to go to the gym? 

In case you missed Marc’s first two guest posts, here they are:

Something new to The Fit Skool

NO Better time than now

Obviously I need to make extra time to increase my back strength so I decided to whip out the Pull Up Bar and complete a short workout before my Boot Camp class last night.

I did a jumping pull-up with a slow descend (as slow as I could go) my release was super slow for the first set… and by the last set I felt like I couldn’t hang on anymore. I guess that’s the point right?

(This is a picture of me slowly starting to descend)

After my first set I texted Marc.. even I need motivation sometimes.

It was the PUSH that I needed to continue through the pain.

So needless to say, I got in a great back workout but after my boot camp class my arms were SHOT.

I literally couldn’t lift them up!!  “Mission Accomplished,” I guess!??!!?

I even managed to snap a picture of Marc working on his Pull ups. He makes them look SO much better

This workout is great for anyone who would like to increase their Pull Up Strength. If you are curious here is the workout:

Pull Ups with slow release. 

Set #1: 5 repetitions

Set #2: 4 Repetitions

Set #3: 3 Repetitions

Set #4: 2 Repetitions 

Set #5: 1 Repetition

That last rep was tough and I think I deserve a day off from exercise today! I actually attempted to do some pull ups this morning and you know what…. my arms wouldn’t function. There’s a sign right there not to do anything.

Oh and there’s snow outside so that’s another reason to rest!

I am super pumped it’s Friday. Tonight I am going to an 80’s Concert to celebrate one of my best friend Megan’s 30th Birthday. I am looking forward to a night out with Marc and all of our friends!!

HAPPY FRIDAY

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Are you good at Pull ups?