Get organized

Whaaaaat's happening?

So, has this ever happened to you? You are ready to do some work. You are motivated, maybe you go to a gym, maybe you go to the park, maybe you are working out at home. You are putting in the effort to make a change for the better. Only, when the time comes to actually start working, you find yourself at a loss as to what you should do. Maybe you pick up some weights, maybe you spend some time on a cardio machine, maybe you see someone doing something that you've never seen before and you try that a few times. After about an hour of directionless effort, you stretch (or not) and call it a day. This is almost guaranteed to happen if you jump into a workout without a plan. This is why I have to write down my workouts prior to getting started. I've been the guy aimlessly wandering the gym moving stuff around.

 Write it down.

Before you start working, sit down, get something to write with/on and jot down the plan. Here is an easy structure to follow:
Warm up: This is to get your heart rate up and your joints loose. It should be hard, but not exhausting. You should be sweating afterward.
Skill: Pick one physical skill you want to improve and spend 10-15 minutes executing said skill.
Work: This is the workout. You work hard here. It is important to have a specific number of repetitions or time or distance or weight to quantify your work, otherwise you run the risk of being the above-mentioned confused guy or gal.
Cool down/stretch: Spend some time stretching your trouble areas.

Here is my plan from yesterday:

Warmup: 3 rounds of 5 minutes (or the length of whatever song is playing) jumping rope and 20 kettle bell swings
Skill: Free standing handstand practice. I started against the wall and eventually moved into the middle of the floor, where I am still only getting about 5 seconds of handstand before I crash. Damnit.
Work: Find a hill, find something heavy and walk/run up said hill with said heavy object 10 times. Rest as necessary, but do it 10 times. I used a heavy bag, normally used for boxing. This sucked.
Stretch: Focused on my hips, back and hamstrings, as they are my tight areas and they just got worked hard on the hill.

Now, that is just a sample workout. The same structure can be used over and over, just filling in different exercises and skills. Here are some other ideas you can choose from when programming your next workout.

• Tabata - a time constraint that can be used with any movement. Example: Tabata situps. Using a timer or watch/clock, do as many situps as you can in 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this cycle 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. You should be smoked by the end. Pick 2-4 movements (push ups, squats, running, jumping, etc) and you have your work planned for the day.
• On the Minute - Once again, need a time keeper. Pick one or two movements and do a certain number at the beginning of each minute for 10 minutes. Example: do 10 burpees (a pushup followed by a jump) every minute for 10 minutes.
• Breathing ladder - Pick a movement. I like Kettle bell swings, but anything works. Do one swing (or whatever) and then take one deep, controlled breath, then do two swings, then two breaths, all the way to twenty swings and twenty breaths, then back down to one and one. The goal is to maintain controlled breathing the whole time.

 

That's it for now. So get out there and be your own personal trainer! And as always, hit up the comments section and let me know your results.

 

Jack

 

PS - Log your Efforts. I started logging my workouts and food intake in a journal and noticed that I became more organized in my workouts and more diligent about what I ate. I make sure to write it down after I've done it, so it is almost like a reward. I also log quality of sleep, mood in the morning, stress level and any comments or thoughts I have about the day's work. It is a good habit to start if you want to be accountable to yourself. Worth a try.