Update: New Motivation & Workout Reflection

Breaking up with the gym hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be.  It’s been two months, but in actuality, my ankle has taken me out for much longer than that (8 months).  So, I’m used to it for the moment.  I haven’t decided when I’ll be mentally prepared for the gym again or if I’ll be going in once a week for additional work or cardio.  And I’m not sure when I’ll get over the self pressure to exceed in my performance of the past and further it in the future.  But for now, I’ll remain in a tranquil state of my home gym.

The other night I came to the grand conclusion that I don’t necessarily need to weightlift or pick up heavy shit in order for me to achieve the endorphins I urgently need.  Of course this notion came to me after a super intense workout that consisted of countless bodyweight exercises.  Generally, on most days I’m working out with dumbbells and barbells (aside from Wii Fit, Fitness DVD’s or YouTube videos).

I’ve always considered myself a weightlifter and body sculptor of sort.  Therefore from time to time my mind can be on the one track deal, and as a result there’s no surprise why I narrowed my thinking into I could only sculpt my body with heavy weights (or I could only collect more energy from the gym itself than at home).  It’s no surprise I thought weightlifting was the only way for me to get my chemistry balanced or to fuel my inspiration whenever I was down, out and depressed as shit.

The only trick to what I need is simple:  I need a workout to feel and BE grueling and (almost) brutal.  I require my body to be taxed on several different levels.  I want to push my muscles beyond the limit of damage and destruction.  I must push my mind to new physical heights.  I crave the mental toughness of a workout because the one thing it does is provide stability for my high’s and low’s.  It provides the structure, the religion and the therapy for my mind, body, spirit and soul.  Frankly, intense workouts are my natural drug because I dare to live life sober.

So, I was lacking motivation the other night, mostly because I couldn’t get my energy where I needed it to be.  The way I inspired myself was by making sure the typical exercises were scratched off.  The idea and thought of different bodyweight exercises seemed to fuel me.  On this night the exercises were:  Elbow Drags/Elbow Crawls (50 feet total), Bear Crawls (50 feet), Pike Push ups, Shoulder Taps, Hip Escape with Hip Bridge (BJJ move), Hip Bridges Side to Side with Ball (going at a diagonal stretching the ball to the floor).

Workout Reflection: With the elbow crawls, I didn’t think to wear long sleeves, so the skin on my elbows peeled.  It’s pretty raw and wincing to the touch, but my shoulders, traps, rhomboids and abdominals went through some serious contracting.  The bear crawls were a bit hard on my ankle, but I made it through by modifying – bending at the knees more which in turn made my hamstring work harder.  Pike Push up was difficult as usual, but they allowed me to push my muscles to maximum.

Shoulder Taps are a good core exercise and I enjoy practicing stability during.  Hip Escapes were an awkward exercise because it was my first time attempting them yet they felt highly functional.  Hip Bridges Side to Side with Ball killed my hamstrings, inner thighs and gave my glutes a run for their pump.  I highly recommend this exercise!

The message here is there are many ways to get your endorphins going, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be with iron and steel.  Don’t stay stuck on a one-way train.  When you’re feeling unmotivated, look to accomplish something completely different – this could be the key to getting you unstuck.  When in doubt, continue to work it out because where there’s a will, there’s a way.

-Ms. Hall