This morning I woke up and decided to start the day with a series of exercises, not previously planned. The goal was not to start following a specific training plan as seen on social media to get in shape. I’ve used that strategy a lot in the past without much success, in terms of, you know, carving a body worthy of admiration. The goal I woke up with, was to exercise, get some cardio in, to simply get in a better mood, feel light, and have a productive day without obsessing about sticking to a perfect routine.
So I started with a mistake so you don’t have to: I made a homemade ginger ale. Bottom line, don’t do it, unless you want to make frequent visits to the toilet.
Well, with that little detail out of the way, I started with an abs routine from Athlean-X on YouTube because I’ve read somewhere out there that it’s good to train abs early in the morning on an empty stomach. Whether that’s a fact or not, I don’t know, but my gut tells me it makes sense, since you don’t have a bunch of food slushing around in there while exercising. Anyway, I like guided routines, especially when it comes to abs.
So, I decided to go for a short jog late in the morning; and, although the sun wasn’t scorching, it soon would be. Regardless, the idea was to feel good, not punish myself. Surprisingly, I heard no birds’ song, which I found unusual, what I did hear, paradoxically, was the sound of silence. The environment seemed to be in a state of paralysis. I only passed by a man who was collecting coffee beans, and we didn’t exchange words. We were both focused on what we were doing.
As I jogged, I thought about how was it possible that the great American heavyweight boxer, Rocky Marciano, who competed from 1947 to 1955, ran five to six miles (8 to 9.7 km) daily in the mornings and twelve to fifteen miles (19 to 24 km) the week before his matches. That’s a lot of running, and I felt like my shins were about to break like spaghetti noodles out on my little jog.
Well, it´s no mystery, he was an undisputed champion and I a Joe Smoe. By the end of my short run of about fifteen minutes, I could feel sweat running down all over my body and it felt good. The endorphins were starting to kick in.
To keep the positive vibe flowing, I started jumping rope while listening to Def Leppard’s Bringing on the Heartbreak and then Don’t Close Your Eyes by Kix. The songs last about five minutes each, but I wasn’t paying attention, I just wanted to connect with the rhythm of the music and have a pleasant experience while hitting the rope.
I hydrated with more club soda, but this time I added a natural lemon powder from the brand True lemon and sweetened it with Truvia –a mixture of erythritol and monk fruit.
Finally, I finished my routine with two more songs: Sometimes She Cries by Warrant and Still of the Night by Whitesnake, as I punched my homemade bag. Out of all the exercises I’ve tried throughout my life, not just the ones today, punching is the most enjoyable. One sweats like crazy and blowoffs steam, ending up relaxed. It seems to be a healthy way to deal with inner frustrations without having to do violence or speak rudely to others.
That feeling, I’ve rarely felt doing exercises such as weightlifting or calisthenics, even though both forms of exercise are excellent in their own right. It’s crystal clear that we all respond in different ways to practically anything and working out is no different.
My two cents with this story is that we try different things until we find the ones that work for us, and not worry so much about what we see online. I think that the more we worry about having the perfect routine and body, the less we reach our goal due to the pressure and anxiety that we cause ourselves.