Pushing the limits.

Decided to change things up this morning with a sample fat-loss workout from Joel Marion's site (same guy who designed the CYWT program.)

I actually bookmarked it a while back, but avoided it because, well, it just looked too damn intimidating, haha.

Well, this morning I grew a pair and decided to give it a shot. I told myself to just go at my own pace, but also not be afraid to test my limits. Here's a quick breakdown:

-5 min. warm-up of running in place (butt-kicks, high-knees), mixed with some quick stretching.
-Did the circuit as listed, with the exception of lat pulldowns and push-ups.*
-Took a 2 min. break.
-Repeated the circuit once more.

*Since I was at home and don't have a lat bar, I used a resistance band and a door attachment to mimic it as best as I could. As for the push-ups, I did my own wussy version off of my weight bench because, yes, despite all the weight I've lost and all of the fitness training I've done, I still can't do full-out push-ups, let alone the ones that entail elevating my feet. Definitely something I'll forever be working toward.

The whole session, including the warm-up, 2 min. break and repeated circuit, took me about 33 minutes and burned a little over 300 cals. Plenty of sweat ensued.

I survived! And it wasn't terrible, but it was still an ass-kicker. The "OMG, I'm going to die!" moment came during the second round of mountain climbers. I was certain my hips were going to pop off like a Barbie doll's. But, at the same time, I was proud of myself for pushing through the burn because I could have just as easily given up. It was one of those rare moments where I was conscious of the fact that I was sort of feeding off of my own adrenaline in order to reach a specific goal. I dunno if that makes sense or not, but it was just a cool feeling to have during a moment of self-inflicted torture, heh.

There are also adjustments to be made for next time, between the amount of weight used during some of the moves, and, of course, my form. It was my first time performing a dumbbell snatch. I watched some videos beforehand, but I still think my timing of the jump was off a bit.

Anywho, even though it was tough, it went by suuuuper fast and I felt awesome afterward (once I was able to breathe again, of course). It was a great combination of strength training and cardio and I'm totally looking forward to doing it again.