WORKOUT

Today I went back to one of my favorite studios in Chicago, called Sweat on State (www.sweatonstate.com).  This studio focuses on a CrossFit-type mentality, in that the workouts completely differ every day, but they have a much smaller focus on heavy weights.  You’ll more likely be learning proper rowing technique much sooner than you’ll be talking about proper cleans.

Todays workout:

Warm-up: 400m row, then 3 rounds of 10 squats & wall walk

1 mile run, 100 double-unders (200 single), 50 weighted lunges, 100 double-unders (200 single), 1600m row

Total workout took me ~45 minutes with stretching

BREAKFAST/LUNCH/DINNER

Breakfast: I know it’s not the most well rounded breakfast, but there’s something so comforting about a good, old fashioned bowl of cereal and milk.  This is what I’ll always grab cereal to start my when I know it’s going to be a long day at work.  Now, this doesn’t mean I go all Cinnamon Crunch on you (not that I don’t dream of it), so I ventured towards trying Kashi Go Lean Crisp with berries.  It was basically part Cheerios, part Special K with berries… only a wee bit healthier.

Lunch: As I mentioned, today was a long one, so I didn’t have the most well-rounded lunch.  I had fruit and Chobani with berries, with a side of some Garret’s Chicago Mix popcorn.  While these are all worthwhile sides, I’m absolutely not recommending this as a model of what to do!

Dinner: I focused on redeeming myself, so even though I had a few bites of calamari, I focused on my chicken sandwich with veggies.  With such a limited food intake, I let myself eat a bit more than I typically would, though I’m sure that Ray will appreciate the large amount of fries he gets to enjoy during lunch tomorrow from my leftovers!

ONE OF THOSE BLAH DAYS

Have you ever woken up, and you just didn’t want to get out of bed?  That’s how I felt today.  Lacking motivation and my alarm definitely woke me up in the middle of my REM cycle.

On days like this, I always debate on what’s going to get me out of the funk.  Many people are successful with morning workouts, which is absolutely sometimes the case for me.  However, over time I’ve found that my workouts are typically much better around the 4 or 5pm time, once my body and mind are awake and can get involved in the motion I’m completing.  If you’re running late to work like me (leaving a morning workout out of the question), I’ve typically found that one of the following jolt me into becoming my full, human self again:

• Connecting with nature.  Whether this is  quick morning walk or going outside for 10 minutes of sunshine between meeting, I typically come back more grateful and happy about all the goodness life has to offer.
• Making a gratitude list.  If I wake up in a funk and am feeling bitter or sad, I usually change my mental state my re-focusing on the wonderful things surrounding me in my life.  We’re all alive in this beautiful world surrounded by beautiful people, so we really don’t have too much to complain about. 🙂
• Annoyingly happy pop tunes.  You know what I’m talking about.  I dare you to be angry while listening to “Come On, Eileen!”
• Old reliable… caffeine.  I gave up coffee a long time ago due to acid reflux (TMI?), so I stick with Green Tea.  But sometimes it’s just what the doctor ordered.
• Or, similar to today, what I really needed was to listen to beach tunes for slowly waking up to enjoy the day.  Sometimes your mind just needs more than the extreme sound of an alarm to fully be awake.  For me, what I really needed was to listen to Israel Kamakawiwo’ole sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to help me feel centered and ready to take life by the cajones!

QUESTION

When you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, how do you change your perspective on the day?