"49% Less Than Half Ain't Really Much Of Nothing..."

Confession time: I've been half-assing it. Yep. I'm owning it. Let's get all the excuses I've been using out of the way with: "work is crazy," "I'm traveling like mad," "when I'm not traveling I'm catching up on everything else," "the hotel has a crappy gym, I can't stick to my routine anyway," "I didn't sleep well because I was at a hotel so I need the extra sleep this morning instead of working out," "I don't have any fresh food in the house from being gone so much, there's no point in restocking the groceries anyway, I'm about to leave again," "I finally have a night off' I want to celebrate!" - I'm slightly purged, but there's probably forty-five more cop outs that could be added to this list.

That said, I put my best foot forward today. And for that I'm giving myself a pat on the back. I packed my latest installment of Oxygen magazine - I did it half-heartedly. As I sat on yet another airplane, I cracked the spine and felt annoyed by all the "you can do it" messages and hard bodies. I was just deflated. I kept reading and there was an article from a fitness idol of mine (in her mid-thirties) talking about how hard it was for her to learn the art of self-control and the true meaning of commitment - in her case she was applying this to health and wellness and relationships. This I can relate to.

Healthy Living On the Road

If you know me well at all, you know my full time gig is in consulting. Which means a lot of things and may one day lead to my bestseller I plan on penning titled, "Your Consultant Does Not Want To Go To Dinner With You." This has less to do with being hit on by clients - which truthfully never seems to happen to me unless they're cute, old grandpa-types innocently flirting or gay men who think I'm fabulous - and more to do with clients that seem to find it totally appropriate to plan every last detail of your time on-site with them, down to your meals. Anyway, I digress.

Traveling a lot leads to the inevitable hot mess of trying to make healthy choices on the road. It's a real trial. In fact, I was once interviewed on this topic, see here . That said, as I type I'm in an airport waiting to head to Connecticut for work for the next 2.5 days. So, my thought is if I "put it in writing" perhaps I'll do a better job of holding up to my end of the bargain to travel healthy... that said, here's the game plan:

Cardio Done Smarter (Not Harder)

Let's face it, I've gotten to a place where I hate cardio. My goals have transitioned towards strength training and it's hard to find the fortitude to get my buns on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc., etc. However, it's a necessary evil that I've been avoiding far too much lately. After scoping out the July issue of my Oxygen magazine and seeing a walking workout on the treadmill I thought a couple of things: first was - "walking can't possibly be enough for me to feel I exerted myself and why even bother with this work out?" Second was, "I don't feel like doing running intervals today, walking? Let's do this!"

1 Month Pull-up Challenge: Workout #3

Monday, Monday... in so many ways all of us despise you... but then again, you give us the opportunity to start over. And this Monday, after indulging far too much all weekend, starting over felt good. Busting my ass felt great and working towards the pull-up was just what the doctor ordered.

Monday I started week 9 of a 12 week strength training program I've been toiling away at. It was also the third workout in my 1 month Pull-up Challenge (so basically I'm combining my original workout plan with some pull-up-related exercises).

1 Month Pull-up Challenge: Workout #2

Workout number two was quick, simple and brutal. Wednesday could have and probably should have been my rest day, but hey, there's only 30 days to get my weak ass over that bar. So in the gym we went and to the squat rack we mosey'ed. 

Seeing that I told Jake it was his job to develop the exercises for this challenge, I did something I rarely do: listened to him as if he was indeed my master. After all, he adds extra weight to his pull-ups. I know when to shut my yap and let someone who knows what they're doing teach me something new. 

The 1 Month Pull-up Challenge

Once a week I engage in the exquisite torture that is "The Pull-up." I both dread this day in the gym and look forward to it. It is the very definition of a "love-hate relationship." I love it because I picture myself as Linda Hamilton in Terminator or Demi Moore in GI Jane (I prefer Demi to be honest) as an ass-kicking, bad-ass broad. And... I hate it because I've yet to be able to get my chin above that bar unassisted and I feel like a real candy ass for that.

Last week upon lamenting to the man, "I truly don't know that I'll ever be able to do an unassisted pull-up," he very assuredly (and with a level of cockiness I'm not sure I appreciated at the time) responded: "I can get you doing a pull-up in a month." I told him to put his money where his mouth was: I put in the time, he develops the exercises and we've got exactly 30 days to make this happen.

Today was day 1.

Lateral Raises With Some Oomph

While in the gym today doing some upper body work, lateral raises to be exact, I was cruising through my set. You know the feeling when you're not concentrating on your form as closely as you should be, you're not checking your breathing - basically, you're on auto-pilot? That's where I was at. I swear, half the battle in the gym is staying mentally present and not letting the rest of your life creep in. So, I checked myself and got back in to the zone and was able to do some more effective strength training.

A quick tip I picked up in Oxygen magazine that I always use now when doing lateral raises: at the top of the move, direct your thumb down to raise the back of the dumbbell ever so slightly. This helps you define your delts even faster. It also is a trick that helps force you to stay present. Happy lifting!

HIIT You Are The Devil

Alright, alright, I finally bit the friggin bullet and forced myself to do some HIIT intervals on the treadmill today. Guess what? I hated every second of it just as much as I anticipated I would. Guess what else? I think that means it was working. Let's back it up by saying I'm subscribed to Oxygen magazine, I wait for Muscle & Fitness Hers with anticipation every other month, I peruse Women's Health and Shape and I read fitness-related blogs and web sites every damn day. I know what HIIT is. I hear about all the benefits it reaps a gal. I hear how it's less time, more benefit. I hear how it breaks plateaus. In short, I know it's all the rage and evidently it's really good for your fitness regimen. True story: I've been avoiding it like the plague. Why? I have no idea other than maybe I wasn't really up for the challenge of going at "100%." What the hell does 100% even look or feel like?