Day 19: Legs and Back

Learning to love the leg band!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to Day 19 and the workout that almost didn't happen.

I woke up at 3am with a muscle spasm in my upper back. I've never had anything like it happen before, so I was a little... stunned. I normally sleep a bit like a rotisserie chicken; this was somewhat paralyzing for hours. I hate sleeping on my back, so I flopped onto my belly and just stayed put. I treated myself to a deep tissue massage yesterday. I think I went a little too deep. It wasn't a workout injury.

As I was laying in bed wide awake, I kept thinking that I would have to stop TapouT. I was pretty devastated by the thought. How in the world would I be able to do push-ups or skaters?!?  When I woke up, I decided "No Way."

Guess what?  See the headlines below for the rest of the story.

Headlines

When I woke up, I stretched in every imaginable way, did a lot of child's pose, and even did some meditation. And then I decided to move forward with the leg and back workout, to try and warm up the muscles in my back.

1.  Stretching is something I don't do enough of. It saved me this morning. Meditation - the same.
2.  Hitting the workout, I was still sore and tentative. Remarkably, I had a GREAT workout.
3.  Despite that damn leg band, I've never been so happy to get my sweat on. :)
4.  My back felt better the minute I started to warm up. Since the workout, I'm continuing to stretch every now and then through the day.
5.  I don't have words for how grateful I am that I didn't do permanent or lingering damage!

The Scoop

I did some modifications today to nurse the back a bit. On pushups with punches and side-to-sides, I did the moves, but without the band. I used the band, of course, on all the lower body moves. Mike commented on last week's post and photo that I need to learn to "love the band" and it will "love you back."  So funny. So I tried really hard today - and did much better. I think I was fighting the band last time. I was in conflict with it and couldn't keep it from slipping. This time I tried to become a bit more zen with it. Believe it or not, it worked. Me and the band, we're gonna become friends. Or at least not enemies.

Learning to love the leg band!

Memorable Moves

This workout is tough, but it's fun and I like it. Here are some memorable moves from today:

1- Plank Jacks. Plank position, flat back, and jumping jacks with your lower body. They're not easy, but they make me smile and they wear me out. I like.

2- Power Lift Snatch. Using the band, hold arms at shoulder width, and move the band from front to back while doing a squat. Rapid form. You can feel it ALL over. 

3- Squat Power Jumps.  No explanation needed. These just blow. :-) I shake the foundation when I try these. Guh. 

4- Killer Move: Superman/Explode Pushups. I like Superman. I like pushups. I hate explodes. And therefore... these make me incredibly jealous of how amazing everyone on the program does them. I just take out the explode.

Overall

TapouT is clearly pushing my body in ways I haven't pushed it before. I can see changes in all parts of my body, some subtle and some more obvious. I thought massage would be a great treat and I still think it was and will be. But I need to recognize just how much I'm pushing my body right now. It needs love and support more than it needs "work."  I got the message, believe me.

High point: In the past, I wouldn't have hesitated to use this issue as an excuse to take a day off. Not with TapouT. I don't want to miss. I like it and I look forward to it (most days). That's a big deal for me.

Favorite Mike quote today was during the power lift/snatch move:  "You can show off to your friends on this!"  I had a visual of me showing my friends this move and them calling me a dork. :-)

More tomorrow!
Lisa

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My "real" life beyond TapouT XT:

    Author and Coach: www.soulforbreakfast.com

    Executive Consultant: www.laiventures.com