Good morning and happy Monday! We had a really good weekend, but fall has definitely arrived here in our little corner of the world. Saturday was blustery and chilly. I attended a science fiction book club on Saturday morning at our local library and decided to walk and it was quite chilly! Sunday, however, started out cold but warmed up and ended up being the perfect day to work outside.
We decided to remove the bricks that cover the patio and walkway to the garage. Although it looked decorative, it just wasn't very practical. We were always tripping on loose bricks and they were slippery when they got wet. It was also really challenging to shovel snow because the bricks were not level at all. Once we started removing the bricks, we were pleasantly surprised to see concrete that was in great shape. Here is the progress that we made yesterday:
It was hard work moving bricks, sweeping, loading and unloading buckets of sand - this morning I was sore and tired! We are happy, though, with how things are looking and are excited for some new landscaping projects.
Last week I started a program called LIIFT4. It is an 8-week program that combines lifting and HIIT exercises. It's four days a week and the workouts are around 35 minutes long. I've done this program multiple times. It's my favorite program and I revisit it often. Each time I do it, I'm always surprised at how sore I am that first week! The moves never seem to get easier, but I'm also lifting heavier than I did the very first time I did the program, so I know that I'm stronger. Here is my tracking sheet for week one:
Today was chest and triceps and I knew it might be rough with all of the work I did outside yesterday and sure enough, I was right! If you compare my tracking sheet for today with last week, I had to go down in weights for some of the moves, but instead of feeling disappointed, I'm actually quite pleased that I was able to do what I did, considering how sore and tired I've felt over the last week, and especially after all of the hard work I did yesterday!
Not every workout is going to be a personal best. Some days, you're just more tired than others. Some days you might feel really sore, or you may not have slept well the night before, or you have a lot of stuff on your plate and you're feeling stressed. Life happens!
The keys to improving strength are consistency and pushing yourself, but also cutting yourself some slack on days when you may not feel as strong. Fitness is not a straight road; there are detours and wrong turns sometimes, but you just keep moving forward. Progress will be made! It's a slow process and doesn't happen overnight, and once I accepted that concept, I've enjoyed lifting weights so much more.
I anticipate that tomorrow's workout will be much better, especially if I focus on good nutrition and hydration today.
Have a great week!
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