Kettlebell or Bust

Friday, February 5:

Warmup:

1 round cals

Sampson stretches

3 minutes of plank & side plank

Workout:

"Clench.. kind of"

10 Right arm Turkish Getups 26lb

20 Right arm KB swings 35lbs

30 Air squats

5 Rounds in 30 minutes

Please, someone stop me when I think it's a good idea to do 10 Turkish Getups with one arm. Very painful when you're doing it.. it leads to blue burn rashes after.. and it has killed the right side of my abs. Ugh! But it was well worth it.

This morning I got on the elevator at work and ran into a man who I know from the office. I was still in my morning workout garb, because I get ready at work. He asked if I had just come from the gym and then asked how my workout was. I replied, "It was painful."

He responds, "It shouldn't hurt," which totally stumped me. It shouldn't hurt? What did he mean? It should feel good? It should feel like nothing? I didn't understand.

As I got dressed I thought about what he said and it really made me wonder why people workout and what they consider working out. Maybe their workout is a 30 minute round on the eliptical at a slow and steady pace while they watch the television at their box gym. I don't understand why people don't encourage each other to push themselves. Why is it alright to encourage mediocrity in our workouts? People do not encourage mediocrity in school or in the work place, so why then is it alright to push yourself to the limit everywhere BUT the gym.

People do long hours at work and pull all-nighters for class and that is acceptable. Why isn't it just as acceptable to do 20 pullups and swing around a 45 pound kettlebell? That same sort of drive to succeed should translate to the gym and not stop when you scan your membership card at the front desk.