Work It Wednesday Circuit

My legs are finally feeling recovered from my squat extravaganza Monday. And I'm still super excited to workout again with the dudes. Who knew this former ballet dancer and run-lover would become a lifter? Not me!

There is something to be said for my new found love of weight training. While I still love the endurance high I get from running, I am addicted to the toasty muscles after a good weight session now! I love that shaky feeling, knowing I have tested my muscles and ready to heal them and make them even stronger!

I took it pretty easy yesterday, but I did give my evening H.I.I.T. class a good workout!

Essentially this workout is three separate intervals. So, you could just do one, or do all three! I definitely had some eye rolls in class. Especially the first 2 minutes of long jumps. But everyone finished just fine, and, as usual, were happy to have been pushed.

My agenda today involves a run around Lake Union this morning with Ultra Marathoner Jess.

It has been awhile we've run together, so it'll be good to be back with my running bud! Have a great Wednesday!

HIIT

Last night I had to work, so I didn't make it to CrossFit. I DID, however, head into the gym early and did the "Dirty 30" workout below. I didn't go crazy, but still finished in 23 minutes. I missed the camaraderie at my CrossFit box, but was glad I could still squeeze in a good workout.

This morning I took off for 4 miles. I was trying to keep my pace pretty speedy, but my legs just didn't want to move! I kept my cool and just kept trying to get them moving faster. During mile 3 the song Mambo #5 came on my ipod randomly (haven't heard that song in years!) and it was the perfect song to keep up my pace with. I concentrated on just turning my legs over with the beat and started hitting the times I was looking for!

A client at the gym recently brought me the latest issue of Competitor Magazine because he found an article about HIIT for runners that he thought I would enjoy.

HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training, which is mostly what I do in CrossFit. The article talked about how runners can decrease their mileage and start doing HIIT several times a week to become a stronger and more efficient runner.

Since I've added CrossFit into my training, I had become a much faster runner. I have also started enjoying my runs even more! I think this is because CrossFit has helped me become more comfortable with being uncomfortable. It sounds strange, but being pushed past my comfort zone at the box gives me the tools to do the same in my runs. The article talks more about the science behind it, and you can find a copy if you're interested in learning more.

Some of the best HIIT Workouts according to the article are tabatas, fartleks and hill repeats, but I think any workout in which you are going all out for a period or periods of time is going to benefit runners. For me, it's definitely scary to decrease mileage in favor of these other workouts, but I now really do believe there is something behind this HIIT movement!