What amazing workouts I would have if I didn't have to work all day! Today was on its way to being another 9 hours of brain drain only worse because it happened to be gorgeous out. Sunny, warm, definitely not the kind of day you want to spend dizzying yourself in front of a computer screen. Then, something amazing happened around 1pm...our building lost power and we were all sent home for the day! I don't know if I willed the power to go out or if it was an effect of the solar flare that's all over the news right now but either way, I was one happy camper. And so was my puppy who was delighted to see me home early!
The Back Cove walking path was calling to me so I decided it was a perfect day to give running outside with my dog a shot. Unfortunately everyone else in Portland had the same idea and after two near dog fight encounters I decided to cut up through Payson Park and run along Ocean Avenue instead. I have to say, for a dog that normally pulls my shoulder out of its socket during our neighborhood walks, he sure knew how to heel on a run! I was very surprised and pleased that we could run together and satisfied that the 30-45 minute run went by in no time. I even got a bit of a tan while doing it! It's supposed to cool down a bit tomorrow but this is a sure sign that Spring is definitely on its way and there will be many more successful outdoor runs to come!
After our run I decided to hit up World's for chest, back, and abs. It's so nice getting their earlier than usual and a) actually having a parking spot and b) avoiding some of the 5pm regulars. I started today's workout with a really good stretch sesh on the mats and then did 3 sets of 8 standing bosu ball barbell rows. I used the 50 lb. bar today (vs. my usual 40-45 lbs.) so it was quite a bit harder (in a good way). I just hope I didn't sacrifice on form! Next, I moved on to free weight chest press on a stability ball (3 sets of 12). I stuck with my usual 15 lbs. here (each hand) but I think maybe next time I should try to up it to 20, even if just for one set. After these I did bent-over bench free weight rows (3 sets of 8, each arm) and then finished up weights with 3 sets of 8 lat pull-downs.
I incorporated a lot of good balancing work into today's abs workout. First up was 4 sets of crunches (20 reps each) on a stability ball (2 sets forward and 2 sets side-to-side) with balancing v-sits in between sets. Next up was stability ball push-ups (3 sets of 8). I can't remember if I wrote about this the other day or not but I've now graduated to doing these with not just my feet on the stability ball but once on the ball I roll out to a bosu ball and do the push-ups with my hands on the bosu. So far I can only do one set of these (they are extremely hard!) but they sure are effective! Finally, I moved back over to the mats and did a ton more stretching and balancing work including bridges (from a standing position) and headstand. I'm sure I look ridiculous while doing these but I always feel so good afterward! I'm still super pumped up from my run and my pup is snoozing away so clearly it was good for him too. Not yet sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow but my guess is it'll be a light workout to a) recover from today and b) prepare for weekend workouts (my favourites)!
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