"There's something that separates the people that wake up and look forward to putting as much weight on their shoulders as they can physically handle, from everyone else."

Spartan Shape-Up, Day 33:

Well, this morning I woke up to some nice fresh weather out (like 60 degrees! Yeah!), and actually anticipating my run. Who knows, maybe I'll actually enjoy this running thing one day. Then, I look at the training schedule (Yes. I have a white board with a 4 week schedule, that I check off...), and it's Lifting Day! Woo!

There is something that makes you feel really accomplished after a day of pushing around some heavy things. It's a very tangible accomplishment. You either can or you can't. Very black and white.  I like that.

As far as my lifting goes, 2x/week I'm doing dumbbell complexes. That basically means stringing together a sequence of lifting exercises back to back and progressing straight through them, with no breaks in between. The "break" comes between rounds. Depending on what you're doing, etc. it can get to be surprisingly cardio-heavy. Supposedly, you're also supposed to get better results, in less time this way, by taxing the muscles continuously, in a variety of different ways, etc.
Anyway, today's run down was a bit rough for me. It was a new complex that I came across, and had never lifted before. I've also recently upgraded my weights (just a few pounds, but...), which made this a bit more challenging. SO, you'll see that I only do 4 rounds (as opposed to the usual 5ish)... BUT, 4 rounds at this higher weight gassed me just as much as 5 at the lighter weight.

Today:

• Bicep Curls x6
• Upright Rows x6
• Bent Over Rows x6
• Hang Snatch x6
• Shoulder Press x6
• Thruster x6
• Upright Row x6
• Bicep Curls x6

.... Now do that whole set 4 times. Yee haw. My shoulders are definitely feeling the fatigue today. It's a good tired, though. I struggled to finish the last round, for sure... but "finish" I suppose is the key word. 

Also, for today's warm-up, I did 5 minutes of Jump rope. Yikes.  THAT is an evil thing. I would rather fight to run for 20 minutes straight, than jump rope for 5. For whatever reason, I find it so much harder. However, that's why I need to do it (in addition to the fitness benefits!). I did pretty good, in the scheme of things, though. 50 turns in a row! Yeah! When I first started this process, I couldn't even get through 10-15 turns without stopping or tripping, or something. These are the days that you have to remind yourself of the little, less significant milestones. Those are just as important, as the big milestones, and add up faster than you think. This says to me that my cardio fitness is improving, and my muscles are building. Oh yeah!

One day at a time, one step closer to the goal....