Don't Give Up
/Last day of the year and I have been working on this one blog entry since April. As the title suggests, I do NOT give up… I am determined to finally publish what I thought of 8 months ago before we end 2019. :)
I had come up with this title, because I wanted to tell you how I encourage myself in times when I don’t want to lose hope in things that I would like to achieve. Over the last 8 months, this title meant even more to me than my self-encouragement method. For my grandma, it became “do not give up on your energy and joy”… For my parents, it became “do not give up in your hope for a better future”… For someone really special for me, it became “ do not give up in the happiness of life”… For our beloved Big Truck, it became “do not give up on being our strongest car”… And for me, it continued to be “do not give up on becoming as fit as I was prior to kids'“.
As you would all know, working out is a serious commitment. It requires time and energy. Once you set your routine, it definitely becomes easier to follow. And once you fall off of your routine, it gets even harder to get back to it - almost harder than starting from scratch. Therefore the key is to keep up with your routine as much as possible, regardless of how strong the outside forces would be. :) Believe me, I know about those outside forces very well. For me, one of my routines was the Tuesday Boot Camp class. I made sure to keep up with it regardless of the kids. Certain tuesdays, as I am running from work to home to pick up the kids and driving back into the financial district, trying to find parking and making it to the class, feel really difficult. However, the moment I am in the gym, all that craziness becomes the past, and I feel my best to be back in my routine. That being said, I had to adjust my workout routine for the other days. And I should admit, I did fall off of what I truly wanted to do. My workouts became sporatical. I tried to find ways to integrate my everyday life into my workouts. But I lost consistency… However, I never gave up.
I finally followed my own advice that I have been giving you over the years. Just as a recap of what I had been telling you over the years: “you can have a very good workout just in 15 minutes”. As a result, I integrated a “good 15-minute workout” to my life routine. Of course, the key is to have a plan - like which muscles will work for how long and with what weights… Since 15 minutes are still too long for my kids to be without me, I also got them some weights so that they can join me too. :)
Here is one of my 15 minute sets:
Increasing step run with chin ups: For this exercise, you do need a set of stairs but you don’t necessarily need a pull up bar. If the stairs you find only have a few steps (under 10), then double the count. If you do not have a pull up bar, use your dinner table to do “feet-on-floor” chin ups.
Move: Run up and down the stairs one time and do 1 chin-up. Without a rest run up and down the stairs 2 times and do 2 chin-ups. Continue until you complete 5. Give yourself 15 seconds of rest before you move to the 2nd move. (this should take about 4 minutes)
Power Jacks to Split Jumps: If you want to make this move slightly harder, find slippery floors and make sure to be wearing socks.
Move: Start with a regular squat at 45 degree angle. Jump your feet to wide squat without bouncing your head high [keep your upper body not moving]. Then just jump back into the regular squat stand. Continue for 45 seconds. Take a 15 second rest. After your rest get into a perfect lunge position [front knee is at a 90-degree angle, your front knee is over your front ankle, your back toes are facing the same direction as your front toes, your back knee bent but NOT touching the floor]. Jump up to switch your legs. Keep alternating for 45 seconds. Take a 15 second rest. This is your first set. Repeat this set for total of 3 times.
Slippery Floor Version: Start with a regular squat at 45 degree angle. Slide your feet out to wide squat without bouncing your head high [keep your upper body not moving]. Then slide them back into the regular squat stand. Continue for 45 seconds. Take a 15 second rest. After your rest get into a perfect lunge position [front knee is at a 90-degree angle, your front knee is over your front ankle, your back toes are facing the same direction as your front toes, your back knee bent but NOT touching the floor]. Slide to switch your legs [DO NOT REST IN THE MIDDLE POSITION WHERE YOU STAND UP RIGHT]. Keep alternating for 45 seconds. Take a 15 second rest. This is your first set. Repeat this set for 2 more times (for 3 sets total).
Dips to Pushups: For this move you need a bench, or something elevated.
Move: Start with sitting on the bench with hands are on either side [to get you to the perfect form]. Drop your butt off the bench with your lower back slightly touching the bench. Lift one leg up and do dips for 20 seconds. Switch your leg and continue with dips for 20 seconds. Put both feet on the floor and continue with dips for 20 seconds. Take a 10 second break. Turn around to a push up position. Do pushups for 20 seconds. Take a 10 second break. This is your first set. Repeat this set for 2 more times (for 3 sets total). [IF PUSH-UPS ARE GETTING TOO HARD, PLEASE CONTINUE TO DO THEM ON THE WALL. FORM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN COMPLETING THE SET INCORRECTLY]
In 2020, I will reveal more of my 15 minutes workouts. Please do not include any heavy cardio prior to this workout. It is meant to be short and effective. :)
I hope you will enjoy such short routines so that you can still continue with your life but NOT give up on workouts and on getting strong.
Also… THANK YOU FOR NOT GIVING UP ON ME and ON MY BLOG. That is another routine that I am trying to figure out how to better integrate into my regular life. I will try different methods in 2020 so please keep believing on this site.
Big high five to 2019… We made it - one way or another. :) Now to a brand new year…
