Okay, so today I just need to vent and ramble, but I promise this is going somewhere. I had kind of a miserable day, and I have to get this off my chest. Work, kids, life, it all happened today, and I can’t wait to tell you ALL about it. Oh yeah, and I am going to get to this 22-minute workout also so hang in there.
A case of the Mondays
I got up early today because I knew that work was going to be a bugger this week. We have a ton of work to get done and a short window to get it all finished. As I write this on Monday evening, my boss is getting set for a tropical vacation later this week and we have a massive project due before he leaves.
So I get to work bright and early and get right to it. I hit a few snags, as to be expected on a Monday, but I am up for the challenge. So about 2 hours after I get to work my boss shows up (I told you I got to work early LOL). He immediately has me start working on another project that is due Tuesday morning.
No problem, I am a team player, and I get right on it. Well, this project went south in a hurry, and I knew half my day was going to be shot. Anyway, I worked diligently and figured it all out (yay me). I then turned my attention back to the project that I got in early for.
Well, before you know it, I had already worked through lunch, and dinner time was fast approaching. I told my boss I was heading home and would work some later in the evening since 12 hours at the office was enough for me. So off I went, zooming down the freeway, except I wasn’t zooming but instead stuck in rush hour.
A little help here
Okay, I make it home and pull down my street, and what do I see, but the empty garbage and recycling bins that my teenagers had not put away. At this point, I was in no mood, so I did what any guilt-tripping parent would do, I put them away myself.
I walk in the house and go to throw something away in the garbage in the kitchen, and it literally jumped right back out at me. So after working for 12 hours, commuting to and from work, I came home and was even more frustrated.
My kids are home for the summer, and they are bored, I get it, but the least they can do is clean up the place while my wife and I keep the lights on, sheesh.
At this point, I am tired, frustrated, and very irritable, so I asked my wife to go for a bike ride. We really enjoy getting out, and it gives us a chance to compare (or complain) about our day. She has a super stressful job, and I just work too many hours.
Okay, so now I was kind of energized from the bike ride, kind of like it takes energy to make energy. So I decided I needed to work out more since I still had some pent up energy and now I was loosened up from the bike ride.
I wanted to try something different and test myself, and I also know that I have been focusing so much on core strength training lately and have not been getting my heart rate up like I used to.
If anyone has followed me, you know that I have back problems and have been dealing with this for about 20 years. There is a fine line for me when it comes to interval training, and I don’t want to cross that line.
That said, I have been working on core strength of late, and I really wanted to try something new. I didn’t want to go to the gym, so I made up my own at-home workout with a variety of different exercises. Not only would this put my back to the test, but I also wanted to see how my heart and lungs would react, so away I go.
A different kind of workout…intervals
Now mind you, I don’t do this very often, so don’t make fun of me for being a lightweight. But of course, some people will probably find this pretty challenging.
Round 1:
- I start off with 20 jumping jacks, no problem.
- Next is 10 burpees with pushups
- Next up 10 jump squats
- I finish this round off running in place for 20 seconds
I did these consecutively, no breaks in between. Then I take a breather for about 30-45 seconds, not too bad, I am actually feeling pretty good, but definitely breathing harder than I expected. It takes me about a minute and a half to get through this.
Now it’s time for round 2, and I do the same routine. It’s a little more difficult this time; my lungs are struggling more than before. I work my way through this round and take another 30-second break.
On to round 3 and I am certainly slowing down, but very determined to complete my routine. I don’t know how many more of these I will do, but getting through the third round is making me sweat and breathe hard. I take a bit longer break this time, about 60 seconds.
I have at least one more in me. My goal was to do this for about 10 minutes and see how many rounds I could get in. Now I am slowing down, and I want to make sure I am maintaining proper form, the last thing I need to do I hurt myself.
Okay, so it took me longer than I had planned on, but I did 5 rounds in about 12 minutes. I was feeling pretty good about my progress tonight. I definitely have room for improvement, but for a guy with a bad back, and who is not used to intervals, I was happy with what I did.
But you said 22 minutes
But wait, the title says it’s a 22-minute workout. Well, I decided I was not satisfied and since I was already sweaty, let’s throw in some more. I went ahead and did 5 sets of 15 renegade rows with about 30-45 seconds rest in between.
I use 20-pound dumbbells for my renegade rows, which again is not much weight for some, but more than enough for other people. If you decide to try these, you will need to find a weight that works well for you.
The renegade row routine took me about 5 minutes, so I am up to about 17 minutes now. Then I took it easy and wanted to do some bicep curls. I took my time and again did 5 sets of 15 biceps curls with the same 20-pound dumbbells. I rested until I felt like doing another set, probably about 45 seconds.
At the end of my workout, the final result was 22 minutes and included some excellent intervals, as well as some core and arm, focused work. I will say though that the interval training also engaged my core, so that was nice too.
I have been meaning to step out of my comfort zone and try some new stuff, so tonight was a great night to blow off some steam and go for it. Honestly, I could have curled up in a ball and just went to bed after being in kind of a foul mood today. But instead, I bucked up and did something productive with my evening.
So, to recap, here is exactly what I did for my workout today:
- 20 jumping jacks
- 10 burpees with pushups
- 10 jump squats
- Run in place for 20 seconds
- Rest for 30-45 seconds between sets
Then after I finished 5 rounds of these, I did:
- 5 sets of 15 renegade rows with 20-pound dumbbells
- 45 seconds rest between sets
- Finish up with 5 sets of 15 dumbbell curls with 20 pounders, rest as you see fit
Of course, after I finished all of this, I ran straight to my inversion table, which is my go-to for all things back pain. We will see how I feel in the morning.
So that was it. The interval part kind of kicked my butt, and that is a reminder to me that I need to try new things and challenge myself. I also get really bored at the gym, so mixing in some interval training a few days per week will be excellent for me.
Not bad for a guy with a bad back.
I hope you enjoyed this post, I enjoyed writing it. Sometimes I have to take a break and get real. We are all people and have real-life stuff going on, and sometimes it gets the best of us.
Let me know if you have any questions, I am happy to help if I can.