aaaaand I'm back

Seriously - I had written a whole post last night and I couldn't get it to post. And then Blogger totally locked me out of my blog. Like I couldn't even get access to log in or out. Totally frustrating. 

But in all honesty - I didn't have much to say because I was waiting until today was over. You see, after reading my blog entry (about having to schedule out almost 2 hours of my life each day to exercise) my Aunt (who's also a personal trainer) emailed me. We exchanged a few emails and then were able to catch each other on the phone later in the evening. 

And let me tell you ... it was a pretty awesome conversation. 

I have to say - my Aunt has a way of encouraging you beyond belief. While still giving you the cold hard facts about making lifestyle changes, she actually makes you think that it's doable. It's a pretty amazing gift if you ask me. 

So what did we talk about? We talked about doing High Intensity, short workouts. So after looking around on some websites she shared, I found one that I was willing to try. I promised to do it the next day, and I would email her after I finished. 

Okay. Those are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay hard. I'm talking WAY hard.

Here's what I was supposed to do:

10 seconds of 'running in place' emphasizing 'high knees'

5 seconds of laying on your belly to 'rest'

(repeat continually for 4 minutes)

Step out to a wide stance

Squat

Drop to knees and do a push up

(repeat 30 times as quickly as possible)

Repeat first circuit

Okay... so I did the first 4 minutes and it was tough. I was instantly sweating and breathing hard. And I also discovered that the whole '5 seconds of resting on your belly' is a total joke. It's more like just doing a push up for an extended amount of time. Because as soon as you lay down, you pretty much have to get up again. 

Next, I immediately moved on to the second circuit. 

I got through 10. That's it. That's all I could do before collapsing into the fetal position - and then I was just focusing on getting oxygen into my body and not fainting or throwing up. 

That being said - I kinda liked it. I know - super crazy, right? I mean, I'm totally tired from it ... and was all day. In fact, I even felt like my brain was fatigued. But I was actually pretty happy with accomplishing about 9.5 minutes of High Intensity exercise. 

I'm taking tomorrow off. No doubt. But I'm thinking I'll try it again on Saturday (or maybe Monday) Three times a week... it's doable. 

And I'm thinking that my goal will be to see how long it takes me to do the full work out. Because once I can get that down,  I can actually try it without modifying the moves. Since technically I'm supposed to be lifting a 20lb sand bag on my shoulders while I squat accompanied by push-ups where I'm NOT 'resting' on my knees the entire time. 

I guess they don't call this High Intensity for nothing!