Closed Circuit

I'm behind with my posting. Sorry. There will be two posts today.

I missed Tuesday's workout because my friend Arwen and I had an audition on Monday night, and I didn't get home from it until very late. I had to have the sleep, or I would not have been able to function at work at all. (We did get the gig, though, so it was worth it!)

Upon walking into the studio on Wednesday morning, I was informed that I had missed the single most grueling workout so far. I do feel a bit guilty. But only a little. Mostly I feel fortunate.

On Wednesday we did a circuit with Amber. It was a tough one, made up mostly of stations we had done in circuits before. Today's post will be a comparison of how I felt when we did these stations the first time, and how I felt on Wednesday.

Station 1: Squat Shuffle with Medicine Ball
First time: Burning legs; gasping for air; heart felt like it was out of control and couldn't go any more; moved very slowly; had to rest for extended periods between laps.

Wednesday: Burning legs; breathing hard; heart felt like it was working hard, but strong; moved at an acceptable rate; required minimal rest between laps.

Station 2: Up-down Planks
First time: Really, really hated them; could barely do any; brought sobs to my throat; actually cried; hurt so badly that I couldn't even tell where on my body the pain was; felt like a complete failure and weakling; very depressing.

Wednesday: Started strong; moved slowly but with determination; hurt in a good way; very empowering because I could really tell I had improved like crazy.

Station 3: Abdominal Bicycles
First time: Actually felt like I did okay on these, but really had to rest often and for extended periods of time; had considerable lower back pain; knees were very painful with the motion.

Wednesday: Surprised myself with how long I could go before going to the rest position; lower back became tired near the end, but not painful; knees moved fluidly and were only slightly stiff; felt very proud of my core strength improvement.

Station 4: Inchworms
First time: Did every push-up from my knees; felt very shaky, awkward, and weak throughout entire exercise; had to step outside for fear of puking after each leg; hated them.

Wednesday: Still hated them; did most of the push-ups from my toes; felt strong but still awkward throughout exercise; did not have the urge to puke, but still had the urge to punch someone.

Station 5: 2X1s (2 push-ups, 1 explosion; 4 push-ups, 2 explosions; etc. to 8X4)
First time: I don't think we've done these before...if we did, I was blacked out or in clinical shock, because I don't remember.

Wednesday: Tired, but strong; did mixture of proper and modified push-ups; explosions are still weak, only because I can't get low because of my knees, and also can't bend my knees on the jump. I'm still really hoping for knee improvement, but I don't know whether they will ever get better.

We repeated the circuit five times, with the last set being abbreviated a bit so we would finish on time. It was a great workout, and I felt fantastic. I saw so much improvement in my endurance from early in the program.

This has truly, truly been hard; but it has absolutely been worth it. I have never in my life been this strong, or felt this good about anything I've done for myself. I can honestly see myself continuing to do this for life.