Today was Tabata Thursday at CrossFit Central, which means four minutes of hell on repeat for the uninitiated. I really love/hate Tabata. Tabata is an interval training regimen created by Dr. Izumi Tabata based on research that is way more complicated than I can summarize for you. Dr. Tabata demonstrated that athletes who used a four minute protocol of 20 seconds hard work, 10 seconds rest on repeat for 8 rounds showed dramatic gains in their anaerobic capacity and VO2Max (ability to consume oxygen). Read more about the protocol and what you can do with it here. Almost 15 years later, CrossFitters and other performance athletes are doing pretty much "Tabata Anything." This can be sprints, pullups, squats, pushups, thrusters, sandbag carries, anything! And if four minutes of work sounds easy to you, try it. Just try it for two minutes.
Today we did 3 sets of Tabata work: 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for each exercise. Pull-ups, lunges, wall ball. Oh my god, the wall ball after the lunges nearly killed me. I literally fell on the floor when time was finally called. I was toasted.
Next time I Tabata something, I'm going to play this song on repeat to keep me motivated.
It's a day for curling up with a book in your pajamas, sipping hot cocoa and not getting out of bed for this pseudo-Monday. Alas, I'm fully dressed, in front of a computer under fluorescent lights and not likely to see my pj's or bed for quite a while.
I always think of this song on days like today, and imagine myself staring dreamily out a window while the rain pours down, with a paradoxical melancholic contentment. Somehow it makes me feel better.
Having not been the best of weeks, I've been remiss in writing. This is unfortunate in part because writing this blog is intended to be therapeutic, and what use is therapy if you can't turn to it in times of stress? As an antidote to wallowing I've taken to reminding myself of all the things I'm grateful for, all the reasons I have (and there are many) to wake up and smile. Here are a few of the things I've been thinking of today, in no particular order:
1) Coming home to an unexpected dinner cooked by my man of steak, asparagus and portabella mushrooms, washed down with a lovely glass of wine from my favorite wine region, Santa Ynez.
2) Having a wonderful group of gals who are willing to get up early and meet me in the humid, mosquito-infested park to tackle my dreamed-up workouts, accompanied with laughter and a little sweat. This week they learned deadlift with dumbbells and dumbbell swings, and took on the new challenges with big smiles. I love these ladies, which leads me to...
3) One of these darling ladies, my coworker, neighbor, friend forged by fire, will be leaving us in a few weeks to pursue big dreams in a faraway land. This leaves me feeling bittersweet, joyful, tearful and ultimately, inspired, and for that I am grateful to her and wish her so much happiness.
4) My family.
5) Girls' trip to Port A in two weeks! Last trip with the ladies, a few years back, ended at the local dance club with mostly-naked men, booty dancing and too many drinks. I'm thinking this time around we might settle for a movie night and girl talk and ahhhhhhhh, relaxing.
6) The Jerky-off (I know, I can't help it) that we're hosting with Miss Melicious tomorrow, to help her sift through the mountain of specialty, good-for-you, good-for-the-planet beef jerky. Just saying the name makes me smile, and I dare you to try to say that with a straight face to someone. Go ahead, "We're having a Jerky-off, how about you?" I'll let you know how it goes, and until then, take a minute to remember something that makes you smile today.
Last night I had the pleasure of taking a dip after dark at the incomparable Barton Springs. If you've never visited Austin's iconic spot at night, you've got to try it. There's a peacefulness to it that you can't get during the hot summer days (although it's a perfect Saturday afternoon spot too).
I've been humming this all night and day, so I hope to get it stuck in your head too:
