Before moving I would be at the gym 5 to 6 days a week at 5am. It became a routine, laying out the clothes the night before, a light snack before the gym. Setting my phone on the other side of the room and going to bed early. It was a lifestyle change that I made about five years ago and it has dramatically improved my life. A typical day would include a workout early in the morning, coming home, drinking coffee with protein powder (chocolate is the best mixture I have found) reading (either non-fiction book or textbook if I am studying for class or a certification) until the kids get up-breakfast as a family then the day's events-either yard work, project around the house or an activity for the kids. We were that family that gets to place the second they open. When you have two special needs kids' crowds are not your friend. With the move and staying at the in-laws my routine has been thrown all out of whack. I have been going to bed later, sleeping in and missing workouts. Since we have nearly unpacked our house, I have been able to slowly get back into this routine. For one thing it is easier to maintain that lifestyle then it is to start over. I have been steadily going to bed earlier, getting up earlier and today was the first day where I was able to squeeze in a workout. It felt good to get back into the gym routine. Since it has been two weeks since I worked out, I used one of my favorite workouts. Kettlebell swings and dips. I found this workout when researching minimal workouts in my last duty station where my days were centered around class. Early morning gym sessions were replaced with PT with the students and since I was an instructor my primary duties during PT was safety for the students and ensuring they did the proper movements as allocated by the Army. Lunch time was my workout time, so workouts had to be short and effective.
During my research I found the work of Pavel Tsatsouline. Pavel was a former SPETSNAZ that is credited with bringing kettlebells to the United States. His workouts are centered around one or two movements that are repeated for time. More information about Tsatsouline and his workouts can be found here. One of his workouts are kettlebell swings and dips. I tweak it depending on what kettlebells the gym has. Sometimes I go heavy with kettlebells with less reps or light weight in favor of more reps. At times I'll wrap a band around the kettlebell to make the movement harder. Today I did 55-pound kettlebell for 5 reps and 10 dips with 60 seconds rest between. I did this for 10 rounds. It's not the hardest workout in the world but starting at the 8th round your start to feel like on the dips. Since I am closing in on 40 my workouts are more about staying in shape rather than building my body or chasing maxes on deadlift or bench press. This is how I was able to stay consistent without developing soreness. I would rather be consistent with my workouts then crushing the gym one day then having to skip the next day because I can't lift my arms. I'm sure with time I'll get back to lifting heavier and reading to continue chasing certs but in the meantime, I stick with basic movements until I am fully into my routine.
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