Simply Not Enough Time

Every so often, I'm reminded of just how great a workout is. This past Sunday was like that for me. I have a really bad habit of overbooking myself on underbooked days. Somehow I'm capable of taking a few precious free hours, and cramming every second full of tasks. It's super lame.

This particular day was no exception. I was incredibly overambitious with what I could pull off to begin with. Then, due to some poor planning and careless mistakes, a quick run to Trader Joes turned into two separate trips, the kitchen was left a disaster, and time got away from me. Funny how when push comes to shove on the to-do list, the "workout" gets pushed to the "if time allows" section. And that's what happened. I was left with 45 minutes to get my workout in, shower and get dressed, and drive to our engagement. Simply not enough time. I then proceeded to waste another 5 minutes wondering if it was worth making an outfit sweaty for a less than optimal sweat session. But, being one of those freaks who honestly does love to train, and knowing that my mood would be so much better if I could squeeze it in, I stopped second guessing it and ran out the door.

20 minutes can = a fantastic workout. I ran a fast lap around our block. That includes two very steep hills, so I was quite warmed up, especially since it was so hot. Then I ran 5 simple wind sprints down our street, about 100meters: full sprint there, slow jog return, and straight into the next sprint. There is something about sprints...

Cons:
1. I honestly would have loved to run 8-10 sprints instead of 5, and a cooldown jog at the end would have been beneficial for sure.
2. Training hard and fast in a neighborhood draws curiosity. As if I wasn't running late enough, our neighbor had to launch a full discussion on running and body fat composition.
3. Due to the convo with the neighbor and my shower (despite it being super speedy), we ended up arriving to our engagement 10 minutes late. My husband was thrilled.

But it was completely worth it! I was reminded of a good lesson, my metabolism got a good spike, and I felt great.

Stop using time as an excuse. If you have less time, you don't cut out whatever you need to do...you just get it done faster! The funny thing is, in other areas of our lives, we apply this all the time: Less time = move faster. When we leave for work 10 minutes late, we speed. When guests are on their way over and the house is a wreck, we act like a maid on crack to get the place presentable. It might not be perfect, with stuff shoved under beds and couches, but we make it work for the time being at least. And some of the best papers in college were written under time pressure...right? So when time gets away from us and we don't end up with the full hour we had hoped to train, why should we use that as an excuse to skip the workout entirely?

And it's no secret to the CrossFitter that the real WODs to fear are the short ones. Fran leaves you a lot more wrecked than Cindy, and all because of the intensity. When you cram a lot of work into a short time frame, amazing things happen. Ditch the old-school thinking that you have to keep yourself in the "fat-burning zone" of sub-maximal intensity for 60 minutes plus. Not only is it outdated silliness, it is a waste of your time. Make every minute count. And sometimes, all you need literally, is a few minutes.

Strength: 5x5 DeadLift

WOD: 12 min AMRAP
*9 bumper plate burpees
*6 strict pull-ups