Train Smart

Unruly Workouts

3 sets, 15 reps, 2 days per week, for 6 weeks, and then change ever so slightly and repeat.  Does it work? Yes.  Is it fun?  It is for Type A automatons.  I prefer a bit more rebellion in my routine.  Maybe it’s because I jump through enough hoops in a day and I prefer not to do the same thing during my precious personal time.  So I stopped!

Why commit to something you disdain?  Think of your workday like a school day in third grade.  Cursive writing for 40 minutes, and then spelling, and then environment class, and then… Ever see a child get bored with recess?  Some of you have, yes, I know.  But most kids don’t.  You know why?  Because it’s the one time of day that they do whatever they want to do!  And do they play on the monkey bars the entire time!  NO!  They run constantly from 4-square, to tag, to the slide, back to 4-square, and they don’t stop, and they laugh the entire time!  Do that!

There’s one catch.  You have to go to the gym, even if you don’t want to.  But once you’re there, follow your instincts.  You’ll be surprised at how good of a workout you get in.  You may even go longer than you anticipated.  Soon enough, you will think of your workout more like recess, instead of study hall!

OK, so there’s two catches.  If you feel like running 10 miles and you’ve never even walked a mile, then maybe a few rules would do you some good.  Here are the basic rules of unruliness:

1. Warm up.  Even if it’s just for 5 minutes, it’ll help to prepare you for whatever craziness your subconscious has in store for you.
2. Ease into it.  The first few exercises should be a notch up from the warm up.  Consider it warm up part 2.
3. Use proper form.  Do pushups until you collapse if you like, but never compromise your posture.  Bad form = injury = detention.
4. Commit to at least 30 minutes of activity.  It’s a rule.  Even though you get to follow your folly, it must involve activity. 
5. Stretch when you’re done for at least 5 minutes.  You probably worked some muscles you forgot about; they’ll probably be sore and tight tomorrow; stretch.

Here’s an internal dialogue that goes through my mind during a typical strength workout:

I feel like doing pushups…9, 10, 11…I feel like stopping…on to a standing 1 arm chest press…8, 9, 10…feels pretty good, although the weight is a bit light, oh well…18, 19, 20…it’s starting to burn, I like this one…32, 33, 34…that’s enough…I think I’ll hop on an elliptical now…

That’s it.  Do what you want, have fun, play, and unleash your unruliness!