On routines.

BREAKING NEWS!!!  I went to the gym this morning.  Yep, you read that correctly.  I failed miserably at my goals last month and didn’t strength train once.  NOT. EVEN. ONCE.  So I’m giving it another go and hoping it’s here to stay.  Once upon a time I used to do it regularly.  Remember the #5amworkoutclub days?!  No?  Well it was a thing.  A very good thing that made me feel strong and wonderful while helping to keep me injury-free during my entire marathon training cycle.  With training starting in just a couple of weeks, I’m ready to get back into a solid routine when it comes to both my running and my strength training.

One thing I do, especially on weekdays when I’m waking up at the ass crack of dawn, is make sure I’ve got my gym bag packed the night before so that (a) I don’t forget anything and (b) I know my outfit will be on point, even at 5am.  Don’t judge me…I’ve got a thing for spandex and sneakers no matter what time of day it is.

Here is a peek at what I stash in my gym bag (I may or may not have gotten made fun of by some employees at when I picked up some outfits a few weeks ago – they seemed to find humour in my need for colour coordination! 😉� ) :

Jump rope (I bought mine at a Reebok store a few years ago)

All of my gym workouts are typically a series of short circuits with a bunch of different exercises that incorporate all of the muscle groups.  I do this because (a) circuits help keep my heart rate up (b) they are less boring than just standing there and doing a million reps/sets of one single exercise (c) if I only make it to the gym once a week, at least I know I worked my entire body rather than having a whole week go by and only working my shoulders.  You know what I mean??

Here is the workout I did (3 rounds of each set of exercises):

• Medicine ball jack squats x 15
• Burpees x 15
• Jump rope x 100

• Kettlebell swings x 15
• Box jumps x 15
• Assisted pull-ups x 15