The End is Not as Far as the Start..

20100710





I kicked the gyms ass this past week! Tuesday and Thursday I ran 1.25mi and 1.5mi, respectively. This is major, boys and girls. Not only did I finally break a mile (Lord knows I've been there forever!) but I pushed myself to run a mile and a half. I moved up a half a mile in TWO days! And the best part of this is that 1.5mi is the minimum distance you have to run for your PRT (Physical Readiness Test).
HOOYAH! CAN I GET A WOOT WOOT??

Folks..lemme tell ya. Running= 40% Physical+50% Mental. Fo' Real!

Some of the things that run through my head while I'm running are:

"Breathe. Just Breathe."

"I'm a bad ass I'm a bad ass I'm a bad ass I'm a bad ass.."

"Just. Do. It."

"Run with me Jesus!" This is the point where I'm literally picturing Jesus in a pair of Asics like mine and I nearly start to crack up

"Screw it! I've come this far, so I can go the rest of the way!"

.....And a whole lot of praying! To the point where I'm really considering getting a tattoo of Phil. 4:13 which states:

'I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.' Amen to that!!


Also making an appearance this week was a helluva lot of strength training. This is what I really credit as being the reason why I was able to increase my distance by a half mile in two days. I have a membership at a Y near me and here is a list of the things I do there:

Leg Press: Currently 150lbs (2 sets of 25)

Leg Extension: 45lbs (2 sets of 25)

Hip Abduction/Aduction: 45lbs (2 sets of 25 on each)

Shoulder Press: 15lbs (2 sets of 25)

Chest Press: 20 lbs (2 sets of 12)

Bicep Curl: 20lbs (4 sets of 12)

Abdominal crunch machine: 15lbs (4 sets of 20-25)


Also I'm working with free weights on my triceps. You can do this easily at home. Sit in a chair or something straight backed. Lift a weight straight above your head and bend your arm only at the elbow so that you're lowering the weight behind your head. Straighten your arm at the elbow using your triceps. You should feel this in the back of your arm. I use two 10lb dumbbells for this. Believe me! Its working! You can also do tricep dips at home. Just grab a sturdy chair (not one with wheels!!) and you grab the seat on the edge and lower yourself down and raise yourself up in front of it. This works pretty well too!

At home I do my push-ups on the stairs. I still can't do them on the floor which makes me feel like a total wuss. But keep something in the back of my mind and, if you're like me, you should do this as well.

1). Women are naturally weaker than men in their upper body. So don't always expect to nail something like this off the bat. There's a reason why girly push-ups exist.

2). I am pushing up a LOT of excess weight still.

Its healthy to keep this perspective, but don't let it talk you out of doing them at all or doing girly push-ups. They will not help you prepare for boot.

How to Work up to Full Navy Push-ups At Home

* Find a set of stairs if you can..otherwise you'll have to read on and improvise...Surely you can find steps somewhere??
* Start on something like the 4th step. Lean over, keeping your core firm and straight and see how many you can do. If its really easy to do 20 of them than move down and start there. Start where it is difficult but not impossible for you to do the push-ups. For me I started on the 4th step and worked up to 2
* Move down the next step and work up to 20, move down and repeat, etc.
* Then you're on the floor, baby and you're good to go! :)


Well, ladies. I hope that this little tutorial helps some of you. It has certainly worked for me. Just remember that losing the weight or getting fit is not going to be an overnight deal. The two biggest factors are willpower and remaining consistent. And guess what? You're in control of both of those bad boys, so you've got this!



Gotta get in a bike ride before the rain really comes..Catch ya later!


Future Sailor GM Ringle