Heather's Early Morning Workout #nofilter

If you haven't guessed it by now, I'm more comfortable talking about other people. So this post is a stretch for me as give you a sneak peak into my workout world at Pinacle Health & Fitness.

I've been preparing for Tough Mudder (which is coming up fast--August 16th) since December. I'm doing this to raise money for World Relief Canada for some fantastic programs they have that will benefit women and children. If you'd like to join with me and make a donation, you can do that here.

Here I am at 5:15 a.m. with my trainer, Karen Martin. I've been working with her once a week. She's fantastic! When I started with her there were so many things I was not able to do. I was out of shape in a significant way and I have a curved spine, which makes some exercises really challenging. Karen is a fantastic blend of adapting to what you can do and pushing you to the next level. My muscles usually talk to me for several days after a session with Karen.

Here we are with the renegade row. Think pushup position, but alternating lifting the weights in each hand. Great workout for the core.  (12 reps, 3 sets)

Next, the Turkish get up. Start laying on the floor keeping the weight up at all times and lift yourself up. Great for stability, hip strength. (5 reps each side, 3 sets)

No workout would be complete without squats! For Tough Mudder we will be doing a lot of hills, so the squats are awesome for building leg strength. Just for extra fun, I'm holding on to two 15 lbs kettleball weights. (12 reps, 3 sets)

Stability ball bicep curls. These are harder than they look!

TRX inverted row. Down and up. Note the look of sheer determination!

Whenever I work out, I usually add the treadmill at the front and back end. At the start, I ramp up the incline and give the legs a good workout to simulate hills. ( I also do outdoor hills, but I'll save that for another day) At the end, I like to do some running, just to help me prepare for running after I do something physically exerting.

Just under three weeks to go! I'll be at the gym tomorrow morning--bright and early.

A Song that Inspires in the Gym

When I'm working out on my own at the gym I often listen to music. I have a great playlist that I change up fairly often to stay engaged and to give me energy to work out in the wee hours of the morning.

Lately I've been captured by Matthew West's Do Something. This song pokes you in the eye to move beyond being concerned about issues of poverty, pain, and injustice and to actually do something.

I think we all care about something. And I encourage you to "Do Something" about that cause and make a difference.

This blog is about a cause I care about--helping women and children internationally through Tough as Her and World Relief Canada.

If you would like to join with me, you can donate to World Relief Canada on my Tough Mudder Donation Page.

Thanks...and stayed tuned!

I’m so tired of talking
About how we are God’s hands and feet
But it’s easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It’s alright, “somebody else will do something”
Well, I don’t know about you
But I’m sick and tired of life with no desire
I don’t want a flame, I want a fire
I wanna be the one who stands up and says,
“I’m gonna do something”

If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it’s time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It’s not enough to do nothing
It’s time for us to do something

Waffling Between Confidence and Despair

Well, in just over five weeks I'll be doing Tough Mudder and I have to confess I'm waffling between confidence and despair. According to my trainer this is a normal feeling.

Why do I feel confident? I have a really great team of people who will be doing this race with me. I get a lot of energy and encouragement from them.

My board colleagues--Jennifer Stolte, Dr. Joel Emery, and Joanne Beach--are an amazing bunch of people who serve with me on the World Relief Canada board. They are dedicated and committed. Besides that, Joel has promised emergency medical assistance on the day of the event...how good is that? 

Jennifer, Heather, Joel, and Eric Frans...pumped about Tough Mudder!

Eric Frans is the Director of Philanthropy at World Relief Canada and he has Mudder experience. I love his passion--its contagious.

Check out Jennifers determination..love her attitude!

And if you've been following my blog you'll remember I was in physio for a while for my right knee. It was not happy, but it turn out that I just had some weak quad muscles around the kneecap. So I've been working really hard on strengthening those quads and I'm feeling great about that. I'm also seeing some good improvement in my strength and endurance.

All these things help me to feel confident.  So why the despair?

I have to admit, I've been thinking about some of those obstacles we'll be doing on race day. In particular the Arctic Enema. It is freezing cold water and then swimming under a plank. Just not sure I'm going to come out on the other side.  Seriously, can I attach a rope to someone?  Joel?  You can see all the possible obstacles here.

Really...what was I thinking?

I'll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking about "her". Women and children who face very difficult obstacles every day. They don't get to chose if they power through an obstacle. They have no choice. I think about "her" every day at the gym. I give a voice to "her" by talking about what she goes through and how this event can make a difference.

So no more waffling. Just gotta do it...for her.

Stay tuned.