Kim was in town for the holidays and looking for a good Survival Workout. Though I’d done mine the day before and always took a day off in between, I never miss the opportunity to push someone who likes to be pushed. I picked her up and as we drove to the park together, she described the running she’d been doing. There was no mention of any upper body work; she knew she was out of shape for the workout, but was still willing to put herself through it. She's got pluck.
I showed her the push-up/stationary bear crawl and she began with gusto. I had her grab the tree branch for pull-ups and then jump/pull herself through the full range of motion before sending on her first couple of sprints across the rugby field. She’s a runner, but sprinting has not been a part of her routine since her competitive days, which was a distant memory as far as her legs were concerned.
The thing about Kim, and any competitive athlete I’ve worked with, is there’s no quit in them. No matter what I suggest or have her do, she just does it without complaint. I suppose it is this personality type, when combined with extraordinary physical tools, that leads to exceptional athletic performances and athletes which she is. But seeing this is a strong reminder to me that regardless of your athletic talent, you’ll improve when you bring her attitude to the game. She inspires me to be the best 57-year old athlete I can be.
I had her doing the normal lifts with rocks and logs, climbing the hills and swing sets, and a new twist – walking with a large log stretched between us and hoisting it from one shoulder to the other on my command. On the final hoist, she called that she couldn’t get it over to the other shoulder, but instead of dropping it, she continued to walk. Tough cookie.
When we finished the workout with a couple more sprints, she commented, “I’m going to be pretty sore tomorrow.”
“Well, I hope so. I’d hate for you to do what you did and not hurt. It would be a slam on the Survival Workout if you weren’t,” I said.
I went to my sister’s after-Thanksgiving party later that night, but only after I’d eaten a reasonably healthy post-Thanksgiving dinner of my own at home. She had the house loaded with the most delicious, but awful choices I could have made and I was glad not to be too tempted when I walked past them. I’m coming through these holidays lighter than I went into them, so strategy and will power is everything. Some extra workouts wouldn’t hurt, either.
Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned: 600.
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