Why do we always feel like we’re dragging by the time we get to Wednesday? There are many theories out there including the idea that weekends are only two days and that stored up energy is exhausted on the first two days of the week. Of course, there’s probably no actual proven explanation. But one thing is for sure – come this time of week, we are READY for the weekend to hurry up and get here.
Struggling to power through Wednesday and maybe Thursday too? Here are a few tricks:
- Make an effort to work even harder. I know it seems counter intuitive, but if you are working hard, you don’t even have a chance to let that mid-week slump set in. Plus, knowing that you’ll have an accomplishment to show for it at the end will make the extra effort to power through just that much sweeter!
- Take a night off to relax. When we wake up early, hit the gym, go to work, come home, cook dinner, take care of things, and then finally get to bed, we never feel like we have the chance to slow down and relax. Try to take one night off over these next two days and make it more relaxing. If you know that you always have a relaxing night to look forward to, the week as a whole won’t seem so glum.
- Simply refuse to let the slump get to you. You know what? A large percentage of our struggles are all mental. You know what that means? It means, quite simply, that we have everything that it takes to overcome them. If you refuse to let yourself be slowed down by the mental conception of this mid-week slump, you’ll continue to push on through as if there is nothing holding you back at all.
How do you power through to the weekend? Share your ideas on how to make these mid week days go by a little faster!
One hard day, one easy day. Go hard and get it done then take it easy tomorrow and maybe even take the night off to relax!
Y’all are doing so good with the “Clean Eating” Challenge. Keep making those healthy, clean choices! Here’s a reminder about the levels you chose and the “do’s and don’ts” for the month.
Let’s get to work and GET OVER THAT HUMP! Time to work our arms & legs!
Ok hold on…we’re runners, we run with our legs, so why do we need to work our arms?
3 Reasons To Build Upper Body Strength:
- We use our legs to propel us forward, but we also use our arms and torso to help keep us balanced and improve our efficiency. Our arms pump as we run, and the stronger our arms are, the stronger our movement forward. When your legs get tired, push those elbows back to give you more momentum going forward! You’ll be amazed at the extra speed you can muster when you use the power in your arms!
- Strengthening your upper body does not mean working your arms to death. Working on our back, shoulders and core can add great benefits to our running. Although stronger back and core don’t necessarily equal speed, a strong upper body will help you experience less tightness and soreness after logging a bunch of miles. This also might allow you to run longer—sense a theme here? I’m all about the long miles! 🙂
- If you run with a handheld water bottle, hydration pack, or waist pack (which I advise against–ask me if you want to chat about this more) you will not regret having strengthened your torso and arms. Using a CamelBak, belt or handheld can make your back and arms tired and sore the next few days. We need to be stronger in order to comfortably carry the bulk and weight of our packs. It taxes some different muscles and they let us know!
- Yes, I said 3…but we can’t forget about those tight, toned arms we all want. In addition to helping our running, workout our arms will help us get rid of the pesky bat wings that tend to appear as we age. For me, that’s reason alone to add some arm work!
Day 4: Legs & Arms – Scroll down for “how to” videos.
- Plank – :60
- 40 Squats with Side Kick (per leg)
- 40 Straight Leg Donkey Kicks (per leg)
- 60 Squats
- Arm Circles (front and Back – :50 or count to 50 then rewind and take it backwards)
- 30 Crocodile Rows (per arm)
- 30 Upright Rows
- Plank – :60
Day 5: Quick Workout – #DailyAbs (3 Rounds)
An oldy but a goody! Quick and effective core burn. This little Thursday workout will fire us up and get us ready for the real burn on Friday! Don’t worry, three rounds of this little workout will take 5 minutes or less.
Need to go back and find info from earlier this week with workouts you missed or this week’s speed work? Maybe you want to see our October Challenge main page with more info about the clean eating challenge? Check the links below.
Day 4 “how to” videos:
Squats with Side Kick: We did this on Monday so you should be familiar with it already, but just in case you need a reminder, check out the video below.
40 Straight Leg Donkey Kicks: Nice little booty burn on this one. Hold that leg up and get in as many reps as you can for each set, take a rest then bust out the rest.
Squats: Finish your leg work off with 60 straight squats. Take as little rest as possible. Try sets of 20 with a quick :05 – :10 rest in between.
Arm Circles: Sounds easy but these little buggers can really make our arms tired. Do all 50 count (or :50 using a timer) then rewind it and go backwards for another 50.
Crocodile Rows: The Crocodile Row exercise works our back, shoulders, biceps, and abs! Watch how to do it properly below.
Upright Rows: The dumbbell upright row is a compound exercise that targets the lats and traps muscles, while increasing mobility throughout the shoulders. This exercise is also a good way to build upper back strength!
Plank: Round it out with a plank! Hold it as long as you can. If you need a break, drop to your knees for a second, then pop back up into position for the duration!
****Bonus****: Let’s see who scrolls all the way down just to make sure they didn’t miss anything. 😉 Knock out this bonus and tag me (so I am sure to see it) and your post with #DumbellClocker to get TWO extra entries into our Sqoosh contest! Shhhh…don’t give away the secret!
Dumbbell Clocker Shoulder Raise: Hold light dumbbells. Imagine that you’re at the center of a clock facing 12 and raise your arms until they’re parallel to the ground. Raise your arms till they’re parallel to the ground at clock position 12, then lower. Repeat at position 1 and 11, then 2 and 10, and 3 and 9. Repeat this sequence 4 more times. Think arm raises but with a twist!
Strong to the Core 