Learning From My Mistakes

     I should take my own advice about creating a workout schedule. At the end of my challenge I started to fail. I realize now that I relied too much on my determination for wanting to succeed and not wanting to be labeled a failure. Because of that I failed to take the necessary steps to improve my chances of succeeding. I started the challenge strong with improving my workouts everyday, and ensuring that if I missed a full workout I would still do something to not fall out of routine. But toward the end of the challenge life started getting busier and busier. I had soccer practice everyday and would come home to a house of guests who would always take my attention away from my motivation to workout. as soon as the challenge ended my workouts disappeared with it. I didn't have a designated schedule to live by and to make no exceptions for. I do plan on writing a schedule and starting another 30 day challenge where I will take my own advice and hopefully will have implemented a new habit in my daily life. I'm not gonna give up, I will keep trying until I succeed.

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Firgure1: https://www.google.com/search?q=Don%27t+give+up&biw

Food is Fuel

     I know it's not just me, but who else has a bad habit of eating those bad processed sugar treats and snacking too often because of boredom? By now you should have figured out that its not good for you. Combine this bad habit with working out and you aren't really changing anything all you are doing is burning off the snack you ate and you won't end up seeing much improvement. Now I'm not saying that snacking is bad for you, but eating unhealthy snacks because of boredom is bad. Instead, eating three balanced meals a day with a healthy snack two hours in between is an alternative that should keep you full and focused and ready for anything during your day. How do you break these habits? Well that really depends on if you really want too. In the link above there is a short video helping to explain how to break bad habits. Lucky for you, food is one of the examples. To some food doesn't seem like a big issue just as long as you workout, but that is not the case. Everybody knows that food is fuel right. So if you truly want to take care of your body don't you want to put good sustainable fuel into it?

                                                                               

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Figure 1: https://www.google.com/search?q=Food+is+fuel&biw

Imporvement!

     So I just wanted to personally say that with using the various workouts I posted earlier and paying closer attention to my form, I have seen amazing improvement. Not only have they helped increase my speed but also my ability to run for longer amounts of time! I feel amazing and its so encouraging to see! It has helped me show my team the effects of hard work and pushing yourself.

     Denver eagles has finally started practices. The first practice coach announced to the team that I would be the conditioning coach for the team and that I was in-charge of all the running exercises. I could see the "oh no" looks on everybody's face as I looked around. I smiled because I knew that they were expecting to work hard, and that is exactly what they were going to do. The first practice was held inside on a basketball court to help with ball control and since the area was so small we had to double up on the amount of laps we ran. Before we started I reminded everybody that we would run as a team, that we should support each other and encourage each other along the way, but I didn't want to be too nice, so I went further to say that if anyone should fall behind and walk the whole team would run a extra lap. Then we started jogging on the sidelines and sprinting on the baselines. By the end of the fifth lap everybody needed to take a breather, so we did, but not for long, because next was the fun part. We started those exciting push-up sprints and aggravated sprints and suicide sprints. We had so much fun! At first everybody had a hard time getting the hang of the aggravated sprints, but practice makes perfect right. When we were done with the conditioning part of practice and it was time for coach to step in I was truly happy with what I saw in the girls that night. Everybody was tired, but they still pushed through until the very end. I was so proud of my team. I can't wait to see how everybody has improved by the end of the season.

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Figure 1: https://www.google.com/search?q=Don%27t+give+up&biw

Scheduleing

One thing to keep in mind and something to make before you start is a workout schedule and a set time of the day, preferably in the morning, to workout. Learning from personal mistakes, waiting until night doesn't always work. Some days you'll just say to yourself that you are just too tired from your busy day to workout, and other days you may just fall asleep on the couch and when you wake up realize you missed your workout, then you promise yourself that you'll make it up tomorrow, but you know you won’t. So instead of waiting until after dinner or sometime at night try and start your workout in the morning so that you don't have the excuse of having a busy day that wore you out. Another importance of scheduling is so that you always have a designated time of the day that will eventually become a habit. Having a designated time also helps in long term because it makes it harder to skip workouts; your body will have already adjusted to its new routine and will feel weird or out of order if something is missed. The hardest part is those first couple of weeks and finding that motivation to not skip but to push through. Be ready for those weeks and always remember an encouraging quote or song or whatever it might be that helps you push through.Write down the quote or song, whatever encourages you, and put it somewhere you will see it everyday before you workout.

Schedule Template

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Figure 1: https://www.google.com/search?q=Workout+Schedule&biw=1143&bih=705&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiunoqbofTLAhUrkIMKHT9MA-oQ_AUIBigB&dpr=0.9#imgrc=O0Y-Q_8kzwA0IM%3A

"I am Speed" ~ Lightning McQueen

     Improving your speed is difficult, so let's start with the basics then work our way up. One of the most important things about running is form. When you start be sure to have correct form while running or you will just be wasting energy. Don't forget to breathe either, that is another important part of running. Controlled breathing will make a noticeable difference when you run. Now that we have the basics down, let's talk about some exercises to push yourself and increase your speed and endurance. A good starting point would be to run a mile sprint for a minute, run a mile sprint for a minute, run a mile sprint for a minute. You should end having run about three miles. In a nut shell this drill is using intervals. There are many different interval workouts. If this one doesn't spark your interest there are many more to pick from. Another is sprints from push up position. Starting on the ground in push up position begin to quickly push yourself up and sprint 10-15 yards. Do this exercise three or four times combined with the rest of your workout. Ladder training is also very helpful. You will work on spreed, acceleration, and agility all in one drill. As you can see in the video you will use 10 yards to complete each exercise three or four times. These were only a couple ideas but I hope they help to get you started! 

Everything Hurts

     So its the day after your first workout. You wake up, get out of bed, and the moment you stand up pain shoots through your body. Everything hurts! Don't worry it will go away, but it might get worse before it gets better. Sometimes the second day after is the worst day and for some the pain might not even hit until the second day. Even though it hurts that doesn't mean you should skip your workout. Push through the pain, believe it or not, a light workout will help your muscles recover. Just remember, "No Pain No Gain". Also another important note is to hydrate!!!! Water, water, and more water. Listen to your body and be smart with your workouts. Push your body but don't over do it.

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Figure 1: https://www.google.com/search?q=funny+workout+soreness+quotes&biw

But I Don't Want To

The hardest part of starting a challenge is the first day. When you make up excuses like, "I'm too tired today, maybe tomorrow" or, "I just don't have the time". Before starting your challenge, create a mini goal for each week or month depending how long your challenge is. This will help with motivation, because if you never start you'll never reach your goal. Start simple. Eat one healthy meal a day combined with 30 minutes of walking or mixed exercises. Start developing self-discipline. Then as you progress in your challenge increase the intensity of your goal. Keep changing your goals until you reach your final goal at the end of the challenge. At this point you should have a self-discipline instilled in your brain. Now just keep moving forward (i.e. "just keep swimming, just keep swimming") and make small reasonable goals so that you don't get discouraged. Also, mix up your workouts to stay interested and always on your toes.

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References:
Figure1: https://www.google.com/search?q=motivational+quotes+for+athletes&biw