I have been extremely anxious this week because we started our 18 month old at a brand new daycare that I'm not yet 100% comfortable with. I realize this doesn't seem like a big deal to some, but the new school does things very differently than our old school and the lines of communication are not yet well established. I am glad that I was able to recognize this as an outside stressor, but it definitely had an effect on my attitude in the gym.
On Monday I stayed home with Aria so I had to go to the gym by myself to do my back workout after Jason got off of work. I don't mind going to the gym alone, but the first exercise on the list was a wide grip overhand pull-up. I physically do not yet have the strength to do a pull-up so I felt a bit frustrated that Jason was not there to help and encourage me.
On Tuesday, Aria's first day of school, I was overly negative in the gym for chest/abs. We had several new exercises to do and I got extremely discourage that I "couldn't" do them. When we went to do the side-to-side pushups I commented that it was "too hard" and "stupid". For the knee/hip raise on parallel bars I whined that it was "too hard" to lift my hips up. The toe touches of course were also "too hard". I did them but I complained the entire time. I think I would have felt better about the gym visit if I would have dropped the attitude and tried to give it my all even if only to do one perfect rep. I decided it was time to press the reset button.
Today I made the decision to lighten the mood a bit (despite still feeling stressed) and give a better effort for leg day. Jason really pushed me hard and I think it was probably the best workout I've had in a long time! I upped my weights and sometimes Jason would make me up them even more because he new I could handle more. Below I was doing the leg press and started at 180lbs. After Jason completed his set I sat back down to do mine and when I finished I noticed he had set it to 200lbs without telling me. I was surprised that I was actually able to do it!
I felt my confidence level come back today all because I changed my attitude and I even tried to end the workout with a little fun with the hubby! On our list today was donkey calf raises. You have to get a partner to pretty much jump on your back to do the calf raises. I had no intention of letting Jason, or anyone else for that matter, jump on my back but I was happy to jump on his back. I kept slipping off (probably due to trying to get the perfect photo) so Jason was not overly happy with me. But I got my picture!!
No comments:
Post a Comment