A Nifty Quickie Workout for Halloween!

Wednesday usually means "Ahhhhh" for me. After 4 straight days of running - usually totaling about 27+ miles - a gym workout is pretty welcome. Believe me, I am all about my running time especially with this weather and not having to wake up as early to beat the heat. I also take Wednesdays (and Fridays when I rest in general) to sleep in and snuggle - snuggle time is very important for my mental stability.

Wednesdays also mean time for strength training!

I've always been a weights girl. Even when I first started frequenting the gym, I enjoyed the ability to feel strong and empowered from a weightlifting workout.

When I was younger, like most girls who were working through body issues and self-awareness, I'd always thought that weightlifting wasn't for girls. As magazines and media started to justify the positive gains a woman could get from weight lifting and strength training, I soon changed my tune.

Each week I try to make sure I do a mixture of upper and lower body exercises to increase my strength and aid fat burning. While I am half marathon training, I don't do as many days as I normally would. Once race season is over (ever over?) I plan to go back to at least 3 days a week. After a Monday or Tuesday moderate run I also take my lunch break to get in a strength workout and do the same on Wednesday with opposing exercises.

This is my go-to Nifty Quickie workout. I admit that I got many of the workout ideas from my Insanity workout and other exercises I've either found online or through blogger friends of mine. It's one that I do weekly and the only variations I may change would be the number per set (if I'm feeling froggy I add on more.) As long as I am moving along at a quick pace and sweating, I'm hitting my goal! The gym, itself, can also come with distrations too that I try to avoid.

Tips for a good, quick, strength workout at the gym:

• Try to avoid too much conversation - the gym isn't for catching up, it's for doing work! I usually have on my iPod so it's easy to not see waves here and there ;)
• Create a playlist that gets you moving - those who know me know I LOVE David Guetta
• Keep it moving - go from one movement to the next quickly to keep the circuit going
• Make sure to warm up beforehand - so that you're more fluid between the rest of the workout and are geared up!
• Plan ahead - know what you plan to do for your workout before heading out into the gym

And I can't forget that it's Halloween!

Jaeden is like my child. Therefore, he gets to dress up, he IS my child afterall....77 year old child.

Mom decided to use her craft skills and make a costume at el casa

Hey I worked with what I had ;)

Happy Halloween! Did you dress up??

What ways do you stay focused during your workout?