Early wake up, coffee and strength training

Friday, June 28, 2013 · Mike Davis

Up at 5:15am so that I can down a cup of black coffee and then hit the gym otherwise known as my basement! Ideally coffee should go down an hour before working out for optimal energy boost, but I can't wait that long to work out nor get up that early. Todays strength training will be my second this week and despite my goal normally being 3 days of strength training; I am okay with myself. I am definitely a guy that likes to stay on plan but Wednesday didn't happen for some reason that eludes me now and that's how life works at times. My workout schedule is not an easy one by design but it's also not one that needs to be perfect. I am not 'training' for something specific so I needn't fret that I won't be prepared, but instead I train because it's important to my overall health and mental wellbeing. Both of those reasons for working out are exactly why I miss runs or strength training days on occasion as it helps me to maintain my health and mental wellbeing. When my body tells me that I need a rest day that's not scheduled or mentally I am tanked, I skip my planned workout and enjoy the break. Being okay with the break helps me maintain a good long term training plan. If I forced myself to be rigid I have no doubt that working out would become a prison sentence and not something I could sustain. Instead I have maintained a running and strength training plan for multiple years and it is as important and satisfying as ever! Another important aspect of keeping my strength training going is adjusting it over time to fit my needs or to just change it up. I constantly consider what my body needs and even tells me. Over the past 6 months I have had a sore knee and strained tendons in my elbow which led me to looking at my strength training and considering what may be contributing to these issues. Then I figure out what I need to take out and what can be added to give me a similar benefit. Most of my strength training is focused on my core because my running pretty much covers strengthening my legs so if I have to eliminate something, I need to know what part of my upper body will be impacted? Sometimes that can be difficult and really challenges my creativity. Another aspect of changing things up is that I want to keep it fresh and not let my body become too familiar with the muscles I'm working. I use to change from one complete workout to another but now I more likely just change particular exercises and constantly evolve my workout. I really like the Spartacus workout but I have added and subtracted to make it more personalized. Truth be known, I actually use it as the basis for my clients strength training with my own personal tweaks to it. This has helped me to have a good personalized strength training plan that has really made a difference for not only me but also those that I train. Well my coffee cup is empty so that means it's time to go workout!