Good morning!
As we move into the final week of November, the craziness of the holiday season is ready to kick in. I love these next 30 days or so. Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday, with Christmas a close second. I do not get caught up in the stress and commercialism, but instead I enjoy the family gathering for Thanksgiving, and then turning my attention to Christmas lights, music and celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus. Gifts are nice, but the least of my joy.
I understand the holidays can bring stress for many and even sadness for others. Even for me there is a tinge of sadness, as this will be my first Thanksgiving without my mother. I certainly will miss her as she especially enjoyed Christmas for many of the same reasons I do. I am thankful she is in a better place, so that helps.
One way I am able to enjoy this time of year, is by getting my workouts in. I most definitely enjoy all the great food and sweets this season brings, so getting it done in the gym or on the road, allows me to enjoy those extra calories. Even beyond the physical, working out helps me with the stresses of life. Whether it be running or a great high intensity workout, I always feel more confident and empowered after. I know it can be a challenge to find the time to work out during the busyness of this season, but I believe the benefits make it worth making the time. Even a quick run or a 20-minute workout can help.
Hip Update:
Yesterday I put myself through a pretty challenging high intensity interval training workout (HIIT) and while my hip made it challenging, I was able to get it done! I am extremely happy to say, with a little effort, I can now put my socks on and tie my sneakers. For the first 4-weeks I was going without socks and sliding my feet into pre-tied sneakers.
I will be finally getting to physical therapy on Wednesday, so it will be interesting to see what they think about my progress. I am still aiming for a New Years day walk/run, so hopefully between all I am doing and PT, I will make this goal.
MyZone
I feel like an addict! Yesterday I was eager to get a workout in and see how many MEP’s (MyZone Effort Points) I would earn. I am still lacking some strength and conditioning, so I only earned 175 MEP’s. Not that 175 is a bad number, but before I had the hip surgery, I did the same workout and earned close to 200 MEP’s. I know I sound a bit obsessive, and maybe I am, but using MyZone has motivated me and I enjoy the challenge of increasing my effort and reward of getting more MEP’s.
MyZone Effort Points (MEP’s) are a result of working out in various percentage of our maximum heart rate. The more we maintain a higher percentage of our maximum heart rate, the more effort it takes. Thus, the more points we attain for that workout.
Now that No Finish Line Fitness is a licensed MyZone facility, many of our clients are loving the feedback the MZ3 provides them. NFLF is able to sell the MZ3 for $75.00 (retail on Amazon is $124) and we are down to 4 MZ3’s from our initial buy. I will be ordering more stock in time for Christmas. They are wonderful gifts! We’ll soon have away you can buy them through our website, but if you do not want to wait, contact us a info@nofinishlinefitness.com.
Like anything else we do at NFLF, we want to be as educated as possible about utilizing MyZone. So, next month I will be attending a MyZone class in Boston. I am always excited to learn all I can about the tools we use to train with.
I truly hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I try to be thankful every day, but this Thursday I will be extra reflective.
Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!
Mike
