The Stealth Workout, the Panther gets lapped

Due to my legs being a touch wrecked by my sad attempt at a trail 1/2 marathon last Saturday, SFF graciously allowed me 2 days of extra rest before this week’s workout. As a bonus, my buddy Toddles was able to join me.  It is always very inspiring to workout next to him. However, I believe I made a tactical error the previous evening when I told him he was getting a bit out of shape. That gleam in his eye meant he was going to prove me wrong. 🙂

As always I hopped on the mill for a quick mile (well, a slow mile, the feet are still a bit sore) and we started the workout. When SFF described it, I thought to myself “huh… this doesn’t seem bad”, which was either a brilliant ploy on her part or just goes to show how warped 9 months of working out with Ms. SFF has made my brain.

There were just 4 movements, albeit 30 reps of each, followed by a 1/4 mile hamster wheel dash. 30 reps sounds like a lot, but the movements were ones that weren’t “big muscle” exercises, they were core/full body. We started with box jumps, then hit wall ball (LOVE WALL BALL!!!), then did 1 legged deadlifts (hi… I have no balance) and ended with a prone windshield wiper while holding a barball over my chest. Then the quick run on the mill, and round 2.

What wasn’t apparent immediately was the sheer number of reps I’d do. A big part of SFF’s philosophy for my workout is to focus a lot on getting the cardio in alongside the muscle work. This is why having a trainer that helps you specifically (vs just reading a book or watching a DVD) is so important in my opinion. A trainer like the Sac Fitness Fairy can recognize weaknesses and focus her workouts to help strengthen you in those places.

My weakness, as it happens, was pizza. And burgers. And pie, ice cream… well, you get the idea. I was overfat and under-trained in key stability areas like my core. As it happened, I actually HAVE big muscles in the places guys tend to have them like the biceps and shoulders. I just didn’t think I did because they’ve been safely encased in a nice warm layer of fat.

Which leads me to round 2. And then round 3. And then, finally, round 4, which was the point at which I realized that my buddy Todd was… (wait for it) on round 5. He lapped me, and definitely showed good form doing it. I once again was in slight awe at his fitness level and it definitely drove me to finish strong. At which point I saw SFF’s ninja powers, I’d just done 120 box jumps, 120 wall ball, 120 windshield wipers and 120 1 legged deadlifts, all while running an extra mile. That’s 480 reps in an hour, with Todd doing one better at 600 reps.

One tip from this week’s workout is that even if you have someone you want to workout with and he or she isn’t at the same level you are, a workout like this one can be one you can do together. I’m not a Todd’s level, but we maxxed ourselves out in the same amount of time and both had a fantastic workout. If your significant other (or co-worker, or sister, or buddy, or whomever) wants to workout with you, but thinks he or she will slow you down, this type of repeating lighter duty workout is ideal. You do 4 rounds, they do 2. Or even 1. Whatever challenges them AND you. In the end you’ll both burn calories and get in a decent strength workout to boot.

Just try and lay off the pizza, eh?

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