Goal 1
It has been relatively easy to build in twenty minutes on a treadmill before each workout and while I haven’t noticed any significant mental or physical changes, I have noticed that my strength training goes much better if I’ve done a bit of cardio first. My muscles feel more warmed up, I’m more mentally engaged in the workout, and I so often found myself hitting the sixteen- or eighteen-minute mark and feeling like I had “more in the tank,” so to speak. So last week I upped my pre-workout cardio to a thirty-five minute burst. Five minute warm-up, interval training for twenty minutes, five-minute cool-down, five minute transition to strength.
I’ve felt really good, this little addition to my workout is definitely building in some confidence, helping with endurance, and running is a little easier every time I do it. I’ve also been feeling like purging a little energy on my way home, so I’ve been running home. It’s only about a half-mile, but adding a few minutes running after strength-training is mostly just showing me that I can take on more than I used to think I could.