I almost died today!

I have a confession to make.  I quit the gym for about 9 months.  Rather than go into the reasons why I did, I'll tell you what happened when I came back.  I saw the same old people wearing the same old outfits and doing the same old exercises that they were doing last year.  Talk about boring!  Shouldn't someone tell these folks that their body had adapted to their routine about a year or more ago and that they were quite overdue for mixing it up?  Well I'm not one to pry, so I just work around all that stuff when I train.  So since I now have a blog and have to practice what I preach, hee hee, I decided that since I weight trained for a month, then did a weight/cardio circuit for a month it was time to change it up.  (In case you didn't figure it out yet, it takes your body about 4 weeks to adapt to any routine.  Adaptation = Decreased results)  I decided that since the weather is so beautiful here in sunny Florida, I'd go for a run in my neighborhood.  It was REALLY HARD!!  My goal was to do 3 miles, and while I did accomplish that I have to admit I had to walk about half of it.  So why is that?  The other day I squatted a 95 pound bar for 5 sets of 20 and alternated it with walking lunges with 15 pound dumbells in each hand... and today I can barely squeak out a jog around the block???  Well, ever since I have embarked on this lifetime fitness journey of mine I have discovered some interesting facts.  You're always going to have some weakness in your overall fitness... and that's OK!  If you go to yoga 5 days a week, I guarantee you're more flexible than I am, and if you're like the new cyclist friend I just made at the gym on Wednesday, you probably won't see me knocking out an 18 mile run while 3 months pregnant like she did.  Now I'm pretty strong so I may lift more than many of you ladies out there, because lifting weights has been my primary focus the last 10 years.  So the moral of my silly story is this:  Change it up!  If you've been doing crunches for a year to get that six pack, try holding yourself in a plank instead.  If you're addicted to your spin class, get a copy of your teacher's song list and do a weight circuit.  And if you're like me, and hitting it at the dumbell rack most of the time, take it outside and challenge yourself.  The more you change it up, the more results you'll see and feel.