The modern workout is often more tiring for our minds and souls, than for our bodies. We slog through the reps and sets, the sets and reps, the machines you pulley-pulley and the ones you pushy-pushy; each one different, but somehow also the same. After a while a workout can become the equivalent of filing or doing your taxes, something you treat like a chore to get on to the better parts of your day.

If the above is your current predicament, you love a challenge and enjoy sports movies with inspiring training montages set to power ballads then the Mountain Challenge was made for you.

Though the Challenge only includes three movements, it will dare you physically and mentally. It’s a workout and a goal all rolled into one. While in its clutches, if don’t wonder at least once if you will be able to finish, you’re probably not doing it right (or to the safe edge of your abilities).

You will complete a total of 10 sets, starting with 10 pull-ups and working your way down to the last set which will be only 1. With each set you will do one less pull-up, but the same amount of push-ups and hold the stretch each side for 30 seconds.

The bottom of the mountain looks like this:
10 Pull-ups (with assistance if needed, lat pull-downs can also be substituted)
10-15 push-ups (full or modified)
60 seconds of the lower body stretch that you know you need the most (probably hip or hamstring lengthening. This is your time to rest, so take it. By the end you’ll have given your most needy body parts the gift of an amazing 10 minute deep stretch).

This is an intermediate to advanced workout for those with no upper body injuries who have been training for at least three consecutive months. Start with some light cardio and dynamic upper body movements to get ready for action. Do it with a friend and good music and you’ll be more pumped than a bounce house at a birthday party.

Thanks to UCSF wonder-trainer Sarah Delaney, who contributed most of this workout. You can read more of her stuff at Sarah’s Health and Wellness Updates

The mountain awaits…

Since becoming a trainer I’ve come to hate the word “just.”  I hear it used constantly by clients describing their workouts as in, “I just did 30 minutes of cardio,” or “I just did a yoga class on Tuesday and a few weights on Wednesday.”  People use the word to let me, and themselves, know that no matter what was accomplished,  they feel they should have done more and are appropriately shameful.

Though I’m sure men occasionally use terms of self-degradation, I find that it is mostly a vice of women.  And I don’t think it’s the fitness equivalent of “does this make my butt look big?” Women who use this term aren’t usually looking to be told that their workouts were worthwhile and that they should be proud of themselves.  I know this, because I try to tell them and they don’t want to hear me.

So if you suspect that you may be doing a fitness downer on yourself, it’s time to take a step back and start to listen to how you talk about your own habits.  Do you degrade your workouts, downplay your accomplishments and focus all your attention on your shortcomings? Do you beat yourself up about missing a workout or two, and forget about all the workouts that you did show up for? How do you describe your workouts to yourself (most importantly) and others (important as well)?  Do you use words like the dreaded “just”, “only”, or “weak” or do you use actual descriptors such as 20 minutes or 3 miles?

Since it can be difficult to hear our own well ingrained verbal habits, it is a good idea to enlist a friend or trainer to help you catch yourself in the act. Ask them to let you know when you try to make mole hills out of whatever size mountains that you climb. You probably don’t even realize all the wretched things you are saying about yourself, but those words have the power to slowly crush your enthusiasm for getting and staying in shape. Because if no workout is ever enough, why workout at all? And if you’re going to feel bad about yourself no matter what you do, why not sit on a block of cheese instead of a bike?

Now go get sweaty and talk nice about it (and your butt looks great in those jeans).