Fast and Furious Fitness

As the saying goes, the tough get going. I say yes, that’s true, but I’d end it this way “get on with it, and get the job done”.

Now, the point of the post is not to prove how tough I am (or not). . .What I AM trying to do though is explain what I do when things get tough, and how to dig deep down, and find the motivation you need to move ahead. I’ve written about this one many a times before, but I always seem to be able to write more about it. Which makes sense if you think about it - no two days are exactly the same in terms of how you feel, perform, etc, so it stands to reason that there are any different things one can do to keep motivated.

Anyway, today definitely started out as one of the “slow” days for me in all ways (both work wise and in terms of exercise). The weather’s been gloomy here over the last couple of months, and much like anywhere else in the Northern hemisphere, there have been record low temperatures here as well. Add into the mix the fact that I wasn’t feeling the best today (overly tired, slight cold, etc etc), and you have the perfect recipe for feeling down, cancelling one’s workout, and continuing to feel down.

But, my discipline does not allow me to take a day off unless I REALLY need it, so off I went to start my routine after a few cups of green tea. I’m goal-oriented, and don’t usually back off when I set a target for myself (which in this case is 500 skips with the rope EVERY workout), so off to the races with me it was.

Started off with a few stretches to get the blood flowing, then picked up the rope and gave it a few twirls. Did some warm up skips, then started off with sets of 100. Today being a tough day, these sets seemed harder than they normally are, but what I did was congratulate myself after every set (I told myself, CONGRATS! Your moving towards the goal, slowly, but steadily). Now on “good” days, I rarely need to do this; I usually just knock the sets off without even bothering to think about them, but today wasn’t one of them.

Anyhow, my routine went thus: Around 40 “warmup” skips, 2 sets of 100, 30, 30, 2 sets of 100, and then 4 sets of 20 to end things off. Total of 540 skips if you count the ones after the warmups, and nearing 600 in total if one counts all of them. That number also includes 400 done in 4 sets, which ain’t a bad combination of figures either. Thus, I ended up with MORE skips than I normally do. Granted, I took more time over them today, but hey, the important thing is I got them done, no matter what. And THAT is what I am trying to point out - do what it takes, but get the job done as it should be. This principle doesn’t just apply to exercise; it applies to each and every facet of your life.

After the skips, I finished off with some tough yoga stretches, which I’m getting better at daily. Got up, toweled off (you know you’ve had a decent workout when your sweating hard at this time of the year), and now here I am, writing to you.

At the end of the day, I got a pretty good workout in anyway, despite the fact that I wasn’t feeling like a billion bucks, or even close to it when I started. Not feeling the best right now either, but I’m satisfied I got the job done. More importantly, I’m glad though that I did not skip my routine today - it is of utmost importance to stick to one’s routine without fail as far as possible, as that will increase the number of overall good days you have.

So, try congratulating yourself (literally) after each set, or each rep on your bad days, and keep moving towards the finish line; you might find you actually turn a bad day into a good one. If congratulating yourself doesn’t rock the boat for you, do what it takes - but get the job done.

When the going gets tough, do what it takes - but get the job done. I think that one sounds the best amongst the three options we’ve outlined.

And that, my friends, is that for today. As always, train well, and get fit - FAST!

Rahul

All,

Rope skipping is something I haven’t written about much. I’m not sure why I’ve been ignoring this simple tool (that can get you fit at the highest levels) for a while now, but, I recently started adding it back into my routine, and boy am I seeing results. I’ll attempt to explain some of the benefits of rope skipping in this post; look for future posts on this as well.

We all know (or at least, those that read this blog regularly ;)) what a wrestler’s workout routine primarily consists off, and how the exercises therein can benefit you (and make no mistake, they will benefit you if done correctly), but what about a boxer’s routine? A typical boxer’s routine consists of roadwork (running), sparring practice, practice on the bag, medicine ball etc - most of which is required for the boxer’s “trade”, but skipping rope and pushups are a staple in any boxer’s training. As for results, well, look at any boxer’s phyisque, and you’ll see for yourself. Boxers may not always be as solidly built overall as wrestlers, but when it comes to pure strength, speed, and stamina, they’re certainly no laggards there either. In fact, I’m yet to see an overweight boxer, or one whose core is not conditioned superbly. And a lot of that conditioning comes through one exercises (along with it’s variants): Rope skipping.

Sure, boxers train for hours on end, but the basic exercises they do are the same as YOU can do. And the good thing is, you don’t have to train for hours to get some of the same results they do. Sure, you may not look like a heavyweight boxer by just skipping, but the benefits of this exercise willl ensure overall gain in almost any activity/exercise you pursue.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the main benefits of skipping rope: -

- Solid cardiovascular strength/endurance workout (in one exercise), and major benefits for the heart/lungs in less than 1/2 the time it would take you by doing other forms of “cardio”.
- Perfect way to tone and build muscle in your legs, calves and butt (as well as your entire core). This is different from doing squats, which build strength and bulk in the legs, but don’t “shape” the legs quite as well as jumping does. To explain things better, let me give you an example from my own training: I haven’t been doing any squats for over TWO months now (thats right, over two months); but have been skipping regularly (I average around 500 skips per day), and my thigh measurement has gone up by a couple of inches. However, the “bulk” around my thighs is not so prominent any longer; instead, the muscles have become even leaner and “tighter”, if that makes sense. So if shapely and strong is what your looking for, this is the perfect exercise for you!
- A pretty decent forearm workout (especially if you use weighted ropes; I’ll get into this in the future).
- Can be a warmup, or an entire workout, depending on what you do, and the intensity.

. . . And much, much, more, but that should be enough for starters.

So, as you can see, skipping rope is another perfect example of a “fast and furious” routine that will get you in the best shape of your life. Like anything else you do need to work into slowly (don’t even attempt 500 skips at one go, or even one entire workout if you’ve never skipped before), but once you do get into the exercise, you’ll be wondering why you hadn’t been incorporating it into your routine before.

Well, that should be it for today. I’ll be writing about my own workouts with the rope shortly. In the meanwhile, stay safe, train hard - and as always - get fit - FAST!

Rahul