Yesterday I had one of the best cardio sessions in months. I felt like a rock star on that treadmill! I was doing my intervals at all out levels and I was actually smiling at times while doing them. Sounds crazy but it’s true. And I’m looking forward to my next cardio session. Granted, that’s weird, but I can’t deny it. So what brought about the change you ask? How did I go from feeling ho-hum to absolutely bad ass? In one word, Pink.
Now normally when I go running on the treadmill I’ll tune into Sports Center; I’m a junkie. I love sports and now that baseball is in full-swing, I’ll tune in everyday. I even listen to it in my car. (I may have a sports addiction, we’re still looking into that. I know more about sports than my husband!) Anyway, moving on. So normally I’ll get on the treadmill and plug myself into the latest installment of Sports Center and just kind of zone out. And lately I’ve not been working out at my highest levels. I’ll feel a cramp coming on, or I’ll just feel tiredness in my legs so I won’t push myself too hard. That’s why yesterday I decided to try to shake things up a bit and download some new songs to take to the gym with me, and if I find that I miss Sports Center, well then I can easily plug myself back in.
Since I only had a few songs I knew I couldn’t waste them during my warm-up session, so I held out. Once I was ready to get it going on the treadmill I turned on my iPod and out came one bad ass Pink and one bad ass Boop along with her. (Boop being my nickname I’ve had in my family since I was a child – don’t ask the origins, no one seems to know where it came from.) For 35 minutes I was a rock star. I was upping my levels and running faster than I had in months. Something happened in my brain when that music started playing, I actually became more focused and determined to push myself. I wasn’t just going through the motions anymore, looking around the gym at other people, seeing how fast the girl next to me was going; who cared! I was feeling goooood and I was pumped! The music made all the difference and I loved every minute of it. My brain was on such a high that my whole body followed. I didn’t feel tiredness in my legs and for the first time in about 4 weeks I didn’t feel that usual cramp in my side. I was paying attention to the music and how it made me feel mentally. I was amazed. I felt so good after that workout that I’m kicking Sports Center to the curb from now on during workouts.
Now I know some of you are probably like, helllooooo, I always listen to my music when I workout. What’s so new about this? I think the point I’m trying to make here is that sometimes you need to change-up the routine, spice it up a bit. Mix and match your playlists so you’re not always listening to the same 10 songs when working out. And have fun with it, listen to stuff you normally wouldn’t listen to. I’m an old soul at times because I love classic blues and Sunday nights on WFUV when they play music from the 1940′s and earlier. I love it, what can I say. But I can tell you, that stuff isn’t going to get me pumped up during a workout. But Pink, Black Eyed Peas, and Beyonce… those are the ones who can get you going. They’ll help to get those feel-good endorphins tingling in your brain and there will be no stopping you! So start working out like a rock star with your rock moves, it really helps to make fitness so much more fun!
