That Was Weird

For a couple of weeks now, I've wanted to try Fitnessista's Lean Mean Leg Workout + HIIT Blitz. I love the idea of combining HIIT, strength, and steady state. But honestly, I expected the workout as a whole to feel pretty much like my usual. I mean, I usually combine strength and steady state or strength and HIIT, so I couldn't imagine this experience would be all that different.

Source: The Fitnessista

Boy, was I wrong! First of all, I don't think I've done a HIIT running workout in awhile, because I've been saving my running for long runs on the weekends. Now that our race is over, I gotta get back into it! This HIIT felt HARD. I tried to tackle 60 seconds at 6.0 mph and 60 seconds at 9.0 mph, but I ended up slowing down to 5.5 or 4.5 during the "easy" parts and between 8 and 9 for the hard parts. I was still sweating like crazy!

For the strength, I felt fine but just could not get my heart rate back down. After just a few reps of each move, I felt my heart pounding way too fast, so I took breaks, sat down, slowed my breathing. I got myself some water and made sure to monitor my breathing and pulse before I started the second round of the circuit. I also lightened up the weights on my second round to avoid the same problem. It was so weird though!

After that, I decided to skip the steady state. I did a 5-minute walk on the treadmill, but I hope next time I can tackle the entire thing. Overall I loved Gina's awesome workout and felt it all over my lower body! I know I'll be sore tomorrow.

After a much-needed shower, I made our dinner. I had done all the major work during the week: I made the pesto on Sunday, knowing I would need it for the minestrone on Tuesday and the pizza tonight. I also whipped up the dough yesterday after work and then let it rise in the fridge overnight. Today I just rolled out the dough, spread the pesto, shredded the mozzarella, and sliced the tomatoes. Cooking the pizza took about 15 minutes, so I'd say dinner was done tonight in about 25 minutes. I love those kinds of meals.

Terry and I are spending the evening packing, doing laundry, playing with the kitten, and writing a test (for me). Terry is presenting at a middle school career day tomorrow, so he's prepping his material. I'm so excited for him! He'll get to see what I do every day while the kiddos discover what he does every day!

Off to bed for one more day of work before nine glorious days to rest, relax, and--when we get back from our trip--grade like crazy.

What's the toughest workout you've done recently? Link up below!