Today’s workout from WOW weeks 11 and 12was all about what will now be called The Push Factor. Nope, I didn’t borrow this term from some other person. It’s my very own genius creation. I’m sure it will be all the rage soon. It’ll be heard in break rooms, cubicles, gyms, and Starbucks across the land. Just remember, it started here first.
I use the word “push” a lot in my workouts. I use it when I talk to myself in a workout. I remind myself constantly to push past my comfort zones, to push myself further than what I’ve done before, to push past my fears, to push to get the most out of myself and out of every exercise or activity.
To me, it’s either Push or Cruise. I want total fitness, so I choose Push. I’m thinking I have a Push Factor Scale of 1-10. Levels 1-3 is pretty much no pressure to a super-gentle, almost unnoticeable nudge. Levels 4-5 are comfort level stuff, pretty much, no real push required. Maybe a little, teeny bit of conscious effort here and there. Everything from PF 5 down is “cruising” in my book. Level 6 is where the actual push is begins – it’s break-a-sweat time. Levels 7 and 8 bring on the heavy breathing and muscle aching as you see signs saying “You are now leaving the comfort zone. Come again, soon.” At level nine, I’m feeling like I’m giving it just about all I’ve got. The heart is pounding, the muscles are screaming, I’m pouring sweat, and I’m wondering if I can do one more rep or 10 more seconds. Level 10, I’ve got numbness starting in my hands, getting dizzy and nauseous, and there’s clearing a sign ahead that says “Warning – Unconsciousness Ahead.” I’m going to use Push Factors in my WOW exercise descriptions, so now you’ll know what I’m talking about.
This is an example of me at PF8 or so.
Notice the fierce look on the face.
Are you intimidated, or what?
I could have done all of today’s workout at a Level 7 or lower, if I wanted to. Since I’m a nut about fitness and being the best I can be, I refused to do that to myself. We started out with four rounds of shuffles to stationary sprints, then forward back runs to speed-skaters. If I let my thoughts wander, my Push Factor slipped every time. So I made up my mind, said my mantra, kicked my self in the ass mentally, and then poooooshed. I made myself get lower on my shuffles, lifted those knees up on my stationary sprints, made myself go hard on my forward and backs, got those stubborn, whiny legs to bend to get low, low, low, made my hands touch the ground, and refused to let my swinging leg touch the ground on my speedskaters. I made myself do it. My body wasn’t thrilled about it, but that’s just too bad. I was at PF 8 and 9 for sure (that’s Push Factor 8 and 9 for those who were snoozing earlier).
My workout buddies, Shauna, Laura, and Yesi were pushing too. I could tell by the looks on their faces – looks of concentration and purpose (or they just really had to pee).
Then, when we were good and tired from that, it was time for our 100 workout. We actually made it a 200 workout by going the 100 reps two times through. Each of our activities could be done in different ways – some would be a cruising level and others would require high PFs. We all chose variations that fit our own personal levels – ones where we’d have to truly push to finish the reps. For me that meant declined pushups, 12” high box jumps, vertical assisted pull-ups, and legs raised on my tricep dips. Next week I’m 200 reps non-stop. If you did today’s WOW, how about you go for more than 100 next week. You can increase the reps of some or all of the activities, or do two sets. Get ready to push and push hard. Let’s aim for PF8 all the way.
By the way, examples of all of today’s abdominal and core exercises are up on You Tube. Check out FitnessNutz channel. If you subscribe, you’ll get an email every time I post a new video.
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