2,500 Squats, 25,000 words and an Opossum
It’s mid-July so it’s time to check in on monthly goals. My fitness goal is to do 5,000 squats by the end of the month and my personal goal is to write the first draft my next book, “Homeschool Road Trip”, which must be at least 50,000 words, by the end of the month.
#5000SquatChallenge:
Basically, if you start on the first day with 10 squats and then add 10 more each day, by the end of the month you will have completed 5,000 squats. Here’s more details about the #5000SquatChallenge if you’d like to participate too.
Status: I was doing really well, and even convinced my eleven-year-old daughter to join me, until July 10. That day was pretty significant because it marked 100 squats, so I was going to do a video and everything.
And that’s when I saw the opossum in my house.
At first I thought it was a rat, but the tail didn’t look right, so I realized it was an opossum. In my house.
When I opened the door to my garage, where my elliptical machine lives, I was greeted by scratching noises. “If you’re a robber, or a small creature not paying rent, please leave my house,” I said.
Little Oppy looked at me, curious why I turned the light on and was suddenly taking photos of him. He then scurried* to some shelves.
*Scurried is a generous description. He was truly in no hurry and perhaps needed to use the elliptical himself.*
My daughter (the resident animal lover) was at camp with her brother and my husband was at work, so that meant I had to catch this marsupial by myself.
I’m just kidding.
Two of my neighbors had to come over to help me catch him. (Thanks Bart and Dave!) Dave got the little critter into a fish net and we released him in a nearby open field.
Who can do squats after that, right?
And then I had a marketing event on Friday
my kids had their summer camp show,
then it was my son’s 9th birthday party
and low and behold, I was like 700 squats behind in my own damn challenge!
But, I like a good challenge, so I ended up turning it into an all squat workout. Some of the exercises I was able to do 100 reps straight through, others I had to break into 4 sets of 25 because I was getting tired. Here’s what I did:
- Smith bar squats – 100 reps
- Goblet squats – 100 reps
- Plie squats with barbell – 100 reps
- Pop squats on step – 100 reps (4 sets 25 reps)
- Ride stationary bike for 12 minutes
- Squats on Bosu ball – 100 reps
- Squats standing against wall leaning against Swiss ball – 100 reps
- Smith bar squats again – 100 reps (4 sets 25 reps)
I’m happy to report that I’m caught up on squats and on track for my goal of 5,000 by July 31.
50,000 words
I’m on a quest to write my next book. In a month. The first 10,000 words were really easy. I had a lot to say and it was good to get it out of my head and onto paper* (*Paper = computer). Trying to reach 25,000 words by July 15th however was an effort. Not only because writing can be a time suck, but because the middle of the book always sucks.
See, the first week is exciting and shiny and new. The last week is amazing because you know the end, literally, is near. But the middle? How do you get from “I decided to homeschool” to “We’re back from Munich” in a cohesive manner that is funny and uplifting sans typos?
The answer is, you don’t. The answer is, I used a lot of filler stuff, like literally cutting and pasting an Excel spreadsheet that tracked my travel expenses into the manuscript just so I could up my number count.
But that’s sort of the point here: it’s a rough draft, not the finished product. It’s easier to edit a very bad but completed first draft than to spend years fine tuning a book with no end in sight.
Bottom line: I hit my 25,000 word mark. Yay!
It’s all downhill writing now (in theory)! But I’m a Type A personality, so give me a cup of coffee and a deadline and I’m your gal.
How about you? Are you working on any personal or fitness goals this month? Are you on track? If not, what will you do today to re-focus?
Lisa 😉
Want to Train with Me?
Local to Austin/Round Rock/Pflugerville? Email me – sheslosingit.net@gmail.com. I offer personal training sessions at a private gym: $65 session. That includes a customized suggested meal plan. Spaces limited!
If you are interested in signing up for my online personal training programs, click here to order now: SLI Method. Monthly online training is $125/mo. and includes a customized suggested meal plan plus weekly workouts to do on your own based on the equipment available to you.
Lisa Traugott is a personal trainer, Mom’s Choice Award writer, original cast member of FOX/John Cena’s “American Grit” and has a monthly fitness column on Bowflex.com. She won Ms. Costa Rica Sports Model 2017 and her transformation story was featured in Muscle & Fitness Hers, Good Day Austin, Great Day Houston and Texas Monthly. She blogs at ShesLosingIt.com and is passionate about her clients.
ShesLosingIt.com (c) 2012-2018 Lisa Traugott. All rights reserved. No portion of this blog, including any text, photographs, video, and artwork, may be reproduced or copied without written permission.