So today was a triceps and abs day, with some fun cardio thrown into the mix. After a good run on Sunday, it was nice to get back to strength training.

The purpose of the cardio in this workout was to keep the heart going and to wear my legs out along the way, which I'm certain will happen in the Tough Mudder.

Today was a late night workout. Sometimes you need to take advantage of the time you have on those busy weekend days. For my workout tonight, I chose to do a pyramid workout, where I select a set of exercises and do reps that start low and go up and then back down. 

Here's what it looked like:

Sometimes you have to plan to fail. Specifically, sometimes you should push yourself as far as you can. Then push again. Until you can't do one. more. rep.

That's what I did today.

It's my birthday. It's also National Running Day. Best way to celebrate? Yeah, go running. Unfortunately, I'm traveling for work (sucks, right?), had a long day, and am beat.

So what do I do? Yeah, go running.

It had been awhile since I'd focused specifically on legs, so today was the day for that. Nothing too fancy, but enough to make me feel it the next day.

Oddly enough my wife complimented me on my leg definition today, kind of out of the blue, which was a surprise since I've never really thought I had good legs. Hmmm.

Back nearly 18 years ago, when I was 25, I was probably the strongest I've ever been. I could pretty easily bench 315, and would decline 365. Since then, a lot has happened.

I got married. Bought a house. Had kids. Traveled for work more.

Somewhere in the last 18 years, I've lost my bench press mojo. Of course, I've gained a lot too (not weight, thankfully). I'm more fit from a cardio standpoint, more well-rounded from a social standpoint, and happier overall from a family standpoint. I've branched out into more CrossFit-esque workouts, incorporating lower weights with more reps and things like running, rowing, and plyo.

That being said, sometimes you just want to get back to the basics and try and push some real iron around. That was my day today.

Today was time for a dedicated heavy arms workout. It wasn't about cardio or excessive reps, it was low reps of heavy weights. It had been awhile since I'd done something like this, so it felt good to see how much I could lift when I focused on heavier weights.

It's always nice to start the weekend (and the month) off right with a workout. My goal for today was to do several rounds of a mixed bag of exercises to include cardio and weight training before handing our foster dog over to his new forever home.

I also wanted to mix in some exercises I hadn't done in awhile to make sure I don't fixate too much on "the usual".

Sometimes you just need a quickie.

Workout, that is. At least, that's what I needed tonight. So I made up a relatively quick workout that got my heart pumping but didn't take that long as I was a little rushed for time.