Last week, much of the Midwest was brought to a grinding halt due to a Polar Vortex. There were record low temperatures that kept many people inside. I spent my 4 years of college in MN, however, so I had been through temperatures like that before and knew how to dress right to brave the sub-zero temperatures. I can honestly say I’ve never seen the gym so empty in January before, but this also worked out in my favor. I typically take group classes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Due to our weather, I had all of these classes completely to myself.
On Monday, schools were closed due to an overnight snow storm. The roads were perfectly cleared by the time I leave for the gym, so I left the kids with their father and set out. I had boxing all to myself, which mean we got to really focus on my form and did a bunch of moves we cant normally do due to lack of space.
On Tuesday, it was sub-zero but not as low as we got on Wednesday. Thankfully my kids were in school, so I was able to get to the gym without having to worry about getting them in and out of the gym quickly enough. I was able to just run in and out quickly and hop into my car. I probably would not have attempted going to the gym if I had them with me.
Finally, Wednesday was the day where we hit record lows for the state of Illinois. I’m talking temperature below 50 below zero with the windchill. Schools were cancelled due to the extreme cold, so I left the kids with their father and layered myself up to go to the gym. I had my workout clothes, a level of sweats, a balaclava to cover my mouth and nose, and then my heavy winter jacket and gloves. Again, I spent as little time outside as possible but I got my workout in.
The head of the XIT program led me through the workout with the stipulation that I had to reach 900 calories before he would let me stop. It is very rare that I reach that level of calorie burn in an hour, but he was inspired that day. I spent almost 50 minutes in the orange zone, which I have NEVER done before. It was exactly the workout I needed to deal with the next 36 hours of having kids off school, but unable to go outside.
It was really cool for me to see just how much my motivation to workout has grown over time. When I first started working out, I would have definitely stayed home from the gym on Wednesday and most likely would have skipped Tuesday as well. Instead I did my best to make it in to the gym and had three of the best workouts that I’ve ever had. I hope to never lose this commitment to my health as it has so many benefits.