January 17, 2011 (This is re-post from a Facebook Note.)

At Bulldog I did better with the PUPs during the warm-up, now getting snagged with the tick-tocks. I love their name, but I don't love doing them. If you ever saw an almost-beached whale trying to do a push-up while dragging itself up the beach, you have an idea of what I feel like when I do these. Today I tried visualizing what it will be like when I can do these with a stronger, slimmer body and that helped. After warming up we worked on another lifting complex: 5 (35lb), 3 (35lb), and 1 (40lb) reps of a row, full clean, front squat, press, back squat, and good morning. I really like working on the complex of lifts, though they are very challenging! Today's workout: 2 rounds of 20 kettlebell swings (20lb), 10 adjusted adjustments of renegade rows (you don't want to know), 5 burpees to pull-ups (adjusted number for me, plus I could only really jump up, grab the bar and lift myself a bit), 10 leg levers. My time for the workout was 10:56. Two more Bulldogs to go for this week.

Today I feel like I've achieved a goal I've tried for many times: I got up at 4:30, before my alarm went off, on a holiday, and I went to workout. I felt good -- not even groggy! I've always wanted to be one of those people who is so committed to themselves and their fitness that they get up at the crack of dawn and workout. I have tried this so many times -- usually on a January 2nd, sometimes in the summer or fall, too, but I could never sustain it. I started to figure it out when I did the On-ramp training at Bulldog in September, but have struggled with it since then. Last week I set the wheels in motion for my success. Here's my secret: get at least one food-motivated dog. This dog cannot be a snuggly, I-live-for-you dog, like a pug. No, the dog you need is one that will do ANYTHING for food. I recommend a terrier. Once you have the dog, set your alarm for your target time. When the alarm goes off, get up and feed the dog; let the dog out once or twice, then get ready and go workout. Repeat 3 more days. By day #3, when your alarm goes off, you should hear the sounds of an excited dog. If you try hitting the snooze, you should hear the sounds of an annoyed dog. You will never be allowed to sleep past your target time again. You won't even need to set your alarm after a week of this. Note that it is not fair to be angry with the dog when he/she wakes you up at this same time on a Sunday or some other non-workout morning -- just get up and feed the pooch and then you can go back to bed. I think this might work with cats, too, but they might not be as reliable given their "temperamental" natures and the fact that they don't want to appear to want something from you.