The first mile of any run for me, whether in training or competition, is always the hardest. It is when I find that my mind lies to me the most. “You can’t make it”, “Your legs hurt too much”, “You need to take a break”, etc. There’s something about hitting mile 1 that just turns off the whine-o-meter in my head. I guess my legs are warm and in the rhythm by that time, so they’re ready to just keep going, stride after stride.

The early stages of a trial in life tend to be the most difficult as well. You are not used to the extra trouble and hardships that this new responsibility, consequence or other difficulty brings. This is when your mind will try to tell you a lot of lies, similar to what I hear in my head when running. “You can’t do this”, “It hurts too much”, “It’s a lost cause, why keep trying?” These are certainly lies from the enemy. I mean, to be true, we can’t do anything apart from the strength God gives us, but the lie we hear in times of struggle is that we can’t do it even WITH God’s help.

Here are some Scriptures to check out that back up the principles of finding strength in God:
Philippians 4:13 – I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
2 Tim 4:7-8 – I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
James 1:2-4 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

So let’s push through that first mile, whatever it is. Hold on to the fact that it will get better and you will adapt. We are amazing creatures with an ability to persevere through the toughest things and come out stronger on the other side. Lean on God, press in to it, persevere, and get past mile one!

What is a Burpee?
A burpee is a combination move that basically involves a squat, a crunch and a pushup all in one move.

Type of Exercise:
Manual resistance (body weight) with an aerobic component.

Targeted muscles:
Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Serratus Anterior, Back, Shoulders, Triceps, Abs, Obliques.

Intensity Control:
There are three variations. This video will show you two of the variations, what we will dub Easy and Medium (note: the video opens in a new tab/window).

• Easy: From standing position, squat down, thrust your feet back to plank position, crunch them back in to a squat, stand up to starting position. This is sometimes referred to as a Squat Thrust.
• Medium: From standing position, squat down, thrust your feet back to plank position, do a pushup, crunch your feet back in to a squat, then jump up to standing position.
• Hard: From standing position, squat down, thrust your feet back to plank position, do a pushup, crunch your feet back in to a squat, then jump up. During the jump, bring your knees to your chest and then land back down in standing position.

Why are Burpee workouts called 18-up, 20-up, 25-up, etc? A 25-up, for example, is a method of training proposing that a workout get harder as it progresses. Meaning, we’ll start by doing 1 burpee, rest, then 2 burpees, rest, 3 then rest, etc., all the way up to 25. Now, the simple math says, “Wow. That’s a lot.” The drawn out math says, “0_o…that’s 325 burpees!” To be honest, I have no idea if I can do a 25-up. Last Fall I did a 20-up, which is 210 burpees, I believe. [Update: 25-up was completed at the group workout 5/8/2010)]

Photos of this workout have been posted!

This Saturday
May 8th, 2010 at 10am
we invite you to join us for the first group workout under TheBalanced name.

Everyone and anyone is invited! Be prepared to sweat and don’t worry about keeping up with Nathan, he just finished P90x (so he’s kind of a haus all hyped up on crazy fitness.)

The Workout: Burpees

The Goal: 25-up
(see Nathan’s explanation below)

The Location: Shawnee Mission Park. We’ll be meeting in the field just south of Shelter 12, by the water. Dress for warmth, as the water brings a breeze, but be prepared to strip down a little as you’ll start sweating soon enough.
(sidenote: I will be making an @gowalla Event for this, so bring your phone if you play!)

The Tools: Water, towel and a heart rate monitor if you have one. We don’t want anyone passing out on us.

What to expect: Not being able to walk properly afterward. Arms and legs feeling like mush. Enough endorphins flowing through your body to cheer up an army of badgers… Mean ones.

Variations: There are three variations. This video will show you two of the variations, what we will dub Easy and Medium (note: the video opens in a new tab/window).

• Easy: From standing position, squat down, thrust your feet back to plank position, crunch them back in to a squat, stand up to starting position.
• Medium: From standing position, squat down, thrust your feet back to plank position, do a pushup, crunch your feet back in to a squat, then jump up to standing position.
• Hard: From standing position, squat down, thrust your feet back to plank position, do a pushup, crunch your feet back in to a squat, then jump up. During the jump, bring your knees to your chest and then land back down in standing position.

What is a Burpee 25-up? A 25-up is a method of training proposing that a workout get harder as it progresses. Meaning, we’ll start by doing 1 burpee, rest, then 2 burpees, rest, 3 then rest, etc., all the way up to 25. Now, the simple math says, “Wow. That’s a lot.” The drawn out math says, “0_o…that’s 325 burpees!” To be honest, I have no idea if I can do a 25-up. Last Fall I did a 20-up, which is 210 burpees, I believe.

What if i can’t do that many burpees? A 25-up is the goal. Whether we reach it or not is beside the point. This is an opportunity to get outdoors, breath some fresh air, get the blood pumping and push ourselves in a way the body isn’t used to. If you can a 10-up, that’s incredible. If you can a 15-up, even better. Even if you do a 5-up, don’t worry about a thing. That’s 15 more burpees than you did before. That’s a win in our book here at TheBalanced.