It’s HUMP day, mi amores, and I couldn’t be happier!
I’d like to share some Spartan wisdom with you today. Truth is, I’ve been letting a work stress get over my life lately a tad too much. Not only I became grumpy, my ‘complaining levels’ have also gone up… And I’m not liking that too much… Why would I? Wasting my life in a bad mood is definitely not what I envision for myself.
*Yah, thanks, but no thanks! Haha!*
I know I’ve been bringing up Spartan Up! quite often lately, but it’s just too good not to want to apply it to your life *and I promise, nobody paid me for this!*.
In one of the chapters, Joe de Sena was trying to explain why the Spartan Race involves so much running in the mountains, and I couldn’t agree any more with him: “Life is much the same way. Poor genetics is a mountain. School is a mountain. Heartbreak is a mountain. Divorce is a mountain. Obesity is a mountain. Layoffs are a mountain. A blown disc in your spine is a mountain. The death of parents is a mountain. Chemotherapy is a mountain. Multiple sclerosis is a mountain. They come at us one after the other. Some seduce us slowly, some scare the shit of us immediately, but they never stop coming. That’s why every Spartan race demands that you climb hills and overcome obstacles – because life does this to each of us.”
His suggestion on how to overcome obstacles is to change attitude: “The way to improve your attitude is to push through adversity. Once you have seen the dark side, you push through until the dark phase comes to an end, and everything after that appears brighter, more hopeful. I have a saying I use whenever I’m uncomfortable: ‘It could be worse. I could be freezing in Alaska or surrounded by sharks.’ whatever is bothering you in that moment suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. This too shall pass.” Genius, simply GENIUS!
My solution to this tiny hiccup?
Here it goes!
Cross-train: Dynamic Warm-Up
5-minute general warm up
25 yards each:
High-knee walk
High-knee jog
Butt-kickers
Lateral shuffle
Straight leg march
Skip
Straight leg skip
Cross-over step
Carioca
Duck walk
Cross: Mr. Clean
Repeat 3 times:
Swiss ball knee-tucks for 45 seconds
Push-ups for 30 seconds
Swiss ball triceps-dips for 45 seconds
Plank for 45 seconds
Run: Super Spartan Tempo Run
Warm up 2 miles with heart rate in zone 2;
Run 4 miles with heart rate in zone 4;
Cool down 2 miles with heart rate in zone 2.
Ab 500/ as a part of 30 sit-ups for 30 days challenge
I was obviously tired, but FELT ABSOLUTELY AH-MAZING!!!!!!
How do you deal with work-related stress in the after work hours?
xoxo
Olena
candies & crunches 
Great post – and I think ALL of us let our stress creep into everything else from time to time. It is unavoidable in many ways. Here is what we do in my house:
– Allow our feelings. We know it will happen, but it gets worse bottled up.
– Cut everyone some slack – sometimes you just have to vent, so long as it doesn’t get nasty or mean.
– Call each other on it – it is hard to define when it crosses from venting to ‘pity party’ or ‘whine-fest’, but we try to help each other.
Sometimes we get into arguments because of the stress, but mostly we help each other out.
Good luck dealing with it! I always love your positive attitude in posts and comments!
Hi!
Thankfully, this stress doesn’t seem to affect the relationship with my hubby 🙂 I wouldn’t say, I became negative, it’s just the complaining has gone up, I became aware of it, and want to cut it 😀 It was somewhat of thinking out loud post.. I’m sure you know what I mean.
Great tips! We always try to stick to them as much as possible, but then life is life, can’t be perfect… Or can I?! LOL!
Have a wonderful day! xoxo
I LOVE that passage from the book. It sucks when stress begins to weight heavy on us—especially work stress. Nothing like a good workout to change your mood! Happy Hump Day!
Exactly! Have a wonderful day too!
=)
I remember listening to a podcast recently where this guy was talking about why he does such intense workouts. Basically he would do the most miserable workouts at the beginning of the day as a reminder that no matter what else happened during that day at least it wasn’t as hard as the workout. Kind of a crazy attitude but I sometimes feel similarly when it comes to working out. There’s something about accomplishing a really tough workout that just makes life seem a little easier.
That’s pretty much a message of the book. Great stuff! xoxo
Great post! I loved the book too!
Thanks for reading, Betsy!
Great post! I have a job that doesn’t end when I leave the office so when things get really stressful, I try to take a step back and put it in perspective. Like, do they need this report RIGHT THIS INSTANT or can it wait until I put Ashton down for bed. That seems to help a lot, at least its been working for me lately!
Oh no! Good thing you found a decent way to deal with this situation. Family should always come first. ❤ xoxo
I used to have a beer after work to deal with my stress. Now I don’t have a 9-5 job so I’m always working and always playing and I don’t drink at all (not completely by choice). I guess I deal with my stress by breathing and trying to look at the bright side of the situation. I usually tell myself everything happens for a reason. Exercise helps me cope with stress. It usually gets the jitters out and calms me down. A good long run or time on the rowing machine will do that. Even better if I’m listening to an awesome audiobook while I do it. Getting into a good book or a movie will usually do the same.
Putting things into perspective definitely helps 🙂 a book or a movie is also great!!!
I absolutely love the quotes you posted. So, soooo beautiful and inspirational!!!! Work related stress is never fun!!! XOXO!!!
Thank you, Kristin!
If I was stressed at work I use to cry on the car ride home….lol. Middle school students will do that to ya! I love the quote you have up about the bigger the obstacle the better the glory. So true!
I hope you overcome all your “mountains” sweetie!
Oh yeah, you know, just work being work 🙂 Thank you!!! ❤
Great quotes, great workouts, great attitude, great everything!!!
Awww thank you!!!
Okay LOVE IT! I completely agree with you- life is too short to spend it in a bad mood! I can’t be around people who are constantly complaining about everything in their life. I’m like, change something then. I’m sure there are people out there with bigger problems than you! I sound really mean haha.
Lol! No, you don’t 🙂 I have a colleague who always says she hates her job, and these are exactly the thoughts I have. Don’t like it, find something else. Otherwise, since you are getting paid and no one forces you to stay, just get the job done as it needs to be done.
OMG EXACTLY! Learn to be grateful for what you have and change what you don’t like! ❤
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