A no-equipment workout to sweat and bounce out a crappy mood

I had a bad day last week! It might have been hormonal, it might have been seasonal, it might have been because it was the birthday of a dear friend who died four years ago, it might have just been the state of the world. Your advice in the comments of my post about this rough day was so beautiful, gentle, supportive, and helpful — I took some of it, and some of my own advice, and took good care of myself.

Part of that care was the workout I’m sharing with you today: I knew I needed something pretty high intensity to shake things up and literally shake the bad feelings out. (This workout is a little more focused on just moving quickly, a little bit of optional jumping, that kind of thing, than literal shaking — but still, helpful IMO.) So I put together a great AMRAP workout to challenge myself and try to feel a little better.

Friends, I reeeeeally didn’t want to do this one. I was filming it the day after my horrible-mood day, and while I felt a little better I was still really low energy. I was gearing up to film it at the studio after my Pilates class, and then a construction worker from the city showed up and started using a gigantic power tool to tear the sidewalk apart, and it was so loud and disruptive. I came home to film here and then a cat sat on my lap. I really had to drag myself off the couch to get going.

But I’m so glad I did. I’m still not feeling totally like myself, but my body feels better, and even if I’m not exactly chipper, I’m a little more at peace, which is sometimes all we can really ask for. Dare I say I even had a little fun doing it?

Anyway! Notes on an AMRAP: This usually stands for As Many Rounds As Possible — AKA doing the exercises in order as quickly as you can so you can get through a bunch of rounds of the workout in the time allotted (here, 15 minutes). You can do it that way, or you can call it As Many Rounds As Prudent: Maybe it’s better today to take it a bit slower, take more breaks, and just vibe with it a bit. You can always come back to it and push yourself to go more quickly, if you’re in the mood.

No equipment required, though a mat is always wise when we’re on the floor, and you’re welcome to add dumbbells if you like.

Let’s go!