Mentally and Physically Exhausted

I came across this article (titled "Feeling Mentally Exhausted? Maybe You Should Put Off That Run") a while back and now I think I'm living it.  Studying for the Colorado Bar Exam has really put a damper on my work-out routine.  It's really kind of amazing how something that drains you mentally can drain you physically as well.

I first remember experiencing this phenomenon when I was a second-year law student.  I had just taken my first of four exams and thought I would go for a short run to de-stress before getting back to studying.  That plan didn't work so well.  If I remember correctly, I ran about three-quarters of a mile before giving up, turning around, and limping home.  Since I've been studying for the bar exam, I have been too exhausted to even attempt such a feat.  Even though I know that keeping up some degree of physical activity will benefit me mentally, I haven't been following my own advice.

This week, I was determined to re-incorporate some amount of physical activity into my daily life.  Even though I usually prefer working-out at the end of the day, I thought I would start setting my alarm early and get to the gym before studying, so I wouldn't have to motivate myself after spending hours pouring over outlines and practice tests.  I'm not going to rule this out as a strategy (it sure sounds good!), but two days in, it hasn't worked so well.  I am proud to say that I did work-out yesterday and the day before, just not in the morning as I planned.  On Monday, I took a mid-afternoon break to go on a short bike ride around Wash Park, and yesterday, I went to an evening yoga class.  When I'm in shape and in the heart of training season, these would both be pretty easy for me, practically rest day activities.  But today - I ache all over!  The yoga class I went to is fairly basic and focuses more on stretching and relaxation as opposed to a power yoga practice.  Rather than feeling stretched and relaxed, I feel like I spent hours lifting weights!

My plan is to take a page from the yoga book, i.e. honoring your body.  I'm clearly not capable of my usual amount of physical activity, so I just need to lower my expectations and do what I can.  I'm going to aim for working-out 3-4 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour, but nothing too strenuous.  Short bike rides seem to fit the bill nicely (weather permitting) as does the occasional yoga class.  I'm also going to get back into hula-hooping, and hula-hoop during study-breaks to get the blood flowing.  And, I might break-out my hand-weights and start doing the Target Toning for Beginners from my watch-instantly Netflix queue again.  (I always feel so encouraged when that peppy blond woman tells me what a great arm work-out I did!)  Triathlon training season officially starts next week, so I guess we'll see if it's too much to incorporate a little swimming as well.

To keep myself motivated, I also plan to blog each week about the past week's work-outs and how I felt.

Now, back to criminal procedure!