Happy Mondayyyyyy!! I hope everyone is feeling their best after the weekend! I went to Vegas for one night to see a DJ and only slept about 4 hours so last night and passed out and felt SO rejuvenated this morning. I work early Monday mornings (and usually don’t sleep Sunday nights because I’m afraid I’m going to sleep through my alarm) so getting the first good Sunday night sleep in a long time felt freaking amazing. Which made me think that maybe it was a good point to chat about today.

We always talk about eating healthy and working out regularly, but sometimes sleep is forgotten about. And if you don’t know much about sleep, it’s a REALLY big deal. If you want to feel your best, have energy, maintain a healthy weight, maintain a healthy relationship, continue to make good decisions…then you need to get adequate sleep. Fitness, Food, Water, Stress, and Sleep. All things you need to concentrate on. And those things should be constantly considered in your day to day life to help you continue to live your best life possible.

That being said, sleep is hard to come by at times. There are kids, jobs, relationships, financial situations…all things that hold us back from falling asleep or getting enough sleep. So we have to make the conscious decision how we are going to fall asleep at a good hour and continue to sleep through the night. I have been having issues sleeping because of job stress and constant thoughts that keep me up at night. So I’ve been turning my screens to the night shift feature (can be found on iPhones) and using the f.lux app to change my computer screen color as well. Almost instantly, I can feel the pressure on my eyes release. I’ve also been trying to turn all screens off about an hour before I go to bed and I’ll lay in a dark room and just listen to a podcast to help turn off my own brain. And if stress is really getting to me, I make sure to write down everything. I write down daily to-do lists along with whatever my brain is thinking up. That way, I know I’ve done everything I can that day to make myself better off tomorrow.

Doing these three things have REALLY helped me sleep and have kept me sane through a really frustrating time. And those nights that I get 7+ hours of sleep, I wake up feeling SO much better than the day before and I’m able to not only work my hardest but also give my best to the people around me.

If you’re working hard in the gym and eating your best but seeing the full results, take a look at your sleep schedule and the stressors that may be going on in your life. And start figuring out the steps to improve that issues. If you’re able to take small steps, they can really add up over time. So maybe try some of the things that have worked for me and share some of the things that have works for you in the comments below! It’s always cool to hear from others and what is making their own life better! Can’t wait to hear from you guys! Now go take care of yourself and kick Monday’s ass!

Sunday – Rest day

Monday

20 mins Moving W. Purpose

Deadlift: 6 reps with 5 sec descent each rep. 2 sec reset at the bottom of each rep. All sets at 55% of 1 rep max.

10 Strict L Pull Ups

5 Kossack Side Lunges each side. 5 sec Pause each rep. Hold KB in front rack if possible.

I got 4+7 using 120# deadlift, 7 l-pull ups, and using a 25# KB

Then With a Partner Row 2000m For Time

– Partner 1 Holds HS on wall

– Partner 2 Rows as many meters as possible

* Every time partner comes off wall, partners swap places

**Can only start rowing once partner is inverted.

We finished in 8:45

Tuesday – Rest day – too busy to get a workout in so I scheduled my rest day for a different day than usual

Wednesday

5 Rounds For Time Of: (17 min time cap)

16 Alternating Pistols

12 Strict HSPU

100m Farmers Carry (2 x 70/55)

I finished in 15:36 doing regular pistols, touching my head to 1 ab mat and carrying 35# KB’s

Then Every 2:30 for 5 sets:

10 Burpees

200m Sprint

My slowest round was 1:19 (fastest was 1:17)

Thursday

Hang Squat Cleans

EMOM x 3: 2 @ 65%

EMOM x 3: 2 @ 75%

EMOM x 3: 1 @80%

EMOM x 4: Add as you wish. – I finished at 145#

Then For Time: (14 min time cap)

500m Row

30 Toes To Bar

30 Single Arm KB Thruster – 15 Each Arm (55/35)

250m Row

20 Toes To Bar

20 Single Arm KB Thruster –  10 Each Arm (55/35)

I finished in 9:22 rx

Friday

Deadlifts: 3 x 5. All sets at 80%. (12 mins) – I used 175#

Then With a 14 min Clock:

800m Run

then As Many Reps As Possible Of:

10-20-30…

Cals on Assault Bike

Burpee Box Jumps (24/20)

Deadlift (225/155)

I got 110 reps using 125#

Saturday –

With a partner:

Complete 2000m rowing – switching every 250m

Then 5 rounds of: 12 squat cleans (185/125) and 16 burpee pull ups

Then completely 1600m running – switching every 200m (one person runs, one person rests)

We finished a little after the 30 minute mark

________________

Free Travel Workout:

18 min AMRAP:

30 tuck jumps

20 dumbbell burpees (do a push up on dumbbells and stand fully with dumbbells in hand)

10 pike push ups

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31 Comments

  1. Sharon says:

    Saw your note on getting hate for the podcast and I HAVE to second Michelle, I love the podcasts! As she said, it clearly takes time and prep to make them, and I’m sure it seems MUCH easier to me than it actually is! I love your voice and tone, you sound like someone I wish was a friend. have followed your snapchat (which I also enjoy) and blog for a while now, but love getting to know you in a different way through the podcasts. Please keep up the podcasts, you are really on to something! I’ll have to check out the video tutorials next, but I applaud you for trying these new mediums. It’s never easy to do something new. You are such a great role model on getting uncomfortable and continuing to develop your “brand”. Kudos! You should feel so good about what you have created.

    1. juli says:

      thank you so much! it’s been so fun to try new stuff but it definitely feels overwhelming at times. so when i hear a comment like this, it keeps me inspired to keep it up! xoxoxo

  2. Christina says:

    The amount of new content you are producing makes me seriously happy too. I travel for work and I “save” the podcasts for my flights and actually look forward to them, along with GGW. it’s like I can step out of my work stress and just have girl talk. Always remember that your supporters greatly outnumber your haters. Although for some reason the hater comments are a lot more pronounced – i remember that from when I used to have a blog. xoxo

    1. juli says:

      thank you so so much for the support, christina! i listen to podcasts constantly on flights now. it’s the best distraction from the sometimes awful flight experiences lol

  3. Kate says:

    I had some insomnia over the past couple of weeks and ended up getting a massage one Sunday afternoon. Really helped me to relax at night and stop worrying that I couldn’t sleep.

    Generally I find a hot shower and some lavender essential oil helps me relax each night before bed. I also limit screen time. Don’t have time to watch TV and try not to look at my phone and read e-mails for about an hour before bed.

    1. juli says:

      lavender essential oils are the best

  4. Jeannette says:

    I need to know what DJ you went to see!! I saw a few at ACL and I’m just LOVING the EDM genre right now!!

    1. juli says:

      steve angello!

  5. Charity McLean says:

    will you please make a reference guide for your abbreviations or spell out the entire words in the text. thank you.

    1. juli says:

      i’ll try to work on that. is there something you don’t understand right now that you would like me to explain?

  6. Kim says:

    Hi Juli! I also wanted to give you a big high 5 for your work! You make me smile more each day! I want to read and listen to people who make me smile and you fit the bill perfectly! Your recipes are amazing and my dear husband is so happy I found your blog! Something else I really appreciate about your approach to Paleo is that you are not perfect and you do not apologize for it! Love your passion and energy! Thank you! I am so thrilled to have found your blog! It truly has made a difference in my life (not trying to sound deep because I am far from that but it has in the fact that you have made cooking and exercise interesting and FUN)!

    1. juli says:

      thank you so so much for the sweet comment, kim! that’s exactly what i want out of my blog – for people to feel some sort of joy in some way whenever they are reading it! so thank you for leaving a positive comment, you have no idea how far a comment like yours really goes