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Mia Garlock
Sep 21, 20223 min read

Squad Day 17: No Rest for the Wicked

F​or the last two weeks of Valkyrie Squad, Wednesdays were stretching, steps, and Mindstilling. I’ve been telling you we’re ramping it up this week, and I wasn’t lying: today’s workout is 25 minutes of weights and total body strength.


I​ am actively sore from yesterday’s core workout, but I don’t feel daunted by today either. I’ve said it before: I love a workout that wipes me out and leaves me needing to mop myself up off the mat when I’m done. Something tells me that today, I will need to do just that.


S​ince I know that today will be harder than before, I’m starting with some Mindstilling and deep breath focus. I’ve been doing Mindstilling exercises daily, though not always paired with my workouts. Evening time it seems is becoming habit to do this breath work, but I know I should be trying it out during the day and early morning to get max benefit from the practice. It’s just so easy to want to use the Mindstilling as a way to chill out at the end of my day, though I know the power of Mindstilling lies in its performance as a practice, a routine.


M​indstilling has actually made my abs sore a few times, especially when I listen and practice while walking. The act of forcing those deep breaths and the diaphragm expansion and retraction is an ab exercise on its own. Not only bringing awareness to how shallow my breaths are when moving around and upright, but showing me where the weakness is in my lungs, in my diaphragm. I’ve been doing some reading about healing abdominal separation, and the number one on everyone’s list is always “deep breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing exercises.” Apparently, crunches are not the way to a tight core, but taking an actual breath, is. Deep breathing exercises with a focus on expanding the diaphragm, will encourage the abdominal wall to knit itself back together, restoring strength to the inner core.

So, Mindstilling done, my brain is clear and my body is awake and energized and my muscles are well oxygenated, time to get into it.


T​he Work

W​e are doing strength training today, so we are grabbing weights. 5-8lbs or even 10lb weights will work for these, I’m grabbing my 10s because I love that burn.

Warm it Up with some Windshield Wiper Knees, keeping the core tight and warming up the hips and core.


We started without weights, to make sure that we're engaging properly and don't hurt ourselves. Sort of like an extended warm up, but one that burns because it is a workout.

Now we add weights.

We did standing marches, 3 different lunge variations, some squat twists and some planks and sit ups. What is this woman doing to me?!

Sam actually said “Don’t bother praying to the Cauldron or the Mother, they won’t help you now.”


I CAN ACTUALLY DO SIT UPS. I was NOT expecting myself to be able to do these at all, let alone for the whole time without stopping! I’ve not been able to do a sit up like this in a literal decade. I was smiling for the whole set.


Yrsa and I met the sunrise, which was absolutely beautiful today. My walk was complicated and full of malfunctions! First it was my socks, they kept falling down and no matter how many times I stopped to fix them they wouldn’t stay up- and then in my frustration I ended up tearing through one of them. So then I tried to tighten my laces and I RIPPED OUT A LACE HOLE from my beloved Brooks sneakers! Devastation! These babies have held up for years without so much as a scuff, and I ripped them this morning. Simultaneously, my hair wouldn’t stay in it’s bun and I was ready to start shouting. The Irony of it all, was that while I was destroying my socks and sneakers and trying not to rip my hair out, I could hear Becca’s voice in the Sidra Mindstilling telling me to “Breathe deeply for one, two, three….”

Stupid Socks…

We eventually made it around for 4 laps today, between the killer workout I started the day with and the numerous malfunctions during our walk, I was starving and ready to be done for now. Evidently I need new socks, and if I can’t repair my brooks, some new sneakers.

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