Staying Motivated

 

When it comes to working out, the first three months are the hardest to keep motivated and get going to the gym. However, the time when you least want to go to the gym is the time when you most need to!

I say that the first three months are the hardest because once you are over the hump of being completely out of shape your body and brain began to crave the endorphins from the workout and you just keep going back. In a sense, if you push through the first few months at the gym you simply become addicted to exercising and keep going.

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I’m one of those people that tends to commit to a cause for a while, and once my goal is accomplish I let it dwindle. I did this with my fitness this past month and feel awful to admit it. When I started the 25 Days of Fitness I was motivated to work, and I did. I lost about 6 pounds in those 25 days worked out every day and felt fantastic about it. Once I was done, I used my finals as an excuse to slack off, and continued to pay my fat tax for about a month.

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These last few days I’ve been good about it, and last week I was at the gym two days, which is more then I was the week before but really not enough. So here are some things I am doing to keep motivated and going to the gym.

Pencil It In

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Schedule a time to go to the gym and write it down in your planner. Really, when I pre-plan my weekly schedule I put in times to work out and consider it an appointment. My health is important enough to me to set aside an hour to two hours a day for exercise. I use to pencil in my gym time and I stopped over the last month. Now I’m back to it.

Get your spouse involved

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Two years ago when I started the P90X program, I would have never made it if it wasn’t for my husband supporting me and doing the program with me. The Mister has been super duper supportive of me, and has even gotten me off the couch to go running with him even though I would have done anything not to. In short, get your spouse or significant other or best friend involved in your workouts, they’ll not only motivate you but push you to do better.

Meet a friend

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Plan a time to meet a friend at the gym. Especially if you are working out in the mornings. If you ask a friend to meet you at the gym at a given time, you will more likely show up. This is my biggest and greatest motivator. My friend got me to sign up for a gym membership and introduced me to Body Pump, and when we make plans to meet at the gym we always end up going, even if both of us don’t want to.

Write it Down

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I have been slacking in this one. BUT, I always kept a workout log, with how much weight I lifted, what exercise I did, how many sets, how many reps and so on. It is a great motivator to look at where you started and where you are at a given time. While on a daily basis you might not see results you’ll see them when it’s written down. I also take pictures and measurements as I go along, usually about once a month.

Set a Goal

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Set a goal of how many days in a row you’ll go to the gym, and see if you can make it. Once you’ve made it, set a new one that is a day or two longer then the last. Speaking of this, my goal is to go 4 times this week.

So these are my motivators. What are yours?!

Anyone up for another 25 Days of Fitness Challenge? Or maybe a 30 Day Fitness Challenge? Let me know!

Absolutely Amazing Abs

 

Ha! I’m so cleaver.

Today is Day 18… Yup… we are only 7 days away from being done with 25 Days of Fitness.

Abs seem to be a major concern for both men and women. I know they are the second most concerning area on my body, the first is thighs, which we talked about a week or so ago. I want super toned legs, thighs, butt and abs. I’d think I’m happy with everything else. Hence, today I want to spend talking about what the anatomy of the abdominal area are, how to exercise each one so that you can get Absolutely Amazing Abs.

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1. Rectus Abdominis.

   The rectus abdominis is situated at the front of the pelvis, between the ribs and the pubic bone. This is the main set of muscles one often refers to when they discuss "the six pack", due to its several bumpy ridges, which jut out directly in front of the body.

   The rectus abdominis serves to move the body between the ribcage and the pelvis.

2. Transversis Abdominis.

   This muscle is situated deep within the abdominal complex. Its main role is to maintain internal abdominal pressure, and stabilize the trunk.

3. Internal Obliques.

   These muscles are located just inside the hip bones, flanking either side of the rectus abdominis. Their role is to twist the body, via their contraction.

4. External Obliques.

   These also flank the rectus abdominus and function to allow trunk rotation.

Source

You should not be spending hours on your abs, but you should make your workouts count. The usual recommendation that I have seen and have used is 15 to 20 minutes every other day, even when it’s a rest day. Since your abs have several different muscle groups, and you work them every other day, they have the days in between to rest and heal up.

Here are some of the exercises that have been proven to be effective according to the San Diego State University and the American Council on Exercise Abdominal Study. Click on the title of the exercise to see the video provided by bodybuilding.com. 

Bicycle Maneuver:

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Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands beside your head. Bring knees up to about 45-degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Keep even relaxed breathing throughout. (Source)

Captain’s Chair:

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Stabilize your upper body by gripping the handholds and lightly pressing your lower back against the back pad. The starting position begins with you holding your body up and legs dangling below. Now slowly lift your knees in toward your chest. The motion should be controlled and deliberate as you bring the knees up and return them back to the starting position. (Source)

Crunches on Exercise Ball:

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Sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Let the ball roll back slowly. Now lie back on the ball until your thighs and torso are parallel with the floor. Place hands behind your head (or cross your arms over your chest) and slightly tuck your chin in toward your chest. Contract your abdominals raising your torso to no more than 45 degrees. For better balance, spread your feet wider apart.(Source)

Traditional Crunch:

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Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor in front of you. Lie on an exercise mat rather than hard floor to prevent back strain. Position your feet hip distance apart. Place your hands behind your head so that your thumbs are tucked behind your ears. Hold elbows slightly out to the sides and keep chin pointing upward. Curl up and forward lifting your head neck and shoulder blades off the floor. Make sure you're not pulling your head forward with your hands. (Source)

 

I hope y’all enjoyed this post. Let me know what are some other exercises you do that are effective for the abs. I have quite a few that I do, but I thought I’d share the ones out of my routine that are thought to be the best out there. SO if nothing else, do these four!!

Body Pump 77 killed my legs a little

 

 

What a phenomenal work out today!!! I am defiantly feeling my legs right now and know I will feel them even more tomorrow. Yup! It was fantastic! I almost didn’t go, just because I’m wanted to sleep in a bit longer since we went to bed around 2 AM. BUT… since I had a friend waiting for me at the gym, I got my butt out of bed and went. I am so glad I did.

Before the class I also did a 15 minute abdominal workout with one of the trainers. It was very worth it!

After the Body Pump, I grabbed a NrGize Banana Split Meal Replacement shake for my drive home. I must say it’s pretty delicious and they add extra vitamins and protein. So pretty much it is winning! The Banana Split is a total of 300 calories and 280 carbs, which is perfect for a lunch meal and for an after workout shake.

Now I’m off to the grocery store for some healthy food buyin’.

I’ll be back later today with a Day 7 Post for 25 Days of Fitness!

We’ll be talking about some good power foods!

Y’all have a great Sunday!!!

PS: Check out the new Body Pump music track! I really liked it!

BODYPUMP 77 tracklist

Warmup: Commander – Spacegliderz
Squats: It’s My life – Swade
Chest: DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love – Usher feat. Pitbull
Back: Hold Me Tonight (Manox Remix) – Manian
Triceps: I Like It – Tokyo Haze
Biceps: Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom) – Shinedown
Lunges: Only Girl In The World (E-Nergy Remix) – Nick Skitz vs DJ Lotus
Shoulders: Ti Sento – Scooter
Abs: We No Speak Americano – Yolanda Be Cool vrs DCUP
Cooldown: One Last Chance – Daughtry

(Source: NZ Glen: BodyCombat fanatic)

A weight loss challenge

 

One of my favorite bloggers (Meghan) is participating in a weight loss challenge presented by Mr.&Mrs. Smith, so I am going to link up with these girls and play along. Since my 25 Days of Fitness are hopefully leading me to a weight loss, I’d like to keep it up through the 8 weeks and see if I will be able to get to my goal weight.

 

I am technically in the weight range for my height, however I’ve gained about 20 pounds of marital bliss weight, which I’d like to get rid of so that I can fit back into my jeans and dress pants.

 

I am 5’7’’

I weigh somewhere around 146 pounds

I’d like to be at about a 125-130

My goal is to lose about 15 to 20 pounds

 

I would be very happy with just 15 pounds so I’m setting my goal at this for the next 8 weeks, however it would be fantastic if I could lose 20. However, I am also taking into consideration that building muscle is going to cause a weight gain, since muscle weighs more then fat. However, my true measure of my weight loss will be if I can fit into my jeans, the ones that use to fit me like a glove which I have to fight and wiggle to get into now.

 

Here is my plan:

 

Exercise-wise I plan on continuing with my 25 Days of Fitness challenge, running Couch to 5K, taking Body Pump classes at the gym 3 days a week, and lifting weights in-between. Monday, Wednesday and Sunday are my Body Pump classes, before class I usually spend about 30 minutes working on my legs. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I run, work on abs and throw in some other upper body workouts. These past two days my knee has been bugging me so instead of running on the treadmill I’ve trades up and have been using the elliptical (much softer on the knees).

 

Diet-wise I plan on using more supplements (you can read all about them here, and here). I am also using myfitnesspal.com, to track my exercise and calories. I am going to try and stick to a 1200 calorie diet. This is the first time in my life that I am counting calories, so wish me luck.

 

I will be weighing in on Wednesday nights.

 

Sorry this is a day late guys!

I’m very excited to have a goal set and have people motivating me to move towards it.

Hello! Summer vacations and new bikinis! Woohoo!

Good luck all!

My legs hate me… I mean really hate me!

 

It was so good to be back in the gym today, especially for Body Pump with an awesome Instructors. Arey is pretty much the best, and if her home gym wasn’t an hour and a half away from me, I’d be there every day she taught a class. Sadly, it is an hour and a half to drive over there, and I’m not willing to make the drive when there is a perfectly nice gym 10 minutes from the house. So when Arey comes down on Wednesday to teach the class, I try and not miss any of them.

Today was the last day that we work with Body Pump 76, on Saturday the new release (77) comes out, and as far as we know we’ll be getting into that one. I’m a little bummed that they are changing it up on me, when I just started attending the classes and am just now getting into the groove of it.

Other then the Body Pump class, I did about 3 sets of 10 reps on my sides/abs. That was pretty much all I had time for before the class started.

My legs are pretty much killin’ me and I’m sure I’m walking funny. But I love the way they feel! Yay!

I haven’t decided if I will be going back to the gym tomorrow or just running. I might do both.

Still looking for new work out music, so please please please make you suggestions. I’m really tired of listing to the same songs.

Runner’s high

 

… I’m still waiting to get to the point where I get a runner’s high and can keep running. Last night, I repeated Week 2 Day 1 of Couch to 5K, since I missed my week three due to studying for an exam that turned out to be pointless anyways.

With a warm up and a cool down it was a total of 30 minutes on the treadmill. After this I did about 20 minutes of abdominal work, which wasn’t really enough because I can’t really feel it today. I also spent another 2 minutes jump-roping and 8 minutes stretching. I’m really thinking of adding some Yoga into my workout plan. The P90X Yoga was pretty awesome but super hard. Any suggestions for a good beginner yoga class or workout?

I also drank a ton of water! I think I was being a bit of a water hog. 

That’s all for my update from Day 2, keep your eyes peeled for a Wednesday Wants (see previous issues here and here) and a Day 3 of 25 Days of Fitness (Day 1, and Day 2).