While snooping through Tweets yesterday a comment on mentally preparing to get back on track with diet & exercise caught my eye.
I’ve fallen victim, more than once, to having the best of intentions to get up early and hit the gym, but then neglecting to check-in upstairs. Without being mentally ready to either 1) get back on track, or 2) start a new health plan, you are doomed to failure (good grief that sounds extreme.. but ya know what I mean).
A common suggestion is to just get yourself to the gym and promise 15 minutes. I’ve tried that tactic, and true, sometimes that 15 minutes turns into an hour, but sometimes it doesn’t and that’s ok. No matter what, at the very least, as long as I get in and do something, even if it isn’t my best workout, I always come out feeling better and it makes it that much easier to go back the next day.
So along with working on your New Year’s Resolutions (post on that coming up soon.. I take resolutions seriously and always keep them), also try working on Fitness Reflections. No, I’m not talking about making a list of how many times you plan to lift or run every week, but instead a contemplation on how you fared last year, fitness wise, then move onto how you’ll improve this coming year.
Reflection:
Now most importantly…
So this was mean almost exactly a year ago:
Me in November:
Me Now: Yeah, I’m crazy pasty white and chill at ~8 lbs over my competition weight… though I wouldn’t mind the tan.. or the abs.. but anyway :p
So what changed? It certainly wasn’t my desire to be more fit, and I didn’t suddenly have ample amounts of time on my hands. What changed was my head.. my attitude towards working out and my commitment to taking care of my body. It’s not like I was unfamiliar with the gym. The previous year, while living in Baltimore, I discovered Kickboxing, lost around 10 lbs, and starting doing a little lifting. I then moved to Arizona and completely fell off the workout wagon. When I recommited myself to a fitness goal, and got myself back in the gym in March, I was still completely intimidated by weights, had never used a Smith Machine on my own, and tended not to venture into those corners of the gym where you generally only find very large men grunting while they do 5 reps then stand around for 10 minutes. I was scared to be the person that other people look at thinking ’what the hell is she doing?’ But knowledge is power right?!
At this point I was working out with a trainer twice a week. He would give me the split, but I would pick my own exercises. So I did my research. With the help of Oxygen magazine, HERS Muscle & Fitness and ExRx.com I wrote up my own workouts, then had my trainer look them over to make sure I was doing what I needed. Trust me, I was completely clueless at first! I even had to draw little pictures next to some of the lifts because I’d forget what they were by the time I got to the gym. Which reminds me. Check out my Workout Journal..
This thing has been through the ringer! It’s actually the ‘Eat Clean Diet Workbook’ but I didn’t like the cheesy cover (no offense Tosca!), so I decorated it (yes, at the time, 2 summers ago, I had a lot of time on my hands, haha .. and yes I am a ridiculous dork :p). Any who, I digress.. I highly highly recommend taking the time to write up your own plan from scratch. I think we all have little rebels in us with the need to resist doing exactly what we’re told to do, so following a cookie-cutter magazine workout never did it for me. Besides, the more you’re invested in your plan, the more likely you are to stick to it! So make up a plan with all your favorite exercises for every body part. If you’re new to lifting it’ll take some time to figure out what those are, but that’s where using the magazine workouts and ExRx Directory comes in handy. Take your time. Down the road you’ll want to be more specific with your lifts, but at the beginning, just have fun, try new things. Soon enough there’s a good chance you’ll be looking forward to getting in the gym and trying something new. Yes, it will be time consuming, but it’s sooo worth it the first time you get a goofy look from a guy at the gym, not because you’re doing something wrong, but because he just realized you’re leg pressing more than him 
So that’s short & sweet version of my weight lifting speach, what about Cardio? I’m not sure I’ve adequately expressed my sincere dislike of Steady State Cardio (generally 30+ minutes at a continual pace). Seriously, I don’t even like doing lifting sets of more than 15 reps, let alone jog in place as the clock ticks by. So convincing myself that any standard cardio workout was a good idea was my biggest hurdle. I’d be lying if I said I now loved Cardio and will be entering a marathon.. gah.. but I did explore enough to find what I do like. I love cardio group classes but am super picky about them. If it’s a good class, in my opinion, I should be drenched and exhausted by the end. My general rule is that if I can easily give myself a harder workout in 30 minutes than you can give me in an hour, then it’s not worth my time. Too harsh? .. I warned you I bore easily :p But seriously… If you’ve tried kickboxing, spin, yoga, body pump, etc classes before and didn’t like them, give them a shot again, because it’s all about finding the style and instructor you like. For example, I loved kickboxing at the gym I was at in Baltimore, but haven’t found any I like in Phoenix that make it worth my time. After testing out most of the Spin classes at my gym, there’s now only one I’ll go to.. but I rarely miss it Yoga’s my classic example. I tried yoga a couple years ago and thought it was super boring, but I tried it again recently and have already found a few classes & teachers that I really enjoy. Oh and that reminds me.. ask around! Ask the people at your gym which are the most popular classes, and your friends which they enjoy.
So perhaps I went off on a tangent a bit with this post, but I hope some of it made sense or is remotely helpful. Of course this is all just my opinion and what worked for me. But maybe since it worked for me, it’ll work for someone else too! Finding a fitness plan that kept me pumped and going into the gym everyday, along with learning to consistently take care of myself nutritionally, has played a HUGE role in making this the most amazing year of my life. If you ever have any questions, please holler!
So you know I love my Monday & Wednesday spin class, dearly miss my Baltimore kickboxing and have a new found interest in yoga … What are your favorite Fitness classes, and what is it that makes you love them?!
Fun Links
Wow, what a great blog! Wish i’d found it sooner! congrats on your journey!!
Keep up the great work inspiring those around you honey!
Great post! I just wrote about my fear of the Smith Machine and some of the other things you mentioned. I’m getting over the Smith Machine fear since it gives me such a good workout. I didn’t know about EXRX.com, so I appreciate the linkage.
You still look marvelous!
I’m not much of a class girl…I get distracted pretty easily…that and I’d rather lift, HIIT, and get out.
But, when I do take classes…it’s usually spinning, too!
Ha ha “GAH’ was my exact reaction when I read ‘run a marathon’ in your post. I truly admire people who do them, I would love to run one HOWEVER, it is my theory that I was not made to run marathons! Ergonomically impossible! lol… Yes it is an excuse, but it works fine with me! I do lots of cardio at the gym, and I love weights too. Having a ‘new’ fitness goal definitely keeps things interesting!
Thanks for sharing that! I used to have no problem doing my step DVDs for an hour, now that is just one hour too long. I finally got over my fear of trying spin and am enjoying that variation. You’re right though, the instructor can make or break the class. I too finally got over my fear of lifting at the gym (just 2 weeks ago). It’s all about taking those steps outside of your comfort zone(s).
Great post. Well, I do not get bored easily which can also be a problem because you do the same thing over and over! I could run 5 miles every day and be perfectly content, but I mix it up now! The last couple of months I have been doing a bootcamp class and I like the way it pushes your body to extremes! I also oreder my weight training online from Cathy Savage, which changes every month.
Did I mention having 4 kids is also like a good interval workout? Ha, ha!
I can’t even imagine! Seriously, it blows me away. That’s 1000x more impressive than any workout/diet plan!
LOL! I LOVE getting funny looks from guys when I leg press or lift more than they do. I used to avoid the “guy” area of the gym, now I’m in there and earning their respect and my right to be there! My gym used to have a kickboxing class that was really hardcore, I adored it, lost alot of weight with it and was a soaked mess afterwards, they canceled it and put in some dorky cardio/dance thing that burns about 8 calories. Still haven’t found a class as good as that anywhere else. The instructor was running it out of another gym but the space was smaller so the conditioning just wasn’t the same. I’m still searching for a replacement for that class.
I love reading your posts! They’re so much more personal (and better written) than most other blogs, but still manage to relate to the bigger challenges we all face. Personally, I hate cardio more than words can describe. I got bored with spin after doing it for 3 months, hated yoga, and didn’t like step-like cardio classes. Luckily for me, I found kettlebells classes which were engaging (and demanding) enough to keep my interest and get my cardio in. You’re right though, it’s all about looking around and finding what’s right for you.
Keep up the great work, both on yourself and on your blog. And if you ever find yourself in the Colorado Rockies, drop me a line and I’ll run you through the wringer.
Happy New Year!
Scott
PS. Please tell friends not to make a New Year’s Resolution to get in shape. I finally figured out why it’s a truly a terrible idea (hint: the reason is on my blog. Hehhe)
You look amazing and congrats on all the extra work you have done.
I love what youve done with your workout journal! The cover was the reason why I didn’t get it, I wouldn’t want to bring that to the gym (no offense again to Tosca) but that was such a great idea! and I love all the collages and clippings.
Love the post!
After seeing how many people showed up for Zumba class, my friend & I decided to try it. It is a super sweaty very fun time. We are hooked and go 2-3 times a week! From hip hop and salsa and belly dancing amung several others that strongly engage the abs and glutes, these dances are fun! I wear my bodybugg all the time and I will burn anywhere from 475-600 calories, depending on how much I put into it. But reguardless I’m stinky sweaty when I leave and feel Great!