Posts Tagged ‘fitness challenge’
Squat challenge…
Posted on: June 6, 2013
Ideally, I should have been finished with the squat challenge. I would have finished 250 squats..
But.. I got bored. So very bored. Bored. Bored. Board
So, I stopped. I stopped at about 160-170.
I know.. I was soooo close.
I know.. I should be more motiviated..
I heard all the pep talks. I heard all the “I can’t believe your gonna quit” from the Hubby.
I even heard, “I thought we were going to do this together!” Yes. I feel bad.
But I was bored.
And that’s my problem with working out. I get bored. I get board of the same work out all the time..
So.. I’m looking for another thing to do..
Yesterday, I felt the need to jog.. so I called up Hubby to set up the jogging stroller so we could take a jog around the apartment complex with M. BUT.. I had no idea that jogging stroller tires needed air and all the tires were flat!
I ended up taking M to the playground.
I did get an arm workout by pushing the teeter totter up and down while M sat on the other end…
I know.. I gotta focus and I gotta be motivated. I’m only hurting myself.. yadda yadda yadda..
I need to find a workout I like.. that’s preferably free… because I like yoga but I don’t want to pay for all those classes and I obviously don’t have the discipline to do it on myown..
Another fitness challenge FAIL…
Squat update..
Posted on: May 20, 2013
Today is a rest day.. thank God!
Today is Day 12.
Yes.. that means that I’ve been doing 100+ squats already. They are KILLER!
But I have noticed that the first 20-30 have been getting so much easier.. thank God for that!
I’ve been so good that when we went to my brother’s place in Los Angeles this weekend, I was doing 105 squats in his apartment!
I think the reason I’m pretty determined to do this is because I am noticing results.
Not only is it getting easier, I’m not waking up the next day sore anymore. My body has gotten used to it and so it does make it easier to pick up the next day.
Also, I’ve been making better choices on what foods to eat and how much I intake, so I am starting to see a difference.
I’ve already lost the 4 lbs that I gained from being non-active for several months.
One day at a time…
Related articles
- Squats.. (artsyprincess.wordpress.com)
Squats..
Posted on: May 15, 2013
On yesterday’s blog post, here, I mentioned that I was going to work on my diet and just let the exercise eventually find it’s way back into my system..
Around Thursday of last week, I learned about the 30 day squat challenge..
Picture taken from the 30 Day Squat Challenge Facebook page.
Hubby and I decided to do this together.. which I LOVE. I love that we are doing this together.. it’s a bonding experience and since we are doing it at home, M can watch us doing it.. She likes when one of us holds her while squatting.. And she also likes squatting herself.. by the way.. she’s really good!
Hubby and I are on Day 7. It’s a challenge.. those squats hurt! I look forward to the Rest days like no body’s business.
This challenge is great because it goes along the lines of my “one day at a time” mentality. I don’t look at it as an entire 30 day challenge. I look at them like 30 separate daily challenges..
So today, I tell myself.. “Today, I will do 80 squats.” I have to do it because I said I would do it today. I don’t think about the resting tomorrow. I dont’ think about starting up again on Friday.. I think about only today.
I’ve been eating much better, and slightly smaller portions.. its is falling into place without the pressure I put on myself earlier this year..
I weighed myself yesterday.. 145lbs.
:::mini-victory dance:::
Tail between my legs…
Posted on: May 14, 2013
So, I have a confession to make.
Remember back in February when I said that I was going to run a mile every two days for this year?
Well..
That lasted a month!
What happened was that I got pretty under the weather and stopped.. and it’s been soooo hard to get back on track.
I know.. excuses, excuses..
So.. I thought it was ok… I really wanted to concentrate on my scrapbooking and cardmaking that I felt like I really had NO time to incorporate the run..
Plus.. I’ve never really like running.. so it was easy for me to just tell myself to skip it..
I told myself that as long as I kept my weight the same (143lbs) that I can work on my diet and slowly get the weight down that way..
I ended up gaining 4 lbs.. now at my heaviest lately, I’ve been 147lbs.
NOT GOOD!
I need to do something.. and take it seriously this time..
But, because of all this “fitness goals of the year” thing, I learned a bit about myself.
I learned that I DON”T like exercise. I don’t like running. I don’t like anything that really makes me burn and sweat. Sorry, but it’s the truth. I. Don’t. Like. Exercise.
I liked pilates, but with the limited amount of space per class, it was hard to schedule myself in because I would schedule far in advance, then something would happen and I’d have to cancel last minute and lose the class…
I LOVE yoga.. but only with a class and those places are pretty pricey.. AND the class times don’t fit my desired schedule..
I’m not a runner.. I’m not a weights lifting type person.. I’m just not into it.. no matter how much I try to convince myself that I need to do this.. I dislike it that much to really push myself to do it..
God’s honest truth.
I also learned that I can’t look at things as a “year-long” goal. Huge goals like this overwhelm me.. not only in exercise, but in pretty much everything I do. Goals are “too big” for me.. especially if I set them as “all year” type things.. I can’t look at things in the “big picture.” It overwhelms me and I just give up.
That’s just me.
So… I juggle my fitness and exercise the same way I juggle my craft projects. I will break them down into small do-able tasks.. one day at a time..
The mentality of “today I will do….” makes things much easier for me to accomplish.. and I don’t feel so overwhelmed..
I decided to start on my diet. Once I got the food intake back on track, the exercise would slowly make it’s way back in.
I start small.
Last Friday’s goal was “Today, I will have a salad for lunch,” and I did.
Today, I will NOT get a fancy Starbucks coffee. I will drink from home with my sugar-free hazelnut creamer.
My “fitness challenge” wasn’t in vain.. although I failed physically, I learned a lot about myself and I can now adjust my life to fit my mentality more. I think that this will fair a lot better than what I tried to do for myself in February.
And I ran….
Posted on: February 14, 2013
So I did it!
I ran my first mile for my personal fitness challenge.
I got home from work on Tuesday, put on my running clothes, walked to the apartment gym, got on that treadmill and… jogged.
I’ve never been a runner, so the jogging is an accomplishment on its own!
I ran at 3.5 speed on the treadmill. I don’t know if all treadmills follow that particular numbering system, but it seems like every treadmill I’ve gone on is the same.
I actually jogged straight for 0.6mi. Then I walked from 0.6-0.7mi, then jogged again from 0.7-0.9mi, and then walked from 0.9-1.0mi.
That means I jogged for a total of 0.8mi and briskedly walked for 0.2mi.
That session took 19 minutes to complete.
It may seem like a long time for most people, but for me, that is a major accomplishment.
I could NEVER finish a mile in under half an hour.. even in my middle school and high school days. I could NEVER run for half a mile straight before, so running a little over half a mile was very encouraging for me.
The next day, I was sore. I guess my legs just aren’t used to this anymore.
I’m very encouraged from this first run. I really think I can do this!
My first run… FAIL!
Posted on: February 8, 2013
I tried to run on Wednesday.
Ok.. I didn’t TRY, I DID run.. kinda..
I’ve been at my parents house this week, and lucky for me, they have a treadmill in the family room.
Easy, peasy. I can run and be with M at the same time.. no problem..
Little did I know that a moving treadmill for a toddler is like a flame to a moth.. She loved watching it move AND she wanted to touch it..
Five minutes and a quarter mile, I was motiviated.. I was pumped.
Then I had to jump off and take the emergency key off because she wanted to climb..
Ok.. I got back on and tried again.. but it was harder now.. I was getting tired and turned it into a brisk walk…
I started up to a jog again when I had to stop it once more because M wanted to play tea party and laid the teapot onto the moving treadmill.. good thing I didn’t trip on it!
I tried to start again, but by then, I was too tired to think about jogging.. so I walked..
I finally had to stop because M tripped on a pillow and ALMOST face planted onto her little bench.. good thing she didn’t, but she was shocked about the whole thing, she wanted her “mimi.”
Overall, it took me about 15 minutes and I got in a half a mile.
I learned two things:
1. I’m really out of shape.
2. No running on a treadmill with a toddler in the room.
I guess I’ll try again next week when I can run the treadmill in the apartment gym away from M..
It’s a start..
February’s here!
Posted on: February 1, 2013
Ok.. so it’s February..
So this is the month I begin my fitness challenge for the year.. run a mile at least twice a week.
I’ll start next week.
I know, I know..
It’s the beginning of the challenge and I’m already making excuses and procrastinating..
But really, I’m not.
I had intended to do the runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays.. today is a Friday.
So I have a perfectly legitimate reason why I can’t start today..
So there.
I’ll keep you posted.
So, I’ve decided that I WILL lose these last 15 lbs before the end of this year..
It’s important I lose this weight for several reasons..
First, my sanity. I KNOW in my deepest of hearts, I shouldn’t be this current weight, which this morning was 143.2. I KNOW that I should be weighing between 125-130 lbs depending on the time of the month.. I shouldn’t be 142-145lbs.. that’s JUST NOT ME. It’s driving me insane!
Second, my clothes. While almost all my pre-prego clothes fit, they don’t look like they used to on my body. I can get them on, but some tops look so snug. I’d also like to buy jeans and know what size I am instead of guessing.. and always guessing too small and feeling discouraged when I have to reach for a size bigger. Right now I’m a little too small for a size 8, but too big for a size 6 in jeans. I hate that “in-between” stage.
Third, if I want to have another baby again this year, I want to start small. I had gained soooo much weight with the first pregnancy. If that ends up happening again, I don’t want to start off heavier. I want to go back down in weight and just work my way up again. AND I don’t plan on gaining as much weight as I did with M. Lesson definitely learned there!
So, this year, I’m taking CHARGE and I WILL lose this weight.
Starting in February (because I have a huge craft project I’m doing for a friend), I will set a goal to run a mile 2x a week. I’m hoping that mid-year, I can bump that up to 3x, but I’m going to keep this goal small and attainable.
One mile, twice a week, on a treadmill.
I’m totally inspired by one of the blogs I frequent. She ran a mile a day from Thanksgiving til the New year, read here. I honestly think I can’t do that right now, so I’m making my challenge more attainable to me.
Currently, it takes me about a 20-30 minutes to run a mile. Yes.. slow.. but I’ve always been slow about that. I could never do a mile in 12-15 minutes.. even in middle school!!
I’m hoping that by doing this challenge, I can knock my time down to about 15 minutes eventually.
I’ll try to keep track of my progress here. I can’t wait to see what I have to say about it at the end of the year.
Living life in the carpool lane.. 