Took an unscheduled rest day yesterday, because I worked a longer shift and then spent a few hours with my best friend. I had the day off today, and I was thinking it might be another unscheduled rest day, but I changed into my workout clothes when I got out of bed and after a few hours, I FINALLY got off my lazy butt and did it.
I started with cardio on my rebounder (I usually do MS first), thinking that switching them up might make it easier to get through half an hour, but nope, I still only managed 15 minutes. Then I decided I was going to try to learn Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease routine (ha ha ha), so I did the warm up for that and was just about to start the actual routine when my brother got home. I was thoroughly bored by that time (granted, it WAS just the warm up, so it was meant to be slow), so I popped in my Tracy and did my MS - actually managed 25 reps on most of the leg moves, and 30 REPS on the last two, yay! And I even managed to get through one of the leg moves that was really, really hard for me before (the one where you pull your knee to your side and then straighten and pulse twice), which made me feel really good about myself - but the move after that (the leg straight out to the side with a bounce and then pull your knee back in) still killed me, I actually skipped it today, oops.
AND THEN. I did ANOTHER 15 minutes of cardio on my rebounder! WHAT?! Yes, that's right, I actually did a full 30 minutes total, WHICH WAS AMAZING. I sweat so much more than usual and I felt GREAT about it. I think I might try splitting my cardio in two, before and after MS, until I can do the full 30 minutes at once.
So all in all, I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for today's workout, and actually HOPING I feel the burn tomorrow - I'm starting to miss it!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Metamorphosis, day 4.
So today was another "maybe I should take an extra rest day" day. I dragged through arms and most of abs, then said fuck it and skipped legs on the condition that I banged out 15 minutes of cardio.
I think my low energy is partly a mental roadblock, partly the regular slump after starting a new exercise routine, and partly because I haven't exactly been feeding myself very well. My fridge is practically empty, so I've been eating a lot of oven-roasted potatoes, and I made brownies today in honor of my best friend coming over. Definitely going to have to pick up some groceries soon and start following Tracy's meal plan - or, at the very least, forcing myself to eat better! I can't quit so soon - or at all!
I think I might pull out the old "vision scrapbook" that I'd started and try to paste a few more fitspirational pictures and words in there... maybe that'll remind me why I'm doing this. (For ME! For my health and fitness! Because I've put it off long enough, damnit!)
I think my low energy is partly a mental roadblock, partly the regular slump after starting a new exercise routine, and partly because I haven't exactly been feeding myself very well. My fridge is practically empty, so I've been eating a lot of oven-roasted potatoes, and I made brownies today in honor of my best friend coming over. Definitely going to have to pick up some groceries soon and start following Tracy's meal plan - or, at the very least, forcing myself to eat better! I can't quit so soon - or at all!
I think I might pull out the old "vision scrapbook" that I'd started and try to paste a few more fitspirational pictures and words in there... maybe that'll remind me why I'm doing this. (For ME! For my health and fitness! Because I've put it off long enough, damnit!)
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Metamorphosis, day 3.
I had to get up early for work today, so I didn't get my workout in this morning, which made me realize - if I don't do my workout in the morning, chances are it's not going to get done. By the time I got home, I had pretty much made up my mind that I wasn't going to do my workout, that I was going to skip it for today. But I thought of my best friend, living halfway across the world in Sweden, who told me yesterday that she had bookmarked my blog so I better update every day! and I thought to myself how sad it would be to take an undeserved rest day after only two days.
Then I got dressed and did my stupid workout. (Well, mostly.)
I did the MS, with some half-assing a few leg moves, and then I did... dun-dun-dun... only about ten minutes of cardio before I really couldn't drag myself through it anymore. I just didn't have the energy. So for that, I did give myself a break, went upstairs and took a quick bath with some Epsom salts, and resolved to put in a much better workout tomorrow morning, when I actually have the day off!
Then I got dressed and did my stupid workout. (Well, mostly.)
I did the MS, with some half-assing a few leg moves, and then I did... dun-dun-dun... only about ten minutes of cardio before I really couldn't drag myself through it anymore. I just didn't have the energy. So for that, I did give myself a break, went upstairs and took a quick bath with some Epsom salts, and resolved to put in a much better workout tomorrow morning, when I actually have the day off!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Metamorphosis, day 2.
This morning, I was so sore, especially in the ass, that I could hardly get out of bed. I love that kind of achy feeling, the kind that tells you you're really working hard, and I'm always amazed that it could feel so strongly after only one workout.
That said, I wasn't too keen on continuing the trend today, but I dragged myself out of bed and did my MS (20 reps of almost everything... the two leg exercises in the middle had me scraping by with 15 - but I did use one-pound weights for my arms this time!), and then I did 15 minutes of cardio on my rebounder while watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians (a habit I picked up after reading Mindy Kaling's Book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?). Unfortunately, I ended up watching the episode about the anniversary of the Kardashians' father's death, which wasn't too motivating. My new goal is to make it through an entire episode (22 minutes!).
Food-wise, I'm not following Tracy's plan yet, but I think I probably will as soon as I can get to a grocery store. I've been doing much better in that department in the past few weeks, eating healthily and not too much, but something about starting a new exercise program must have sent me reeling because I worked late last night and on my way home, I stopped at the grocery store and bought some total crap (cheesecake and brownie bites, oh my god). I did walk home from the grocery store, about a 20-minute walk, and I slipped and fell right on my side in the parking lot. Stupid ice, stupid winter. Anyway, I'll try to be reasonable about the desserts - oh, who am I kidding - honestly and realistically, I'll probably end up finishing the cheesecake tonight (under my usual excuse of "but at least then it'll be over and done with!") but maybe toss the brownie bites in the freezer and focus on eating healthy whole foods again. We'll see how that goes.
That said, I wasn't too keen on continuing the trend today, but I dragged myself out of bed and did my MS (20 reps of almost everything... the two leg exercises in the middle had me scraping by with 15 - but I did use one-pound weights for my arms this time!), and then I did 15 minutes of cardio on my rebounder while watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians (a habit I picked up after reading Mindy Kaling's Book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?). Unfortunately, I ended up watching the episode about the anniversary of the Kardashians' father's death, which wasn't too motivating. My new goal is to make it through an entire episode (22 minutes!).
Food-wise, I'm not following Tracy's plan yet, but I think I probably will as soon as I can get to a grocery store. I've been doing much better in that department in the past few weeks, eating healthily and not too much, but something about starting a new exercise program must have sent me reeling because I worked late last night and on my way home, I stopped at the grocery store and bought some total crap (cheesecake and brownie bites, oh my god). I did walk home from the grocery store, about a 20-minute walk, and I slipped and fell right on my side in the parking lot. Stupid ice, stupid winter. Anyway, I'll try to be reasonable about the desserts - oh, who am I kidding - honestly and realistically, I'll probably end up finishing the cheesecake tonight (under my usual excuse of "but at least then it'll be over and done with!") but maybe toss the brownie bites in the freezer and focus on eating healthy whole foods again. We'll see how that goes.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Metamorphosis, day 1, and an introduction.
So I finally decided to move my blog over here from Tumblr (http://hourglasspersonality.tumblr.com) , mainly because on Tumblr, I felt like I had to keep posting constantly to keep my followers, so I ended up posting and reblogging a lot of "fitspiration" pictures, which is fine, except that I wasn't focusing on my own fitness journey.
I ordered Tracy's Metamorphosis program for Christmas, but it's taken me about a month to finally get up the courage to start - and I have to admit that thinking about the next 90 days (and onward!) is a little stressful and panic-causing. But I keep reminding myself to just take it one day at a time. I'm not an athletic person AT ALL, so I don't find joy in working out (yet). I'm kind of looking at my workouts kind of like brushing my teeth - I don't have to like it, I just have to do it. That said, it did feel pretty good to work out this morning, and I'm kind of loving the ache in my arms and legs and butt (oh, how I missed you, Tracy ache).
I wanted to use this blog as a place to track my measurements and progress, and to try and hold myself accountable. So, we'll start with measurements, which I'll take every time I start a new level, so every 10 days.
Measurements, day 1:
weight: 201 lbs
bust (cup): 41"
bust (band): 32.75"
arm (L): 13"
waist (smallest part): 32"
stomach (belly button): 41"
hips: 45"
thigh (L): 23"
I feel pretty gross sharing those numbers, but I'm trying to use it as motivation to move forward! And speaking of motivation, I also wanted to share some of my goals.
My long-term fitness goal is to get down to 120-140 lbs, and a size 4-8, depending on how I look and feel when I get there. Short-term, I'm aiming to lose 10 lbs/month, but I won't beat myself up if it goes slower than that, as long as I'm doing my workouts and really pushing myself.
By the end of my first 90 days, I'd like to fit comfortably into a pair of black jeans that I have - I don't know what size they are, but I'm also trying to measure by how my clothes feel, so that will be one indication.
My birthday is at the end of August (the 24th!), and I'd really like to be at the top of my goal weight by then, so that gives me seven months to lose 60 lbs - which fits into my 10 lbs/month goal, with a little leeway.
I really want to watch myself grow stronger (especially in the arms!), not just physically but emotionally as well. I want to feel good about myself, I want to be able to take pride in taking care of myself and building a better body. I don't want to be super-skinny, just fit and toned and healthy and strong - but still curvy and with a well-defined waist - somewhere between Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Vanessa Ferlito in Death-Proof.
Now, with all of that said, let me finish on this note: I barely managed to scrape through the MS portion of today's workout. Arms were amazing, I could feel it almost right away (and I didn't even use weights at all today!), standing abs were amazingly HARD because I have no idea how to move my abs that way for some of the moves she does, but I'm learning - and legs, as usual, were the hardest for me. I could hardly get through them all, and I definitely didn't get 40 reps in on either side, more like 15 or 20 for some of those moves. But I won't give up, and I'll keep working my way up to 40 every day. As for cardio, I did 15 minutes on my rebounder and that ended in near-tears, haha. But I'm determined that even if I have to start small, my focus is just to keep building. As long as I don't quit, I can only go up from here.
I ordered Tracy's Metamorphosis program for Christmas, but it's taken me about a month to finally get up the courage to start - and I have to admit that thinking about the next 90 days (and onward!) is a little stressful and panic-causing. But I keep reminding myself to just take it one day at a time. I'm not an athletic person AT ALL, so I don't find joy in working out (yet). I'm kind of looking at my workouts kind of like brushing my teeth - I don't have to like it, I just have to do it. That said, it did feel pretty good to work out this morning, and I'm kind of loving the ache in my arms and legs and butt (oh, how I missed you, Tracy ache).
I wanted to use this blog as a place to track my measurements and progress, and to try and hold myself accountable. So, we'll start with measurements, which I'll take every time I start a new level, so every 10 days.
Measurements, day 1:
weight: 201 lbs
bust (cup): 41"
bust (band): 32.75"
arm (L): 13"
waist (smallest part): 32"
stomach (belly button): 41"
hips: 45"
thigh (L): 23"
I feel pretty gross sharing those numbers, but I'm trying to use it as motivation to move forward! And speaking of motivation, I also wanted to share some of my goals.
My long-term fitness goal is to get down to 120-140 lbs, and a size 4-8, depending on how I look and feel when I get there. Short-term, I'm aiming to lose 10 lbs/month, but I won't beat myself up if it goes slower than that, as long as I'm doing my workouts and really pushing myself.
By the end of my first 90 days, I'd like to fit comfortably into a pair of black jeans that I have - I don't know what size they are, but I'm also trying to measure by how my clothes feel, so that will be one indication.
My birthday is at the end of August (the 24th!), and I'd really like to be at the top of my goal weight by then, so that gives me seven months to lose 60 lbs - which fits into my 10 lbs/month goal, with a little leeway.
I really want to watch myself grow stronger (especially in the arms!), not just physically but emotionally as well. I want to feel good about myself, I want to be able to take pride in taking care of myself and building a better body. I don't want to be super-skinny, just fit and toned and healthy and strong - but still curvy and with a well-defined waist - somewhere between Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Vanessa Ferlito in Death-Proof.
Now, with all of that said, let me finish on this note: I barely managed to scrape through the MS portion of today's workout. Arms were amazing, I could feel it almost right away (and I didn't even use weights at all today!), standing abs were amazingly HARD because I have no idea how to move my abs that way for some of the moves she does, but I'm learning - and legs, as usual, were the hardest for me. I could hardly get through them all, and I definitely didn't get 40 reps in on either side, more like 15 or 20 for some of those moves. But I won't give up, and I'll keep working my way up to 40 every day. As for cardio, I did 15 minutes on my rebounder and that ended in near-tears, haha. But I'm determined that even if I have to start small, my focus is just to keep building. As long as I don't quit, I can only go up from here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
