Exercising

I really need to get back into an exercise routine. I'm getting really disappointed (and almost disgusted) at the way I look right now. I keep thinking to last summer when I had such a nice body. And even then, I felt like I could improve tons. But now... it's just gotten out of hand. And so I really need to find a good workout program that I will enjoy doing and that will work. Last summer, I had P90X. And that was AWESOME. It really works. But no matter how hard I try to start that again (and I've tried multiple times now), I just can't. It's OLD to me. Same thing over and over. I just can't seem to stick with it like I did when I first went on it.

Well, I found this program called the "T-Shirt Body Program" in Muscle & Fitness magazine. They're workout exercises designed to make your body look good in a normal, everyday t-shirt. Sounds pretty cool, right? I mean, I'm not going to be walking around shirtless all the time... so looking good while in a t-shirt would be ideal. It's a pretty intense workout though. Lots of barbell and dumbbell work. I've actually never worked out with a barbell before so it was a new experience for me. Chest Presses are a LOT harder than I thought they would be. lol.

I hope to at least stick with this for a month. And I need to really think about increasing my cardio workouts. I stay active through my job... but after a year of doing the same thing, I'm afraid my body has adapted to it and I'm not burning as many calories as I should be. And all the excess fat is showing up as a spare tire around my stomach. :( I need to get rid of that ASAP. I'm going on vacation in the first week of June and I need to look GOOD. (I'll blog more about that real soon)

So wish me luck on my new workout endeavors. And I hope this finds everyone well. BTW, to all of you who may still read my little blog... write me a comment and say HI. Would love to hear from all of you :)

One Hundred Push-Ups: Week 2

I've made it past Week 1 of the "One Hundred Push-Ups" program and now I'm on day one of Week 2. I'm continuing to be very proud of myself for sticking to this program. In this first day of Week 2, I did less total push-ups than the last day of Week 1, but I had less time in between each set. So it definitely was a challenge to get through all of them, but I did it. And I did an extra 5 at the end too.

I'm beginning to see even more results in my chest. It's definitely more defined than it was two weeks ago and I'm very happy. Now I need to head to the gym more often and work on the arms, shoulders, and back too. I mean, it'll definitely help keep my mind off of J! Two birds with one stone. lol. Maybe when I see even more results, I'll post some before and after photos. It'll be good for myself to track my progress.

I'm also thinking about picking up some sort of outdoor hobby. Trying to decide what I want to do... but I need one because I'm sitting at home doing nothing during the day and that's not good! Any suggestions?

Push-Ups = Bigger Muscles = GOOD

So I blogged about my Push-Ups program before and I'm really proud of myself for sticking to it. It's only been 1 week, but STILL... that's good for me! I'm usually really bad when it comes to working out. But I'm really beginning to feel that being healthy and keeping fit is making me feel better about myself. I'm liking the progress that I'm making. the progress seems minimal, but each little step is a step towards the right direction. An example of this was just the other night. For my work, I get to wear different outfits as part of my job. And this summer, I had a pair of pants that fit me a little more snug than I would like. Every time I would try to button it, I'd have to suck in a little so that I could comfortably get it closed. And it would be slightly uncomfortable bending over to put my shoes on after they were buttoned. But two nights ago, after a week off from being in that outfit, I put those pants back on, and I COMFORTABLY buttoned the pants. My first thought was, "Are these my pants?!" I unbuttoned them and checked the label and it definitely had my name in them. lol. I think I walked around and told everyone around me about my accomplishment.

Well anyway, the push-ups program is working. Each time I do the push-ups, I feel that I have more strength to do more than I could before. I just finished Week 1 right now. This last day of Week 1 had me doing 15, then 13, then 10, then 10, and then as many as possible (but at least 15), with 2 minutes rest in between each set. I decided to set a goal of 20 for that last set. So in total, I did 68 pushups tonight! That's WAY more than I ever was able to do before. And just in this past week, I can kind of see the results in my chest, my shoulders, and my arms. And that's the area that I want to work on the most. So I'm really glad that I'm getting the results that I want.

In other fitness news, last night, our work had a pizza party/movie night in celebration of the end of the Summer period. (I know it's not ACTUALLY the end of summer yet... but for work, Labor Day marks the end of Summer) And at the party, I ate a slice of Cheese pizza, 2 slices of Pepperoni pizza, a slice of Supreme pizza, and a slice of garlic bread. Oh.. and a can of Coke. Sigh... so after doing that, I felt like a big fat pig. So I desperately needed to work it off. I decided to go to the gym and go swimming. I absolutely love the feeling of swimming. I'm not good at it (I hardly go anywhere when I'm doing the freestyle) but I just like it a lot. I did a whole bunch of laps until my arms felt like they were going to fall off. And I was able to try out my new Aussiebum swimwear. ;) I felt pretty sexy in them. Can't wait until I go to the beach in them. Here's what they look like:



If only I looked THAT good in them. haha. But yeah, I love them. I highly recommend them!

Anyway, the point is I had a good work out, I'm gaining a better body, and I'm proud of myself for sticking to it. ;)