March 11, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 10/52

Has it really been 10 weeks since I started this challenge? Wow.

What I did last week:

Thursday-10 minutes on the row machine…HOLY MOLY what a burn. 20 minutes on the elliptical.

Sunday-We took advantage of the beautiful weather and took the kids on a walk. The dogs have been needing more time outside so it was nice to finally be able to get out with the temps not freezing.

Tuesday-30 minutes on the elliptical.

Impressed by:

Making it to 10 minutes on the rowing machine. I wanted to stop at 5.

Struggled with:

My period has come back with a vengeance so I had to sit out from the exercise game due to being in pure agony.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I tackled the rowing machine! I am not sure if it was like a beast, or if it was the beast. Either way, it was an intense 10 minutes. It has been a long time since I have been on a row machine, and apparently I forgot how it hits everything so I was a little shocked at first that I couldn’t do more than 10 minutes.

What is my goal for next week?

To work out at least 5 days. I have been struggling a little bit, so I need a little goal motivation. Plus I will be going on a road trip at the tail end of next week, so I need to make this week count!

Fitness Thoughts:

I have seen some positive improvements, but the process is slow. I still struggle at times getting out the door or remembering to do at-home workouts. The thing about fitness, unless it is your job, you really have to decide to make it a priority every day. It is not a one time decision. If you want to see changes in the long run it has to be a habit that makes it into your every day in some way. I think that is hard for anyone to find that time, but also the balance that it won’t become a chore. I think that is why so many people struggle with fitness. It is so easy to push it out of your day. So easy. As a working mom, there are so many other things that I could be doing, but should I be? I mean really does my kitchen need to be clean?I need to remember to make a conscious effort to move a little more every day. It definitely takes a re-framing of your mind every day.

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March 4, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 9/52

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minutes on a treadmill. I have been keeping a monthly log on my progress. I have increased my mileage for this time by almost a half mile since January. I would say that is progress.

Saturday-We had a kids’ party to attend during our normal gym time so I had to make some adjustments. We walked around the mall for an hour that afternoon. Shopping is a sport people, especially when you are pushing a stroller! Instead of sitting watching the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars, for that entire hour I marched and jumped around the living room with George. It is really hard to keep moving for a whole hour, but I did it! I definitely looked like one of those Leslie “Walk at Home” videos.

Sunday-Another day I didn’t make it to the gym, but have no fear I still made this body move. I did 15 minutes of stairs. My calves are still feeling it days later. I also did an hour of mini squats unintentionally while trying to bounce/rock George to slumber. I think this totally counts as a workout!

Tuesday-30 minutes on a bike.

Impressed by:

Seeing how much I have improved on my mileage while running. I would love to be able to run a 30 minute 5K, so this was some positive progress. (My PR for a 5K is 34 minutes.)

Struggled with:

Apparently I struggled to work out on Monday and Wednesday. Monday I will be honest I just wanted to watch the Bachelor and enjoy sitting on the couch with Tom for more than 5 minutes in passing. So that is what I did!

Did I meet my goal from last week?

My goal was to be more positive about myself, and I really tried to do this! I started an open note on my phone to help. Whenever I was feeling down about myself, I would challenge myself to think about at least one reason why I love my body and record it there. I wont share all of them but here are a few: “I love my body because it allows me to hold George. I love my body because it allowed me to walk across a graduation stage on two separate occasions for college degrees. I love my body for the ability to carry a child safely into this world through pregnancy and birth. I love my body because it helped me finish 5 half marathons.” These affirmations are a good reminder of what I can do because of the body I was given. It is reminding me how lucky I am, and also how strong I really am as a woman. Seeing and reflecting on these really helps me shift my thought process to a much more positive one and serve as a testament that I do have a choice how I view myself! Also our admin assistant asked me the other day if I had lost weight and complimented me on how great I look. I laughed and said that I had actually gained weight, but it was another reminder to not worry so much about what I see in the mirror. We are all beautiful!

What is my goal for next week?

To tackle the row machine like a beast.

Fitness Thoughts:

Baby wearing a 6 month old should always be considered a form of exercise. It is no joke.

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Anyone else feeling the winter struggle on working out? (My eyes are getting a workout watching the snow right?)

February 25, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 8/52

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minutes on a bike. Spoiler alert: I met my goal!

Saturday-Our gym was closed during our normal morning sweat session due to a nice layer of ice on everything. I ended up doing a 45 minute cardio workout thanks to My Fit Coach game on my Wii.

Sunday-We were not able to make it to the gym that day due to some family obligations, so I improvised. George was also have a day with no naps so I did this leg workout while baby wearing him. I don’t know how long it was but I did a leg workout doing 5 sets of 10 reps of squats, lunges, and calf raises. His 15ish extra pounds definitely made a difference. I didn’t want to topple over by losing my balance, so I noticed it also really helped me concentrate on my form and going slow with the movements while wearing him, which added to the burn for sure. And he was content about not napping and being held, so it worked for him too. It may not seem like a lot, but I had a hard time walking up and down the steps that night and on Monday. Improvisation apparently worked!

Monday-15 minute ab workout.

Tuesday-1 hour of BodyPump. I haven’t been in a couple weeks due to family stuff on the weekends, and we will be out again this Saturday. I needed the weights in my life, so I jumped on the chance to do a weeknight class when Tom wasn’t working late. After a couple weeks off the class, I was glad I only had to stop in the chest and shoulders tracks.

Impressed by:

Motivating myself to workout at home even when I know I feel more motivated at the gym. It was good to see I can still be active and get a good workout even when my favorite routines may not be an option. I am happy that even with George on the nap struggle bus I found a way to incorporate him into my exercise and making them both a priority. I really have no excuse not to workout in some way. That leg burn while carrying George was a good reminder that even a small activity in the most random way can have positive results as far as exercise goes.

Struggled with:

Friends, if I am to be honest, I am really struggling with my weight. Like A LOT. Outside of my pregnancy, this is the most I have ever weighed. I went back down to my pre-pregnancy weight soon after giving birth, but have since gained several of those pounds back. I am very uneasy about it and have zero confidence. It is also a struggle seeing that I have gained more weight in the last two months since starting working out consistently. I know that muscle weighs more than fat, but here is the thing: pants that were large a couple months ago are no longer fitting. I wouldn’t normally freak out about the number on the scale, and honestly I rarely weigh myself to begin with. But since clothes are becoming tighter and tighter, that number is haunting me. I have emotions about it right now that I am having a hard time accepting and understanding. Even as I right this, I know it is crazy, and I need to give myself grace. Writing it out definitely makes me feel silly about the whole thing. I need to love my body more than I do and accept that I do eat healthy and am active. However as a woman, it can be very difficult to sort out all those images and feelings that can be very self-deprecating. It has been a really long time since I have been this self-conscious about the way that I look and feel. And then it is this vicious cycle that I get mad at myself for losing confidence and even worry about what the scale says. It’s a long road of growth and acceptance I guess.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

My goal was to get 6 miles on the bike. Last week I got 5.96, but this week I nailed it with a 6.13. Hoorah!

What is my goal for next week?

To be more positive about myself and remind myself of the beauty and strength that I do possess.

Fitness Thoughts:

I really like knowing how much time/reps I have left in a workout. The BodyPump instructor I had this week was not my favorite because she did not give us prompts or countdowns. I like to know how much time I have left so I know whether to pace myself or go hard on those last two reps. She was really good at her instruction on how to do it, but I need those markers of where we are at in the workout. I find those status updates motivating and push me throughout, so I was a little disappointed by that and felt lost throughout the entire class.

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What have you done this week to be healthy? What do you do to remind yourself you are beautiful? Any new workouts I should try?

February 19, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 7/52

What I did last week:

Wednesday-15 minute ab workout

Thursday-30 minutes on a new machine. It is a cross between an elliptical and step machine. My legs were on fire the entire time.

Sunday-15 minutes on the treadmill before I broke it. I am still not sure what I did, but it cleared out my workout before I was done. I cover up the mileage while I run, so I didn’t know where I was and I didn’t want to start over. I moved to a bike and did 30 minutes.

Monday-1 hour of BodyStep. This is a class where you basically march and hop all around this step bench. This class kicked my booty. I need to step it up (pun intended). Never have I felt so out of shape or uncoordinated. It was a fun workout on the snow day though!

Tuesday-30 minutes on the treadmill

Impressed by:

Going to work out on a snow day when it would have been just as easy to stay in.

Struggled with:

My grandma’s passing. It is not really fitness related but it emotionally rocked my world which in turn affects everything else. Her funeral was yesterday. It is never easy to say goodbye to someone but especially someone who was such a class act like Grandma.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

My goal was to get 6 miles on the bike. Well I got 5.96, so I would say that is close enough. I also wonder if I could have gone harder if I had not run for 15 minutes first.

What is my goal for next week?

I am going to try again on the bike to get 6 miles in 30 minutes. I mean I was so close!

Fitness Thoughts:
Sometimes I judge my workouts by how sweaty I get. I had a couple this week where I was dripping. I always think this sweat means I owned that workout, or that I had to put in a lot of effort to be owned by the workout. Either way, it’s like a badge of honor that I put it all out there.

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Have you taken a step class? Could you get the moves down? Do you ever judge your work by the sweat?

February 11, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 6/52

What I did last week:

Wednesday-15 minute ab workout

Thursday-30 minutes on the treadmill

Saturday-1 hour of BodyPump. I know you all are really excited about hearing about my BodyPump experience. I did alright this week. I know I didn’t make it through all the tracks, but I cannot remember which ones they were.

Sunday-We walked the dogs for about 20 minutes. It was such a beautiful weekend!

Monday-15 minute ab workout

Tuesday-30 minutes on the bike

Impressed by:

Being active everyday despite schedule hiccups. Seriously the people running Tom’s academy need to learn about a calendar and effective communication. They will tell him the morning of that he has to stay until 11 that night. How hard is it to pre-plan so the students know how to plan their outside lives? Apparently really difficult, or they assume they have no outside lives and responsibilities.

Struggled with:

I am having some image issues with the remnants of my baby bump. Sometimes it is hard to remember to give myself grace and know that my “imperfect” body is actually perfect. There are some pants in my closet that I think I just need to accept that my hips wont ever go back into and get rid of them, instead of letting them taunt me every time I go in there contemplating what to wear. I think it is hard too because my weight is back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, so the fact that things shifted and my pre-pregnancy clothes aren’t comfortable is discouraging. I keep thinking, “Well I lost the weight, this should be fitting! Trying to squeeze my widening hips into these pants is a definite confidence slasher. It’s a frustrating process that I just need to let go and stop focusing on so harshly.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did my workouts both Wednesday and Monday! Pats on the back.

What is my goal for next week?

I want to up my mileage on the bike to 6 miles. It has been a while since I have gotten on a bike, so yesterday my legs and tush weren’t so happy.

Fitness Thoughts:

Why are gym radios so loud? The radios at the two gyms I frequent are on so loud that I can’t hear my own music through headphones. Is it just me? I am all for having music for those that don’t have headphones, but seriously it should not be so overwhelming. Does the loud music help others workout, and I am just missing that motivational memo? I guess I just like to choose my own loud pump up jams.