February 4, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 5/52

What I did last week:

Saturday-1 hour of BodyPump. I had to stop during most songs for a breather. I thought an elephant was sitting on me during the chest track. I only made it all the way through the tricep and bicep tracks. I blame still getting over the sickness. This was my first day back after a week off.

Sunday-1 hour of BodyFlow, which is a combo of yoga and pilates. It was a little better this week, although it makes me want to buy more yoga appropriate shirts. My shirt is not long enough for most of the moves when I am “reaching” to keep my junk covered. Nobody needs to see my mom belly.

Tuesday-30 minutes on the elliptical

Impressed by:

My balance in yoga. I may have been wobbly a little but I definitely pushed myself on that track.

Struggled with:

There really wasn’t anything major that I struggled with this week fitness wise. I was pretty content about coming back after being sick and recognized that it may not be my best week.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did not make it to a Jazzercise class. Tom’s schedule is really unpredictable. The times I was going to go he had to do things for the academy. Jazzercise does not have childcare (read-I don’t want to pay more for childcare), so I went to our regular gym instead.

What is my goal for next week?

To actually work out at home Monday and Wednesday. When I get home, there are so many other things calling my attention that I forget to do my ab workout. You would think I would be able to find 20 minutes to do it, but I honestly forget about it. I set an alarm on my phone to hopefully help me.

Fitness Thoughts:

It is definitely hard getting yourself motivated after taking some time off. It would have been really easy to just stay home a few more days. I mean TGIT came back last week, and this lady has some some stuff to watch. You just have to do it though if you want to make fitness a part of your life.

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How do you get motivated after taking time off?

January 28, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 4/52

I will be honest; this last week was a struggle. Sickness hit the Whitener household.

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minutes on an elliptical.

Saturday-1 hour of BodyPump. I made it through every song! I had to do some of the modifications to do so, but I did it! Whoop Whoop!

Sunday-1 hour of BodyFlow, which is a combo of yoga and pilates. I am still up in the air if I will go again. The instruction was a little weak, and for this kind of class I need you to tell me when to do everything. Otherwise I end up in downward dog for entirely too long, or I forget to breath.

Impressed by:

I actually made it through the whole BodyPump routine, even the planks and shoulders. I high-fived myself after the class.

Struggled with:

Unfortunately, I caught whatever bug Tom had last week. It hit me Monday afternoon, so I decided to not push it and took Monday and Tuesday off from working out. We’ll see if I get back at it tonight. I may be taking the afternoon off from work due to the urging of my boss, so exercising is probably unlikely. Let’s also hope that G doesn’t get this sinus crud.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I made it through planks!!! Granted it was a modified plank, but I still didn’t drop to my stomach! Progress people.

What is my goal for next week?

To go to a Jazzercise class. Yep that is right. I am going to pull on my leotard and leggings and Jazzercise it up.

Fitness Thoughts:

It is really interesting to see people who go to different workout classes. I think each one definitely has it’s own culture.

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Do you work out while you are sick? I don’t attempt to because I am afraid it will make it worse.

January 21, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 3/52

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minutes running on a treadmill

Saturday-1 hour of BodyPump. I had to take breaks in both the bicep and shoulders track. The planks got me too. I am not a planker. We also walked the dogs for 20 minutes that afternoon.

Sunday-20 minutes of dog walking. It was so nice outside this weekend!

Monday-1 hour of BodyPump. I made it through every song except shoulders. Those dang shoulders. Oh and I did punk out on planks for a few seconds again. We also did another 20 minute walk with the dogs. We discovered that Sonic is less than a half mile walk from our house. (I know what we are doing during the summer for date nights.)

Impressed by:

My squats and lunges. With my knee injuries, sometimes it is hard for me to push through these sets, especially lunges. I cannot do weight during these exercises so sometimes I feel really weak. But I really rocked them this weekend with my form and making the most out of the set. It may have burned, but I felt really powerful and strong throughout that whole routine.

Struggled with:

Making all of my workouts: I missed Wednesday and Tuesday. Tom’s schedule changed this week with the academy, so it interfered with my Tuesday workout. Normally he picks G up on Tuesdays, but he had to stay late for class. I was going to workout at home, but once I got home it seemed like everything else was calling my attention: George wanted love, dogs wanted love, dishes needed to be done, a meal needed to be cooked. So I just plopped myself on the floor and played with George instead of doing some cardio. I started my bible study this past Wednesday, and by the time that was over and George was in bed, I just forgot to do my ab workout.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I made it to two classes this week and wasn’t late to either of them!

What is my goal for next week?

Not to fall down on the planks. Does anyone else shake while doing planks? I feel like I never see anyone else shake…

Fitness Thoughts:

It is really easy to push working out to the back burner when you have meals to cook and dogs to get home to or whatever else. I was really discouraged when I first looked at the fact that I missed two workouts, but then I began to think about it that I made four of them. I don’t want to get into a place that I am habitually missing workouts, but at the same time I know that I need to be flexible for those random days where other things need to come first. Last night it was more important for me to play with George than it was for me to do jumping jacks. And that is ok. I think we often beat ourselves up when we “miss” a workout, and then that can quickly spiral into missing lots of workouts. Like I said I don’t want this to become a habit, but I also don’t wont to be defeated because it happened. I think if I workout at least four days of the week, I made a good effort to be active that week.

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Who are we kidding? George is the boss around here. He does what he wants.

Does anyone have surviving plank secrets?

January 14, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 2/52

Here is how week two went.

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What I did last week:

Wednesday-20 minute ab workout

Thursday-30 minutes running on a treadmill (I ran alongside the Dean for Academic Affairs. That pushed me a little more than I would like to admit.)

Saturday-1 hour of BodyPump. I know that I do not work out as well when I try to do it by myself. I LOVE going to workout classes. It is like having a personal trainer except the focus isn’t solely on me. It is really motivating to be in a room full of people. I don’t compare myself to them, it’s more of we can all do this together kind of mentality. (Ok maybe sometimes I do compare myself, but it is encouraging to push myself to their level.) BodyPump was my favorite class to go to in Ames, and I am excited to finally have a place to do it again. If you are not familiar with BodyPump, it is a strength training class that guides you through weight lifting exercises. Each song focuses on a different part of your body. I love doing weights this way. This is by far my favorite workout class I have ever taken.

Sunday-I attempted to do a half hour of yoga, but it was like everything was against me. I went to the gym but you had to provide your own mat for the class (nevermind that we were also 5 minutes late). So I had to turn around and nix the idea of that class. Then I went home to do it on the Wii, but anytime I would get into downward dog, George would start crying. So it was probably a good 10 minutes of stretching instead of full out yoga. Unless making oogly faces and baby noises at George counts as exercise, than I got a full 30 minutes in.

Monday-20 minute ab workout

Tuesday-30 minutes on the elliptical

Impressed by:

I made it completely through every BodyPump song except shoulders/back without taking a break. For not having lifted in over a year, I am happy that I kept up with the class. I would have made it through shoulders/back, but I thought I was able to do more weight than I should have. So I had to take a break in the middle to switch weights and catch my breath.

Struggled with:

On the flip side, I was upset seeing how little weight I could press. I was up to a pretty high number when I left Ames (at least high for me). It was a little eye-opening to have to start completely over with a clean bar on some things. I also have no core strength, so doing abs was ridiculously difficult. I am a little embarrassed at how much weight I could push and how many crunches I could bust out, but hey I can only go up from here.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

We have figured out a schedule, but there are still little kinks to work out which is why I was late to that yoga class. I pick up George MWF and do a light ab workout while watching TV sometime that night. Tom heads straight to the gym on those nights to do his workout. Then Tom picks up G-man on T/R so I can run after work. Then I plan on doing a class on Saturday and Sunday at our gym, and Tom and I will go to the gym together. We pay $8 a month at our gym for childcare which means we are able to workout at the same time after work and on the weekends so we can really maximize our time as a family. $8 for unlimited childcare is totally worth it to make our schedule work more efficiently.

What is my goal for next week?

Work out the kinks of our schedule so I am not late to a class. I would like to make it to two classes this next week. (We have bought a yoga mat, so I guess I can’t use that as a goal…)

Fitness Thoughts:

There are so many people at the gym in January. I really hope they all stick to their fitness goals and aren’t just resolutioners. It is a lot of money to invest in a gym membership so I hope they get the most out of it!

Do you have a gym membership? What are your favorite workouts?

January 7, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me Week 1

Week 1 out of 52: done.

A year doesn’t look so ridiculous when you count down by week.

What I did last week:

Saturday-Ran for 30 minutes on treadmill [My legs are still sore from this. I don’t even remember the last time I ran like that. It was a good run but awful at the same time.]

Sunday-45 minutes of yoga

Monday-30 minutes of cardio on the Wii [I have a video game-Fit Coach-that you can personalize your workout. It keeps up with your progress too. It doesn’t have the best weight/strength training, but it has really decent cardio and yoga. I don’t think I have had the same workout twice in the 5 years I have used it.]

Tuesday-30 minutes of yoga

Impressed by:

I am impressed with myself for actually getting up at 4:45 this week to make a workout happen. I am also impressed that I ran as much as I did for that 30 minutes considering it has been close to a year since I have gone on a good run.

Struggled with:

Getting up at 4:45am. I DO NOT wake up quickly. I know I am not a morning workout person, but it really seems like the only time I am able to get some time in besides the weekend. I know my workouts aren’t the best when I work out this early because I usually am still waking up when I am driving to work. It is all a process for me and one where I prefer not to be carrying weights or doing jumping jacks. I was cranky pants every morning.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

Since my goal was to workout at least 3 times, I would say I hit that one out of the park.

What is my goal for next week?

I want to figure out a better schedule. I know it takes time to get used to new things, but I have tried soooo many times to make morning workouts work. THEY NEVER WORK. For me at least. Half the time, I use the plank/cobra/anything-that-is-remotely-close-to-lying position as an excuse to lay my head on the floor and fall back asleep…So since I am being self-aware, I need to find a way to make working out after work do. Tom and I are figuring out a new schedule so that both of us can get what we need and not have to wake up before 5.

Fitness Thoughts:

It is hard to make this [working out] a priority with schedules of today. Work and family take precedence, and there is little or no time to exercise. Tom and I talked the other night that if both of us worked out for an hour in the evenings (assuming it is not at the same time since one of us needs to be with George), we would not see each other until 7, but really closer to 8 if you include travel time, which is when we are gearing up to put little one down for the night. I think this is why often it seems like a chore to people. I need to remember to make it fun. Hence why having it at 4:45 am is not a good idea for me. That is not fun.

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