April 21, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 16/52

What I did last week:

Wednesday-20 minutes of Ab stuff.

Thursday-I did an at-home workout for my legs. I held George while I did 5 sets of squats, lunges, and calf raises.

Saturday-1 hour of BodyPump. I got through every song except triceps and shoulders (no surprise there). Triceps I am usually good at, but I tried to up my weight to soon. Note taken body.

Sunday-This day was interesting workout wise. I set out early in the morning to walk the dogs, but it started pouring so we circled the block and maybe completed a quarter of a mile. It looked like it was going to rain all day so I planned to do two rounds of stairs for 10 minutes. I completed my first set during George’s first nap. Then the weather cleared up so I figured I would take the dogs out again. We ended up doing around 30 minutes of walking. My calves still hurt from those stairs though.

Tuesday-30 minutes on a treadmill. I did the trail workout, which is basically a hill workout but it randomly changes for you.

Impressed by:

Attempting my workout in so many ways on Sunday. You really do have to make the time.

Struggled with:

I forgot to work out on Monday which is usually a short ab day. I was too excited about looking at kid’s book for a book party I was part of on Facebook. So I struggled with that distraction and also not buying all the books. (I didn’t buy all the books, but I wanted to!)

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did meet my goal. I actually really liked the preset workout on the treadmill. I wasn’t able to run all of it because I thought I would fall of the treadmill at an incline any higher than a 5, but it was still a great workout. It was nice to just let the incline change randomly instead of having to worry about changing it myself.

What is my goal for next week?

I want to add planks to my ab workouts. Ugh I always feel like a wimp at BodyPump because I wobble like crazy even just on my knees. I want to get better at this.

Fitness Thoughts:

I know I talked about treadmills last week, but does anyone else look at the person next to them to see how they measure up on a treadmill. I hate when someone gets on the machine next to me because I feel like I am in competition with them. I rarely win though…

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Advice on adding planks to my regiment? How do you find time when you workout plans go sour?

April 15, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit For Me 15/52

Just a recap since I am 15 weeks in. I started this journey of documenting my weekly workouts to keep myself accountable to being healthy for myself. After giving birth to George in August, I really wanted my workouts to be a time to refocus on myself and be healthy for me. In turn, I am hoping that it creates balance in other areas of my life.

I do feel stronger and better about myself just after a few months. I may not be where I want to be physically but I am definitely better than I was when I started. This has also been a process of giving myself grace as well and remembering this is an adventure to be healthy for me and not healthy for some athlete model.

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minutes on the treadmill. This one was a real struggle. I ended up doing a walking hill climb because I couldn’t catch my breath running.

Saturday-30 minutes walking with the family. Pushing a stroller is a surprisingly good workout.

Sunday-30 minutes run/walk with the dogs. We managed to get it in before the downpour that day! (Hence the running part…)

Monday-20 minute ab workout.

Tuesday-30 minutes on a bike.

Impressed by:

I started thinking about it on our walk in the sprinkle on Sunday that I am pretty proud of myself for being able to walk two 75lb dogs simultaneously while alone. We have a pretty good rhythm as a trio, and I can get them to follow my lead 95% of the time while we are on our walks. Professional dog walker is in my future! (Only if I have a professional poop picker upper tagging along.)

Struggled with:

I was really upset with myself that I couldn’t run on the treadmill on Thursday. It’s not like I can blame the changing weather for my breathing issues because I was inside. But instead of quitting like I have been known to do before when my breathing becomes an issue, I kept myself going on a moderate level doing a hill workout instead. I still managed to get my legs working without compromising my lungs.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

So my goal was to walk at least 10,000 steps each day, again. After epically failing the week before, I really tried to make a better effort of getting off my tush more at work. I was about 50/50 on it, which is a vast improvement over my one day last week. Either I completely sailed it out of the park exceeding my goal by a thousand or more, or I missed it by a couple thousand. Monday was my worst day missing it by 3…whoops. Parking farther away and making more trips around my office when my alarm went off every half hour definitely helped. I need one of those treadmill desks I have decided.

What is my goal for next week?

Doing that hill workout manually on the treadmill this week made me realize that I have never done one of those preset workouts on the treadmill. I want to try one of those this week.

Fitness Thoughts:

I try to cover up my workouts stats when I am on the treadmill because it can be really distracting to just watch the minutes not go by. I think you also start to dread the workout when you are just watching it there on the screen. I really need to invest in some new headphones so I can watch the TV. I would love to walk the dogs everyday, but that isn’t always feasible with Tom’s schedule. Either all five of us go or someone has to stay at home with George. While I may feel confident walking both dogs at the same time, I do not feel comfortable with a baby and two dogs by myself. So to the gym on the treadmill I go since there is a daycare there for when Tom isn’t home. Oh those treadmill minutes…

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Have you ever done one of the preset workouts on a treadmill?

April 8, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 14/52

What I did last week:

Thursday-45 minute walk with the dogs.

Tuesday-30 minutes on the treadmill.

Impressed by:

There really wasn’t anything that stood out as impressive. But I held things together, so I guess there is that.

Struggled with:

I seem to have one good week followed by one bad week. Last week was obviously a bad week…Although Saturday and Sunday I fell into bed feeling like I worked out from the holidays. Does that count? As my husband says, workouts always get put to the back burner when push comes to shove. That was definitely the case with traveling to KC and to my in-laws all weekend.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

So my goal was to walk at least 10,000 steps each day. This only happened one day. Most days I was at least 2,000 steps away. The one day that I got over it was because I had to park in a different parking lot far away from my office because the one right outside my building was full. Plus it was the day that I ran, so that definitely helped. I really need to pick up my activity levels at work. No wonder my back hurts all the time.

What is my goal for next week?

Ok seriously, I am going to work on this 10,000 step thing. So I am going to commit to parking farther away every day. I also have an alarm set on my phone to remind me to get up every so often. In my head I think I could wake up early to walk the dogs every morning, but I know that isn’t realistic. Maybe the only time for me to work out some days is to get up earlier, but to be honest sleep is not something I want to sacrifice at this point. That would be a detriment to my health in other ways. Anyway, I am going to try again to walk a little more each day.

Fitness Thoughts:

I got some new running pants, and I LOVE them. I have hesitated getting “other than black” pants for a long time because many I have tried on make me feel gross or they become see through once you put them on. I am a firm believer in wearing underwear but also that other people don’t need to see that. Also I am one of those people that is pretty anal about my tops matching my bottoms, even when working out. So having colored pants is sometimes difficult for me. I don’t want a pair that I can only wear with one shirt because running pants are always pricey. Then I saw these, and I have many t-shirts that would fit. They needed to be mine. Now I want all the patterns! Having new workout gear always motivates me to work out more.

Do you feel more motivated after getting some new wear? Do you know of a place that has cheap running leggings?

April 1, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 13/52

What I did last week:

Thursday-30 minutes on a bike.

Saturday-1 hour of BodyPump.

Sunday-30 minutes walk/run with the dogs. They haven’t done a run in a long time, so it was nice to see what they can do. Hopefully we will be able to do more of these with the weather turning around and Tom getting out of the academy soon.

Monday-20 minute ab workout. Watching all the abs on Dancing With the Stars really pushed me to get my act together.

Tuesday-30 minutes walk/run with the dogs. Grace started protesting, so it was like running with resistance bands on my arms.

Impressed by:

Getting five workouts in.

Struggled with:

There is just a lot of stuff going on right now.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did get back on a schedule! 5 out of 7 days is pretty good! It will be messed up again this weekend with family festivities, but I want to continue doing what I can and finding time for it.

What is my goal for next week?

I got a pedometer this weekend. I can’t justify spending 100 bucks on the Fitbit to do essentially that. This one I can hook into my computer too, and track just as easily so it was much better financially. But anyway…I didn’t realize how much I don’t move at work, so my goal is to get at least 10,000 steps in every day. I have been 3-2 thousand steps below that so far since I started wearing it on Sunday.

Fitness Thoughts:

I feel much more inclined to work out when the weather is nice. The workout can still be inside, but there is just something about warmer weather that kicks me into gear. I love it! It is so nice to go for walks again and not have to be bundled up with so many layers.

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Do you workout more with nice weather? Do you have a Fitbit? Or are you old school with a pedometer like me?

March 25, 2015 by Stephanie

Fit for Me 12/52

This week I was a little lame, and there isn’t much to update on.

What I did last week:

Tuesday-30 minutes on the elliptical. Question: Does anyone out there experience their feet going numb when they are on the elliptical? Is this just me? How do I prevent this from happening? I can rarely go a full 30 minutes without them being asleep and sometimes in serious pain. Am I doing the elliptical wrong?

Impressed by:

My ability to carry a baby and a suitcase up a flight of stairs without injuring George or myself. Mommy muscles.

Struggled with:

Working out while on the road apparently, although I would say unloading and loading up my car every day counts as a workout!

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did those stretches most mornings. I have to confess that I forgot some mornings. I am really going to try to do them more often. I also did not do an actual workout while on the road, but it was really hard to figure out with the timing and how to navigate it with George so I just didn’t.

What is my goal for next week?

To get back on a schedule with my workouts. With last week being wonky, I want to really try to focus again on this time. It shouldn’t be hard, but it is my goal none the less.

Fitness Thoughts:

I am reminded again that it is so easy to say no to a workout because of convenience. There are things that I could have done in the hotel room to make a workout possible, but I decided after a day’s worth of driving that I wanted to watch Once Upon A Time laying on the bed instead. While I think I should give myself some grace, I also know that I don’t want this ease of pushing a workout aside to become a regular thing. I know I have said it before, but every day is a commitment.

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