[my week in workouts | week nine]

Good Monday morning friends!!! I'm feeling great this morning. So far I've kept to all my resolutions and just generally feel great this morning - healthy, clean, and ready to tackle this week. Last week was the beginning of the new year, and I started a new thing on Instagram. Basically every day i'm going to post my workout or activity of the day to keep myself accountable.

Notes on the above:

* glute pulls: got this idea from Brittany Perrillee on Instagram, she does them here. 

* leg press set: anytime I say this, it means I did narrow, normal, then wide as far as positioning my legs

* bosu ball squats: squats standing on the ball side of a boss ball

* bosu ball sits: where you go from standing to squatting to sitting on a bosu ball and then stand again. You don't sit for long but focus more on squatting.

* isotrak step machine: this is the kind we have at my gym. 

You'll notice on Thursday I didn't have a formal workout, because it was the first! We spent it at my aunt's house as a family so I didn't need to do a real workout, but we had an intense bike ride, so that was a good start to my year. 

"create a life that feels good on the inside, not one that just looks good on the outside."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week two]

After the first week of documenting my workouts I really started to feel more motivated to exercise. Oddly enough, it was like a positive assignment/homework I wanted to do. So I'm going to keep at it. The amazing thing is how much power we have over our bodies. Ultimately, our bodies are our works of art, we can change them [pretty much] as much as we want to. It's crazy how even after that first week, going into the second week, my body felt so different. On leg day my knees felt stronger (I have knee problems, no surprise there), on tricep day my biceps and triceps already started to look a tiny bit more defined, and it's all a direct result of my actions and choices. Sitting here after week two, I'm feeling so much better and ready to push that much harder!!!

I also thought it'd be beneficial this time around to explain some things, since I abbreviated them:

• Leg press sets: I do the leg press machine, 15 reps with my knees and feet together, 15 in a regular squat, 15 as wide as I can. That's 1 set, which I do as many times as I can.
• Plank circuit: To strengthen my abs and lower back, I do three plank sets. Each set is: 10 seconds regular plank, 10 seconds on one side, 10 seconds the other side. 
• Step workout: I basically did random stuff on the step, working a little cardio into my leg routine.
• #SweatTour2014 is a workout created and taught by Dawn Archer. Her story is incredible, and she has traveled to 47 states so far teaching this class in random parking lots, parks, and gyms. The workouts are different each time and last about an hour. Honestly, I was surprised how much it kicked my butt. 

All in all I'm noticing some awesome changes in my body and am looking forward to week three!!! Get to sweatin' y'all!

"you'll turn out ordinary if you're not careful."

- ann brashares

[my week in workouts]

Something I've been trying to do recently is document my workouts; it keeps me more accountable and helps me gauge my progress. Obviously I pull inspiration and ideas from all kinds of sources, from Instagram accounts to Pinterest workout ideas. This was my week in workouts from last week, and Sunday was my rest day. Here's to seeing some improvement!

"remember the girl who gave up? nobody else does either."

- anonymous