[my week in workouts | week 10]

I would like to start by saying I'm having a rather discouraged day. I needed two rest days this past week and it's only Tuesday and my body already wants a rest again. Basically my endurance / stamina is nowhere near what I thought it was. Oh well, at least now I know what to work on?

Well. Last week was my first full week of work at my new 9-5 job, with a new workout routine as well. I'm still adjusting to this new lifestyle, but overall I'm so much happier here and my body feels infinitely better. That said, I weighed myself the other day. That's probably why I'm discouraged today, since my weight has NOT BUDGED. I know it's because as I lose weight, the muscle grows and gets heavier but STILL. It's hard to remind myself of that sometimes. Plus I'm at that awkward stage where my legs and arms are bigger and haven't really started leaning out yet.

Looking at last week's workouts was actually extra helpful today, and I'm going to make adjustments to my routine this week. Let's see how that goes!

"success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

- winston churchill

[fitbit check-in]

People measure their weight loss / health / fitness in different ways. Pretty much every study ever says you need to set goals to help keep you on track and successful. I'm not a fan of the scale, because when I first start working out, I gain muscle, which means I gain weight on the scale. I go the first while weighing about the same; the noticeable changes are visible in my size and measurements, not on the scale. So instead of setting numerical weight goals, I've set workout and activity goals for myself. One of those is at least 10,000 steps measured by my FitBit daily.

SO. Here is a check in for the past 10 days (a bit off because of course I started this year and not last Monday). I'm going to re-evaluate at the end of January and probably raise my daily goal, but for right now I'm still getting used to my new lifestyle (new job, new workout routine). Here are the first 10 days of the year!

You'll notice I didn't get my goal on Thursday, January 8th, because I was sick that day and basically got home from work and laid down the rest of the day. That day of rest was much needed though and I definitely felt amazingly better afterwards!

"i never dreamed about success. i worked for it."

- estee lauder

[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