[catching up: my weeks in workouts | eleven and twelve]

Well folks, I seem to have fallen behind. There has been a ton going on in my world, and my body doesn't necessarily know how to deal with it all. So here are the images for my week in workouts that I haven't posted.

[week eleven]

[week twelve]

Frankly, I'm exhausted and only posting this to keep myself accountable. 

"i am almost never sure about what i want, but i am always sure about what i don't want."

- anonymous

[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

[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 eight]

How crazy is it that it's week 8 already? Time flies for sure. How crazy is it that it's New Year's Eve? All around time has flown this year. Or maybe I've just been busy. We'll get to my resolutions later, but for now, here's last week's workout. It sucked a bit that I was sick on Christmas and my first day at my new job, [more details on that later too], but I had to not work out those days, I literally couldn't. This week has already been so much better, i'm in such a good place physically and mentally. My motivation is great and i'm on such a roll. I'm so glad to be ending the year this way and to be starting 2015 so well!

My workout:

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve!!!

"life is very short. insecurity is a waste of time."

- diane von furstenberg

[my week in workouts | week seven]

Well folks, GET EXCITED. I start my new job Monday!!! More details to come on being a working woman again, but first: this week in workouts. My lack of workout on Monday was because we were traveling 13 hours to get to Miami and Thursday I just didn't have time. Other than that, I'm loving being back at my gym and getting into something of a routine. I'm really excited for this week, since I remembered I got a FitBit Flex a few months ago and never learned to use it. I set it up and will start using it this week to keep track of my steps and hopefully my food and water intake.

You'll see a huge difference between this week and the one before it, and things are only going to improve from here!

Have a good week all! Happy Holidays!

"she believed she could, so she did."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week six]

Let me start by saying I'm hugely disappointed in myself and my results. My trip to Tennessee ended up being much more of a hiatus than I'd originally intended and the weather definitely meant more coffee, hot chocolate, and hearty (aka caloric) soups. Unlike in the past, I didn't gain weight (YAY ME) but I definitely made ZERO progress. It's crazy to think I'm six weeks in and still not noticing any difference.

That said, I'm not giving up, still working and not letting the bad days make things worse. Here's week six.

Can you tell I tried to overcompensate when I finally got a chance to workout?

"will it be easy? nope. will it be worth it? absolutely."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week five]

I will go ahead and say I'm in Nashville right now! Loving it of course, as I knew I would. That being said, this weekend was a rather lethargic weekend. You'll notice there was no workout on Thursday, because I was running errands and driving to Nashville, then Saturday and Sunday were touristing days, so we walked around but I didn't have a formal workout.

Seeing a new city and trying amazing restaurants isn't always conducive to great workouts or healthy meals, but I'm trying to do it all! Now to tackle these holidays and family dinners! Good luck to you all too!

"stay patient and trust your journey."

- anonymous

[my week in workouts | week four]

Full disclosure: I am currently ashamed to be posting this. I hate what it says. BUT. I'm keeping up with my plan and will continue to be accountable in posting my workouts and progress. Obviously, this was a hard week to stick to workouts. My body was adjusting to Tennessee weather [which basically means cold mornings sleeping in] and it was also Thanksgiving week. Regardless, those are not excuses for me only getting 3 days of workout in [insert monkey emoji with hands over his eyes].

Despite my failure to put in the work, I will say that I succeeded in staying healthy so far. It's been hard, but I've been eating healthy ever since I got here. The best part of all is the change in attitude I have at where I am. One month ago, I would've had so much self-hatred for not having a productive or 'fit enough' workout this week. Not today. Today, I'm accepting. I'm realizing that life happens and choosing not to waste my time and energy being mad at myself. Instead, I'm learning and gearing up to adapt and change my behavior so I don't repeat my previous mistakes. So here's my horrible week in workouts from last week. Here's to improvement.

"the temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

- chinese proverb

[my week in workouts | week three]

So, saying this past week has been a hiatus from my intense workouts is an understatement. Everything was going fine until Wednesday, when we drove 13 hours from Miami to Knoxville. That didn't exactly leave much time to work out. I got some exercise in on Thursday, but Friday we touristed around all day so I didn't get a chance to work out then either. And then when Sunday came around, it was quite the Sunday, so I was just lounging around.

I WILL make this week a more productive one, even though it's Thanksgiving!

Have a good week all!

"life's under no obligation to give us what we expect."

- margaret mitchell

[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