Girly Workout

Hello, readers!!

"Wow- what a lame title."

I agree. That should be spicier, right?

Recently, someone told me that my workouts were girly and, to put it a little shorter, basically not real workouts.

Definition of a Workout: N. Anything that makes you sweat.... V. the performance of any physical act that causes perspiration.

(I made those up... obviously.)

I'm sharing this ridiculousness with you, dear readers, because I know several of you that do the same workouts I do, shortly after I post my thoughts on said workouts. (There will be a follow up to this later in this post..)

Today's "Non-workout" consisted of....

50 Air Squats

50 of those reverse crunches where your legs go up

50 Push ups

50 Lunges

Not a ton, but it made me sweat and burned some calories.

Now here's the question- does that constitute a workout, or have I just wasted my time?

When you ladies and gentlemen use any of the apparent "non-workouts" that I post on the blog, does it count as a workout to you?

To me, they're legitimate workouts, and anyone who says differently is just lame.

To prove how efficient today's workout was, I will now post gross pictures.

Enjoy!

I'm getting a little definition... Yay!

Admittedly could work on my back...

Clearly one arm is more buff....

Do any of you have any girly totally kick butt workouts to get my back in shape?? If so, share them here!! And if any of you would like to do a guest spot in which you share your favorite workout, please let me know! I'd love to share your enthusiasm to help inspire others!

Until we sweat again!

Buckets

"Don't stop when it hurts, stop when you're done."

Today, I suffered through the full extent of that phrase.

As you all probably didn't even care to know, cheerleading for the school with which I am currently employed begins in 1 month and 8 days. Through much tedious planning (read: Pinterest) I have come up with workouts to get my girls in shape... the only foreseeable problem being that I myself am out of shape and need to be able to not only do the workout with the girls, but be able to instruct them while doing such.

Enter today's first trial of the "Oh, those will be so simple, I'll do all 3" workout session.

Here's what these "Oh, those will be so simple, I'll do all 3" workouts look like:

THIS is not a ONE SONG workout. More like 2 1/2.

So super simple, right??

WRONG.

First of all, whenever it said to do anything like butt kicks, or Russian twists, or bicycles.. I took that to mean double the amount, because that number for each leg, right??

WRONG.

Icona Pop's "I Love It" is not NEARLY long enough for all they're asking you to do, at least not if you're doing it properly... meaning the way I just described. That, to me, would yield the best results, right???

WRONG.

Secondly, Kanye West's "Power" is the LONGEST SONG EVER. There's just no need to have that much extra music, unless you're going SUPER slow. I even doubled up on everything (you know, like you should), and there was still about 2 minutes left over. Ridiculous.

Finally, wall sits suck. Period.

So now I pose the question to you all- are these workouts too ridiculous for my cheerleaders? And if so, what suggestions would you have for an alternative workout?

Maybe give them a try for yourself and let me know from personal experience? Yeah??!?

(Disclaimer- make sure you search for the CLEAN version of the songs. Real life.)

Until we sweat again!

Oh- and the title refers to the amount of sweat that came out of my disgusting self today. Buckets. Seriously. It was gross.

Back On That Grind

Hey everyone!

Wow it's been awhile!

Some new things- I left Sioux City and have moved into my new home in Ames. I now live with 2 girls that are much younger than I, and if that doesn't make your self esteem do a big "Wah Wah Waaaahhhhh" I don't know what does.

Totally kidding! But, it does make you go, "You know what... I could make my body look like that." And pushes your otherwise totally vanished workout drive back into full gear.

However, because I am now paying for a place to live as well as my other financial responsibilities, getting a gym membership is looking like it just isn't going to happen.

Enter home workouts!!

About a week ago, I took a screen shot of a Morning Workout, and tried that one out today. Let me just be the first to say that holy cow, I am out of shape.

This was the workout. I changed a few things to what I felt would be the most beneficial. By that I mean it looked more like this...

100 Jumping Jacks

20 Wall Push Ups (I'll get there, friends.)

50 Sit Ups

50 Squats

100 Jump Ropes

Admittedly, next time I will probably find another set of 20 to do (Maybe another set of push ups??) to make it go 100-20-50-50-20-100 because I'm weird.

Do any of you have any at home workout suggestions to get my butt back in gear??

Please let me know!

Until we sweat again!!

Accountability

Spring break has come and gone- taking with it all my hard work to get me into crop tops and tight skirts.

Surprise! I'm back at square one!! ...... again.

I thought I was being such a good girl on vacation. The initial drive to Ohio, I ate very minimally. I had my 300 calorie Gluten-Free adult version of a Lunchable, ate Larabars, and guzzled water like a fiend.

That's when Steak N' Shake happened.

After that, it was all downhill. I couldn't keep my hands off of food. It didn't matter to me if it was Gluten-Free pasta, Gluten-Free lasagna, Gluten-Free brownies, or Popeyes- If it was food, I found a way to eat as much of it as possible.

This week, I feel like a cow. (I know, positive self talk is the way to go, but for real. I feel HUGE.) This leads me to what I need to do, and how my friends, family, and dear readers can help me out!

1. I need to chill out when it comes to eating. For real.

2. I need to get back into the workout groove. (I'll elaborate below)

3. I need to be HELD ACCOUNTABLE.

1) I can eat food ALL DAY if given the opportunity and enough variety of choices. I honestly have days where I live to eat, which should NEVER be the purpose of food. Food is there to keep you nourished and healthy, not to fill your gut until you burst.

(Must remember this....)

2) My workout groove!! Along with my 21 Day Fix dvds, I have decided to partake in a 30 day 30 Burpees challenge. Basically, I have to do 30 burpees every day for 30 days. I can break them up however I want, as long as I get 30 done. (Burpees suck, by the way. I hate them and they do not make me feel happy.)

3) That whole accountability thing.... This is where you all come in! I have a hard time saying no to unhealthy food, and yes to fitness and actually working out. (I'm usually forced to do it kicking and screaming.) I need all of you to basically be total jerk wads about my fitness goals. If you see me snacking on a donut, I give you full leave to take it directly from my hand and run water over the thing before tossing it into the garbage. Same goes for sugar filled sweets and sodas. Seriously- the bigger jerk you are about it, the less likely I am to have a repeat offense.

Also, I'm not even sure how many of you are actually reading this, but I need to hear something from you all to let me know there are people counting on me to get my ass up and WORK OUT!! (Even if it's just for the comedic experience of my after thoughts. I'm not picky!)

This is me- 2 months away from summer- getting my butt toned and ready to go!!

Until we sweat again!

Thanks to Me

Recently, I read a quote that went a little something like this...

At first, I took this as "Put down the donut. Your future self will thank you for not giving her crippling abdominal pain and bloating."

Then, it slowly morphed into, "Take the stairs- it'll hurt later, but your future self is going to have a great butt!"

Finally, I arrived to Monday- when I took one look at the beautiful weather and thought "....A run actually sounds kind of good..."

Well, my past self was thinking of my future self and they tag teamed up for this little photo op:

A great big THANKS to me!!

Pay no attention to me wearing virtually the EXACT same outfit.....

That's right- I high-fived myself 6 days apart!! 

Since that first day, I've been trying to get myself out to run just 1 mile every day- and so far I've been off to a good start! But I have to give a giant shout out to past me, because if I hadn't started that first day, I wouldn't be running still. (Which you all know is something I normally loathe entirely.)

You have to go back and read that in the Grinch's voice, btw.

What's something you plan on doing for YOUR future self? Comment on here or on Facebook- or better yet, tell a friend! Get them inspired to join you! Suffer together!!!

Until we sweat again!!

Spring Fever

I know you've all been bursting at the seams to read my next blog post and I have been bursting as well- with sickness.

Your biggest question: "What do you mean, you were sick??" My answer: "Seriously just don't ask. It's not cute."

Your second question: "How'd the 21 Day Fix Extreme go!?!?" My answer: "Eh- again this loops back to the being sick junk. I made it through a grand total of 11 days and got hit HARD with nastiness of all kinds, which made working out completely impossible. However, I'm back on the 21 Day Fix Extreme grind once more and will post before and after pics in a few shorts weeks!"

Now- I know I have readers from all over, but I'm assuming most of you are from Iowa (cause, you know, I don't know many people from anywhere else.) The weather here has gone from bitterly cold to Spring in a matter of .2 seconds and we all know what that means!

EXERCISING OUTSIDE!!!!!

I recently told someone that I HATE running. I despise it. My legs get all crampy and my running pants slide down my butt and my chest is a freaking spectacle to passersby... UGH. And when they pointed out that running is great because of all the wonderful scenery, I was a little like, "Yeah I suppose... if you're anyone but me since I just stare at the ground the whole time so I don't trip over a piece of gravel and face plant in front of God and everyone." (Can you tell I have issues with being a klutz?)

Then, after school today, I had a strange powerful urge to go for a run. Nothing huge, just a quick mile to get myself moving. (I mostly just wanted an excuse to rock my brand new Under Armour headband. Seriously adorable.)

I walked the first really huge hill because I had to get warmed up, right? Riiiight. After that, I reached the first straight stretch and just kept thinking "Left, right, left, right, left, right..." (Seriously. That is all I'm thinking while I run. "Just don't die, just don't die...") Before I knew it, I was cruising right on past families walking their dogs and college kids hanging out outside... I felt like a total champ- like Rocky Balboa (...only doing WAY less work.)

Oh Yes. Love me some Rocky.

This is where the urge to potty hit me like a brick wall. I've been told that as you get older, you start to need to potty more often. I, however, didn't think this would start happening at the age of 25. All I can say is it was a MIRACLE that I was a few houses away from my friend and boss whose darling children let me in to use the ladies' room (and snag a quick sip of water) and I was off again.

The restroom break really threw a wrench in my stride. My legs had tasted the sweet temptation of NOT running, and they were in no hurry to leave their state of rest. I legitimately tried to run up hills and down hills and along straightaways, but it was useless. My legs were lead. I ultimately jog-walked the last half mile home where I sat on the front steps, stripped off my jacket, and thoroughly enjoyed the cool breeze for the first time today. I even took a selfie.

Moments later, I would realize my neighbor was watching me. Creeeeeeeeeepy.

This is good! I ran... and I didn't even die! Just think of all the wonderful possibilities ahead of me. I could actually get some cardio in that doesn't involve Autumn Calabrese yammering on the whole time. Yay!!! (Also, Under Armour headband. Cute, right??)

What are you doing to take advantage of this gorgeous weather?!

Until we sweat again!!

Cravings

It's no secret, I'm dieting learning to eat healthy by starvation learning more realistic portion sizes with the constant nagging help of the she devil lovely Autumn Calabrese.

It's also no secret that I would commit murder for a freaking Jitters donut right about now. (It's a Sioux City thing. As in, totally worth the trip to Sioux City. For real.)

So, the craving thing. How exactly are you supposed to get over it? Because it SUCKS.

I've read up on it and here's what I've come up with so far:

It's kind of hard to read, but the gist of it is this:

If you want........

Chocolate- eat seeds and veggies and fruit

Sweets- eat fruit, veggies, and nuts

Breads/Pastas- eat leafy greens, nuts, and seeds

Oily/Fatty Foods- eat broccoli, asparagus, and figs

Coffee/Tea- eat Veggies, nuts, celery, and tomatoes

Salty Foods- eat Celery, tomatoes, nuts, and seeds

Soda- eat Broccoli, asparagus, and figs

PMS Cravings- eat Pumpkin seeds, leafy greens, and veggies

Basically, if you want to eat something not on your approved dietary list, just shove fruits, veggies, seeds, and nuts in your mouth because they're obviously a cure all.

I personally am not a huge fan of just NOT eating anything that you crave. Do I think you should go ape on a box of chocolates? Absolutely not. However, I think if you're having a huge craving for chocolate, you should be okay with having a small piece and moving on.

Recently, with this new workout, I've been putting an ungodly amount of chopped, frozen fruit in my water bottle to give it a little flavor, so that when those sudden urges to chow down hit me, I can chug some water and still get some flavor. (Because no one is appeased by just straight H2O. Let's be honest.) After about half an hour, if I'm still feeling really hungry, I'll let myself have a small treat (or more if it's something healthy.)

Which brings us to another way to tell if you're actually hungry, or if you just want to be eating.

Each time you're hungry, and think about grabbing a handful of chips or a cookie, instead, think of preparing a salad. Think of getting out the spinach, slicing cherry tomatoes, slicing a cucumber, etc. If you aren't hungry enough to go through all of that work, you aren't really hungry. (Try it. It's fool proof... Unless you're me. I almost always just grab a small piece of chocolate. Don't be me.)

Basically, dieting learning to eat healthy sucks. You're all a bunch of crazies if you're doing any of this along with me.

However, I cannot express how much I appreciate all of you sticking this journey out with me. In the words of some rando on Pinterest...

Until we sweat again!

Getting Your Fix

Hey there, dedicated readers.

It's been a couple weeks.

Some things have gone down- mostly, I've decided to bail on Crossfit for awhile and give my undivided attention to one trim, admittedly kind of adorable she-devil. Her name?

Autumn Calabrese

Don't let her smile and her tight bod fool you. This woman is satan reincarnate. She giggles during her workouts. GIGGLES. What kind of a monster thinks making you hold a resistance band at chest height, arms spread, is giggle material?

A sadistic little hell demon, that's who.

Backing up.....

I recently decided to embark upon a 3 week journey (with the aforementioned spawn of satan) in the form of 21 Day Fix Extreme (emphasis on the EXTREME).

Basically, I have a 21 day fitness program, which includes eating a limited number of calories, and only specific types of food, in very specific amounts.

For instance, in a single day I can have:

3 cups of vegetables

2 cups of fruit

4 cups of lean protein

1/2 a cup of carbs/starchy foods

1/4 cup of nuts/avocado/cheese/etc

1/8 cup dressing/seeds

2 teaspoons of nut butters/oils

This should end up being around 1320 calories. Apparently, this is ideal for my weightloss.

Day 1, I was puking up a storm. There was no food (unless you count my protein shake), and there was certainly no workout. (Although, on the bright side, minimal calories!!!!)

Day 2, there was a protein shake, some bell pepper slices, grilled chicken with veggies and mashed red potatoes, celery with PB2, and a grilled chicken salad with salsa for my dressing (Which I think doesn't actually count as a dressing, more of a vegetable). And, as it is Fat Tuesday and every Catholic takes that for REAL, I may have indulged in 4 itty bitty Laffy Taffys. So sue me.

I was hoping to end my night with some Peppermint Tea, but I didn't feel like washing out a cup, so here I am, in bed, blogging. (It's a glamorous life.)

What have you been up to, my workout pals? Anything new and exciting I should be trying??

(You know, AFTER Autumn Calabrese finishes mopping the floor with me??)

Keep me posted!!!

Until we sweat again!

Get Angry

I know for a fact that I have posted this quote in another format before, but I feel this is necessary for today's post..

I am not a runner by any means, but here's what I need you to remember about this picture:

The getting angry part; Angry that your body won't do what you know it's capable of doing; Angry that you're pushing as hard as you can, and you're not seeing the results you want.

Today, the workout I did was SUPER simple to understand.

7 Minutes, As Many Rounds As Possible

3 Clean and Jerks

3 Toes to Bar

6 Clean and Jerks

6 Toes to Bar

9 Clean and Jerks

9 Toes to bar

etc...

Before we began, we were doing squat cleans. This is where I first started to get frustrated. I'm trying to remember to pull my body up out of the squat, and straighten myself up before pulling the bar up, and only pulling it up enough to slip myself under it in a squat, but to pull it up with enough force that it just sort of floats in the air for a second (with weights on it, mind you), and jump my feet out 2 inches (ONLY 2 inches) when I land in the squat, and to keep my elbows up when I land in the squat....

Feeling the frustration yet?

After realizing that I just need to work on my front squats for awhile, I spoke with the trainers and was told to just break apart the clean for the workout- so I would do a power clean, then a squat, then up to a jerk. It would be a killer workout, but I could focus on the movements.

This is when my knee started to be a total jack ass.

For those of you that know, my knee was injured almost 5 years ago at Camp Dodge during some training. When I put too much stress on my knee, the pain comes out again full fledged. I start doing the front squats and cue the splitting pain through the back of my knee cap. Then, when I go to do Toes to Bar, I can't get my body to fold up to allow my toes all the way up to the pull up bar.

At this point, I am so pissed that I'm almost crying, wanting to throw my weighted bar, just angry that my body was betraying me and not showing the amount of effort I was putting into the workout. The workout ends with a 1000 meter timed row, which was honestly my saving grace. (That was about the only part of the workout that I wasn't swearing like a sailor.)

After I finished my row, I spotted Trishia, my completely fantastic yoga instructor, and all was saved. That yoga class was completely relaxing and the savasana was EXACTLY what I needed.

(Trishia, you are fantastic and can never be replaced.)

The one thing I kept hearing today, from everyone else, was that I needed to quit being so hard on myself. I kept expecting so much from my body, and when it didn't do exactly what I wanted, I got upset, rather than just listening to my body and taking it down a notch. Both trainers told me to quit bend hard on myself, several other people working out said it to me, and it took Trishia telling me to listen to my body during a very particular yoga pose for me to stop and notice that I was pushing way too hard.

So I'll leave you with this one:

Until we sweat again!

Barbie Arms and Other Stuff

I know, I know. Barbie dolls set an unrealistic standard because any woman with those breasts, that tiny waist, that ginormous head, those hips, and those itty bitty feet wouldn't be able to hold her own body upright. But seriously- just look at her arms.

This is what my arms looked like for several days after doing 75 pull ups last Thursday. I could not for the life of me straighten my arms without using my other arm to force it. OUCH. (Barbie knows the struggle. And it's real.)

That being said, I got myself into a yoga class on Sunday (where I could barely do anything) and by Monday morning my arms were straight(ish) once again!

Moving on- because the title of this post was seriously just for that one little tidbit of information. I'm cool.

So far this year, I have managed to stick with my whole "working out at least 2 times a week" deal. (I refuse to call it a resolution. Those always fail and I will not be failing at this.)

Granted, I don't always look pretty after those workouts... (See "If You Look Pretty, You're Doing It Wrong" for more on that.)

See? I'm all sweat-tastic.

However, yesterday, I actually maintained some semi-cute hair during my workout!!!

Plus, check out them guns!

I won't lie- I definitely have to talk myself into the gym literally every time I go. Most days, YOU get me to get my butt in gear because I know you'll be reading the blog.... Yesterday, my big reason for going was that I was ticked off and exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy. (And happy people don't just shoot their husbands.)

Today, I totally bailed to have family dinner and get nails done with my mom instead. I realize staying healthy is important, and that getting super fit is kind of my end goal here, but- Priorities. 

Without my mother and father, I wouldn't be here to write this obviously fantastic blog, so let's just give a great big shout out to the two of them.

They're just so adorable.

WOW- who's off topic?

Certainly not me.....

(Admittedly I had a lot of sugar today.)

My point! I have one! I think...

My point is that I'm having a lot of fun with all of my crazy ridiculous workouts, and I'm still finding time for family, so I want to hear about how much fun you've been making your workouts- and especially what other fabulous things are taking place in your life. YOU are MY inspiration, so keep ME updated as well!!

Until we sweat again!

p.s. you can always comment in the comments section directly on my blog as an anonymous guest. I would love to hear from you!!

Healthy Eats- On the Go

Hello, lovely people!

Quick update before I get to the food portion of our program: Still doing Crossfit almost daily, still kicking my butt, still taking lots of selfies.

See? So sweaty!

I've even been taking super blurry pictures of other people working out!

She really didn't want this to happen

However, on to the harsh reality about eating healthy.

I suck at this gig. Seriously- if I could, I would eat every single thing containing sugar that I could possibly get my hands on. One of my cheerleaders offered me an Almond Joy tonight, and I seriously WOULD NOT let another cheerleader eat it because I am SUCH a sugar addict. (I actually feel kinda bad about that one...)

Admittedly, I was doing okay for the most part today. I started with a protein shake, had a few organic tortilla chips with organic salsa for a snack, lettuce and turkey wraps for lunch, jicama for my afternoon snack.... (then a kindergartner offered me a cupcake. Tiny hiccup.)

And then..... my night of coaching cheerleading happened.

There is just no way that I can bring Romaine lettuce, turkey, and hummus to a wrestling meet and expect to be able to make lettuce wraps that won't be immediately stolen away. I have to survive on nachos and bunless burgers and hot dogs. They don't sell fruit in high school concession stands- the healthiest option available is water. The meet was a bust- and everyone got to listen to me complain about how hungry I was all night.

Now enter fast food options post-meet. At first I thought, "I'll have a chicken sandwich sans the bun from Wendy's..." then it became, "I'll grab an asian salad from Panera..." ..... and then I couldn't remember where I put my debit card so it became, "Maybe my sister will use Mom's debit card to buy me dinner." (She was an hour and a half away. No dice, grandma. I was SO hungry.)

Where did my little merry-go-round land me? Well, I just peaced 8 hot wings from Domino's. (I found my debit card.) However, this was after I talked myself out of 3 different pizzas. Lesser of 4 evils? I think so.

Why am I telling you this ridiculous story? Because we all slip up from time to time. I had a FANTASTIC day. I felt incredible, I didn't yak up a cupcake during my workout, and I talked myself out of my favorite fatty food- 3 times. Am I going to regret those fatty wings in the morning when I'm trying to toss around a medicine ball? Heck yes. But am I going to let one bad meal tear down everything I'm working for? Not at all. Tomorrow is a new day- with lots of Romaine lettuce ready to go- and new challenges to face (like the birthday party let's-all-go-to-a-bar deal I've got to deal with. SO many calories to turn down!!) Right now, I'm enjoying not having to do any more pull ups, or burpees, or rows. I can just sit, enjoy the pleasantly full feeling in my belly, and remember that one fat meal doesn't make you fat, just like one healthy meal doesn't make you healthy. 5 am can't come soon enough :)

.....well, actually...

Until we sweat again!!!

Busy Body

Alright folks- It's been another crazy busy week. And this time, I'm not saying that as a "This is why I wasn't working out/blogging/etc."

I don't know if I ever posted my fitness goal on here, but shortly after Christmas my sister, Mary, and I talked about it and I stated "I'd just like to get at least 2 workouts a week in before summer. 24 weeks until summer- that's less than 50 workouts. I can do that."

If I had only worked out yesterday- I would have had my two workouts in. But let's go beyond that even...

Earlier this week, my mom asked if I'd like to start designing workouts for her morning routine, and possibly for other staff members, and coming to lead those workouts in the mornings before work. 

This Friday, I gave it a try with just my mom. We did the medicine ball workout, with a few small changes in reps to get her started. For example, rather than 20 lunges per leg, we did 20 total. We did the same with the hip to hip hits and the weighted boat rocks. Mom also started out with a 2 lb. ball rather than the 10 lb. (We've since decided to buy a ball somewhere in between.) And Whew, boy, mom is feeling the burn!

Saturday, I went into Crossfit to try my hand once again. I've decided that I want to do another competition this summer, so what better time to start training than 6 months in advance? Since I'm just starting again, I did the first day of on ramp, which looks a little something like this:

Look familiar? I've done it twice before. However, I think this was my best time. I did this workout in 6:29, two minutes ahead of one of the other guys working out yesterday. 

That's right. I'm a beast.

After listening to this man come up with reasons as to why a little 130 lb girl beat him by 2 whole minutes, I then went on to do the actual workout of the day... 

I didn't actually use 75 lbs- more like 55. And I really only got through 3 1/2 rounds within the 15 minute time cap. (Part of me wishes I had stayed and just finished out the 5 rounds.)

Today? I'm bruised like a peach. I feel like I have softballs in my shoulders, my inner thighs feel like I've just jockeyed a horse in the Kentucky Derby, my buns feel like I'm 10 again and in some major trouble, and my abs.. well actually my abs don't hurt that badly. There's a bonus!!

I once heard someone say it takes 2 weeks of repetition for something to become a habit- which is what I'm hoping will happen with all of my ridiculous workouts. 

Watch for starting "before" pictures this week- because way sooner than anyone thinks, we will be at the "after".... (I'm so excited!!!!!)

This week, try doing the 40 squats, 30 sit-ups, and 20 push ups. (I won't ask for the pull ups and rowing for obvious reasons... unless you have access to a rower and a pull up bar with bands..)

Or at the very least, do each in sets of 10- or even 5. You'll get it done eventually and you'll feel better for doing it!

Don't give up on me just yet- we have got an exciting road ahead of us!!

Until we sweat again!

Snow Day Sweat

Happy Snow Day, Iowa folks!

If you're currently in Iowa, like myself, then you are probably noticing the subzero temperatures we've been enjoying as of late. If not, let me just give you the short version- the HIGH today is -2. That is 2 degrees below zero... for the HIGH.  Due to the ungodly cold, the schools have been closed for the day.

I'm choosing to see this as a positive, because, thanks to these freezing temps, I now have all day to sweat!!

Today, I decided to put my 10 lb. medicine ball to some use. I generally only use it to do some of those "on your butt, knees at 90 degrees, hit the ball on either side of your hips" deal... Clearly I need to learn the name for those...

However, I looked up "10 lb. Medicine Ball Workouts" this morning. (No lie, those were the exact words I typed into Google.)

Here is what Google came up with for me:

15 reps Cross Chop

15 reps Figure 8

15 reps Split Pushup Knee Tuck

15 reps Balancing Burpee

20 reps Front Lunge Pass Under

15 reps Tricep Matrix

20 reps Extension Pass

20 reps Hip to Hip Boom

20 reps Weighted Boat Rock

I suck at giving explanations for all of these, so if you'd like detailed accounts of what to do, click on the link for this Awesome Medicine Ball Workout!!!

To give you some context of my transformation from, "oh hey, you don't look too terrible in the morning" to "Damn. You did a workout, huh?" I took a before and after picture.

Before this hellish ordeal

 And, drumroll please......

After.

Okay, admittedly not a HUGE difference, but that's only because I kept wiping the sweat off my forehead using my t-shirt. Don't let my smile fool you- I was in pain.

Had we not had a snow day today, I was planning on waking up 30 minutes before I had to be at work, and working out with my cheerleaders after school at practice- and let's be honest, I was probably going to be in a crummy mood so I would've bucked working out at that point. Don't follow my lead on that one. Bad lead.

You, however, can do something positive for your body at any point during the day. Take 5 minutes of your 15 minute break and do calf raises by your desk, or try to keep your knees up and feet off the floor for as long as you can while you work. Do squats during commercials while you watch television. Heck- do just 25 lunges across your classroom while the kids are at specials or recess. This whole workout took me less than 15 minutes, and that was with me whining and stopping to catch my breath after every 5 reps. You have the time to get a workout in- you just need to find your motivation!! And to be honest, all of you reading this are my motivation. I know we can do this and I can't wait to see all of the results- not only mine, but yours as well!!

Until we sweat again!

P.S. You also need a rocking playlist. Check out the playlist entitled "100 Top Workout Songs in the World" on Spotify. (It's free- don't worry.) The songs are upbeat, and fun, and are sure to help you get your butt in gear! Now get up and do something!!

Fastest Post EVER

So apparently waking up to workout is not my thing.

5 a.m. rolled around and I hit the snooze button 4 times.... It would have been more but my phone eventually went to "Either get up now or be late to work later, slacker." So then I rolled around in my bed not wanting to get up and, get this- my brain actually spoke to me and said "Get up and work out or you're going to regret it later."

My brain is a genius......

So what did I do? I got up and did the damn thing!

This was my workout today:

Admittedly kind of difficult to read

I like this workout because it's QUIET. I live with my family, on the top floor above someone else's room, and even if I went downstairs and did a workout in the living room, any bouncing or jumping would wake other people up.

So- Have kids? A hubby? A roommate or two? Or even neighbors?

No more excuses! I was a sweaty mess after this, AND it was SILENT.

See? All sweaty.

I warned you- this is the shortest post ever, but I didn't really plan a time to post to the blog today... so I'm just going to leave you with this....

Get up, get moving, and get healthy. You've got this, I know you do!!

Until we sweat again!!