ABs

30 Day AB Challenge, Day 2
So far, so good!
I did my AB workout yesterday, and, as small as it was, I am a little sore (yeah!)
This morning, I looked at a couple of the abdominal workouts I'd pinned from Pinterest. They are way too advanced for me right now. One of the workouts I looked at "7 moves for 6-pack abs in 30 days" most of the moves looked so difficult, I don't think I could do any of them without using poor form and hurting myself. (And no, carrying an extra 50 punds, I don't expect to get 6 pack abs any time soon). But that's OK, because now I know where to go for some more advanced moves as I get stronger!

So, here is the workout I did:
modified mountain climbers, 10 reps
seated leg lifts, 10 reps
Repeat

Here are the exercises:
Mountain Climbers
Start in a push-up position, hands shoulder-width apart, and toes on the ground. Slowly drive one knee to the chest and back down, alternating legs. Maintain a straight back throughout the exercise. To modify to make it easier (this is what I did), elevate your hands, so your body is at an angle. To make the move more challenging, speed up the leg movement, so you're "running in place".

Seated leg lifts
Sit on the edge of a step or bench. Trying to keep your back upright (don't lean back too much), lift your knees up as high as you can. Keep both feet and knees together. You can hang on to the edge of the bench if you need to. Make sure your abdominal muscles are drawn in throughout the exercise, so you're working your transverse abdominus.

Debby
 All things are difficult before they are easy                Thomas Fuller

Trying

I think that one of the hardest things to do in life is to keep trying after failing and failing. How do you convince yourself that this time is going to be different. This time I'm going to make it work.

This is what I'm struggling with this week.
I know that everyone makes New Year's resolutions. And everyone breaks them.
But, after a series of failures and a bout of depression and severe financial difficulty, I am determined to re-start my life.
The tricky part is to quiet the voices in my head saying "you've tried before and failed". So, I don't do anything. The fear of failure is sometimes overwhelming.
My hope is that through thorough planning, I'll develop a strategy that will be "fail-safe". At the very least, a complete plan will make me know what step to take next, even if it's a small step, and even if I don't feel like doing it.

My goal of losing weight is one of the things I'm struggling with. I lost a lot of weight in the summer. Then, some things happened, so I gave it all up. I fell and injured my foot, then about 3 days later I got sick. Neither event was that big a deal, but I had to take time off. Then, I was disappointed in a relationship. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I never got back to working out consistently, and my diet fell apart. And I gained the weight back.

So, now, how can I start again? I don't want to start and stop. So, I wait until I'm sure I'm ready. And, I realized that I was losing the weight before to please someone else. That never works, especially when the someone stops being part of your life.
 And because of my desire to be a trainer again, my weight loss and getting in shape is tied to that. This causes another couple of layers of fear. As much as I want my old life back (only better), there is fear of putting myself out there again. And fear of failure. And as long as I am heavy, I know I can't be a trainer, so I don't have to try.


(I also know that staring a new routine, exercise or otherwise is a stressor. And adding a stressor, when one is already stressed, is a recipe for failure. So, as long as Speck is sick, I am not going to take too much on. I will keep going, but I do not have the energy to go all-out about anything).

I do know one thing though, status quo isn't going to work anymore. I have to change something. And weight and fitness is one thing that's very controllable. (I may not be able to dictate exactly the amount of weight I lose, and how fast, I can control my exercise and my diet).


So, here I am. Trying.

Tomorrow I will start a 30 day AB challenge. That means I will exercise my abdominal muscles every day for 30 days. (There are a lot of 30 day challenges on Pinterest, and that's where I got the idea. It makes it more fun, like a game.)
Tomorrow's workout:
crunches on the Dyna-disc - 2 sets of 15
plank position - 3 times, hold as long a possible.

See you tomorrow,
Debby


You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.                 Margaret Thatcher

Goal Setting

The problem with setting goals is they're supposed to be SMART! Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and within a certain Time. And the problem with setting weight loss goals is that in order to make them specific and measurable...etc., I'll have to get a starting point. THAT MEANS WEIGHING MYSELF! Which I've been avoiding for some time.

I know I'm bigger. I know my clothes don't fit. And I had to go Buy black pants two weeks ago to wear to my Gramma's memorial service. I know that my legs are looking kind of flabby.

But I'm still reluctant to look at the scale. I know I'm heavier than I have ever been.
But here goes...
My weight is 175.2 pounds and my Body Fat is 41.7%. (That was yesterday).
Yikes! It's higher than I thought.

But now I can make some goals.
I will lose 3 lbs by April 30.
Then 10 lbs in May.
Then another 2 by June 7, when I'm going to see U2!!! (My goal is to wear my black jeans, which I haven't worn in about 8 months).
So total weight loss from now until June 7 is 15 lbs.
That's a SMART goal.

Of course, weight isn't the only indicator of health or fitness, so it's not my only goal.
Also, by June 7, I will be down to 38% body fat.
And be able to run (jog, really) 2 miles. (That one is pretty aggressive for me, running is VERY hard for me, but I like being able to do it.)

Down To Me

It's all down to me.
There's a lot in my life I can't control...I can bead all day, and list all day, but may not sell anything for weeks; I can be at the gym all day, but may not set appointments; I can train all day, but may not sell any packages.

My health, my fitness, my weight, is something I can control.

And my goal is to get back DOWN TO ME. Back to a normal weight for me. Back to normal eating habits. Back to ME.

I am a personal trainer. I was in great shape a few short years ago. I got a little more busy, a little more lazy, and in the past year, a lot more depressed. Well, I'm on anti-depressants now, and talking to a counselor, so I'm actually starting to care about my weight again. So, with the counselor's ok, I'm setting goals.

First of all, be aware that when I say weight, I don't necessarily mean scale weight. I will be tracking that because it's easy, but I'll also be looking at body fat (I'll be using a scale that I have, which I know isn't accurate, but it'll give me numbers relative to my starting numbers). I'll also track my measurements (not sure I'll be sharing those, however:)

But you don't want to just hear about me. I am a trainer, after all. I am going to share the programs I use, the supplements and strategies, the successes and failures, the workouts. And I'll share tips and nutrition info too.

So here we go.....