Taking on the Future

Now that my birthday has officially come and gone, it is really sinking in how far I have come in the last year. It still feels weird to talk about going to the gym, given my past avoidance of all things related to exercise!

My current "program" that I follow is pretty basic. I use the Barnes and Noble DietMinder Food and Fitness Journal to track my calories and workouts. I've been using it since February, at the recommendation of one of my best friends. I have tried various free websites that allow you to keep a food journal online, but I feel more in control and just better overall doing it the old fashioned way with a pen or pencil. I go to the gym every day during the week, and try to work out at least 1 day on the weekend, giving myself 1 day off. Sometimes, of course, things happen and I don't do full workouts on the weekends. But most of the time I try.

Over the last year my workout routine has changed a few times. When I first joined the gym I only used the recumbent bike. After a few months I talked with Jess (one of the Fitness Specialists at the gym) and she got me set up to use some of the weight training machines. After a few months I switched to the elliptical and started going to the Dance Fusion group exercise class. By Christmas I was taking Step Interval classes and doing more workouts with the girls at the gym for strength training.

In February, I came in to work out and Jess said to me, "Today you are going to run". And she stuck me on a treadmill and I ran. It was awful at first. AWFUL. I will do a separate post about running and how I got started, but for this post we will leave it at that. It is still not my favorite thing to do, but its the best workout and I know it works.

Here is a rundown of my current program I follow during the week....
Mondays - 45 minute Step Interval class with weights, sometimes a run after work
Tuesday - 45 minutes Sets and Reps Strength training class, run
Wednesdays - either 30 or 45 min spin class or run, depending and 30 mins yoga
Thursdays- leg/core focus for 30 mins, 30 min step class
Fridays - 30 min kickboxing,  20 min core class or 30 mins of core/arm work
Saturday - run
Sunday - yoga

Like anything, my program isn't set in stone, but its the basic program I'm following. Some days I don't run, sometimes I go to the gym 3 times a day instead of 1. It really depends on the day, but I try to stay consistent. Now that I'm past the halfway mark to my goal, we've been talking about upping the strength training to work on my flabby skin and getting things toned up. So I'm sure this will change what I do slightly.

Next time I will focus more on the "diet" portion of my life now, and how that has changed pretty drastically from how I used to feel about eating. I definitely don't feel like I'm on a diet, which is something I'm still adjusting to as the weight continues to come off.

Hope all my readers had a great weekend, and as always, thanks for taking the time to read! :)