Friday Five: Last Friday of Summer

(I used the Rhonna Designs app on my iPhone to make this pic. I used this picture I took from my recent visit to Santa Cruz Boardwalk).

1.  This is my last Friday of summer vacation. 😦  This time next Friday I’ll be at a “Welcome Back” meeting for the start of the new school year for our first teacher workday.  My plan for the day is to spend it the way I’ve spent the entire summer – a combo of fitness and fun.  Fitness: a session on my home elliptical, walking the dogs with my dad, and swimming some laps. Fun: a bit of shopping (just took advantage of Victoria Secret’s most recent email offer), reading poolside, and a possible date later tonight.

2. This week has been a very social one, getting together with lots of friends that I’ve known since high school, which I’ve loved.  That’s one of the huge distinctions between my life now and my life before I lost all the weight.  I was always a social, extroverted person, but I often felt a bit depressed about the way I looked. Not to mention the clothing issue – I always tried to look my best, but nothing ever fit the way it should’ve.  I can’t count the number of times I turned down an invitation or made some excuse just so that I wouldn’t have to deal with all of that.  Now, I have tons of clothes in the closet that look great and make me feel fantastic.  Now, I am happy and excited when someone suggests going out.  I’m actually getting teary-eyed thinking about what a huge switch this is.  Just one more thing to be so grateful for about this new life.

3. I’ve been getting into Instagram a lot this summer, as you can tell by my feed on the right.  I post daily check-ins for my workouts and lots of pics of other things that just strike my fancy.  While I’ve been off, it’s been easy and really fun. This month I’m participating in three different photo-a-day contests, and I’m hoping I can keep up with them once school starts. If you haven’t joined a photo-a-day contest, I righly recommend them…maybe not just three in one month.  Still, the contests are a great way for me to stay focused on fitness, get motivated, and inspire myself and others with all the photos.

One is for the TIU community,

one is hosted by @MoxieFitchick,

and the third is the Active Living Challenge with Fit Approach and Lorna Jane Active.

4. In anticipation of the school year starting in about a week, I spent a good portion of the day yesterday mapping out my school year workout plans in my iCal.  Since I have a morning prep period on my B days (which means I can get to school a bit later than normal) I’m going to fit in early morning fitness classes at the gym several times a week.  The live Insanity class that I tried a few weeks ago is now offered Tuesday mornings at 5:45am, and I’ll be there whenever Tuesday is a B day.  I’m also going to spinning at least once a week at 5:45am.  I’m still undecided about what I’ll do on my A days, when I need to leave my house by 7am.  Towards the end of last year I was waking up at 4:30am to do a morning workout, but that is just SO early.  Although it’s not ideal, I think I may go back to afternoon workouts on A days, because I really did enjoy them and they’re a great way to relieve the stress of the day.

5. Kandis, one of the TIUgirls, mentioned a week or two ago that she had started reading Gabrielle Bernstein’s May Cause Miracles.  Who doesn’t want “subtle shifts for radical change and unlimited happiness” right? The reviews and general internet buzz about the book was so positive that I thought I’d give it a try.  Have you read it?  What are your thoughts?  What book are you reading right now? Let me know in the comments.

That’s my Friday Five – I’m off to enjoy some pool time.

Happy Friday! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, full of fun and exciting adventures.

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Winter Break (& beyond) Workout Plans

It has been far too long since I’ve made (and stuck to) a true workout plan.  Since I have these next two weeks off from work, I definitely wanted to get myself back on track in that area.  Plus, after two weeks of solid workouts, I’ll be in a nice routine.  That way, I can begin the new year (and go back to work) with a nice little system set up. More on this week’s workouts in a minute.

I have been writing about it a lot lately, but for some reason as soon as I get overwhelmed, the first thing to go is my workout plan.  And it shouldn’t.  If anything, I should hit the gym more.  Because nothing helps me de-stress like a good workout.  It helps me clear my mind, release any frustrations, and feel so much better about myself (and maybe even the stressful situation).

The main thing is to make it a priority, even in the midst of a busy schedule with lots of other responsibilities.  I was talking about this with my sister last night and with her help, I’ve decided that I have to change up my “plans” during the winter, when the days are so short.  The main issue is getting home from work in enough time to take Sofi for a walk while it’s still light outside (because it’s still dark when I leave for work).  I have to also factor in getting more daily grading done. Because this year has been really tough on me in that area.  Having 3 honors classes (and the workload associated with them) is killing me, and by the time I get home I’m so mentally exhausted from the day, that the last thing I want to do is grade essays.  Which gets me behind, which stresses me out, and so on.  So, here’s what I’ve come up with.  It’s a very realistic, workable plan that will allow me to get everything I need to done and not feel like I’m letting any one area of my life slip.

• On my “early” days:
• 12:10-2pm: grading/planning
• 2:30-3:30 gym time – elliptical or the bike for 45 minutes
• 3:45-4:15 (or so) – walk Sofi
• On my “late” days:
• 2:25-3:00 (or so) – grading/planning
• 3:30-4pm: walk Sofi
• 4pm-5pm: workout DVDs/Wii
• Saturday:
• 10am: Zumba
• 11:30-1pm: Clean the house
• 2pm: Walk Sofi
• Sunday:
• “Rest” day
• Walk Sofi
• Grocery shop
• Meal plan

My sister made me put in a set rest day, because as she pointed out, if I don’t, it’s way too easy for me to fall into the bad habit of just saying, “oh, I’m tired, today will be my rest day.”  And then continuing to do that for 3-4 days.

You’ll notice that the plan doesn’t have any of the classes that I love taking.  That’s because the ones that I can go to are in the evenings, and when I’m tired from working all week, and it’s dark outside, I am more than likely not going to be motivated enough to go out into the cold night and go to them.  If I decide to hit a class every now and then,  great, but I wanted to make a plan that would be very realistic for the way that I know my life is.

Since I won’t be going to my favorite classes on a regular basis, I want to make sure to fit them in these next two weeks, so here’s what I’ve come up with:

Monday, 12/19: 5:30pm – Zumba
Tuesday, 12/20: 10am – Yoga
Wednesday, 12/21: 6:30pm – Aqua Aerobics
Thursday, 12/22: 9am – Workout DVD/Wii  at home
Friday, 12/23: 10am – Yoga
Saturday, 12/24: 10am – Zumba

Monday, 12/26: 5:30pm – Workout DVD/Wii  at home
Tuesday, 12/27: 10am – Yoga
Wednesday, 12/28: 6:30pm – Aqua Aerobics
Thursday, 12/29: 9am – Workout DVD/Wii  at home
Friday, 12/30: 10am – Yoga
Saturday, 12/31: 10am – Zumba (w/Kim!)

I haven’t taken yoga at the gym before, but the teacher at 10am on Tuesdays/Fridays is my favorite Zumba teacher, and I’m sure she’ll make yoga just as fun.  She’s really good at giving directions and showing the moves, and that will be helpful in yoga, too. I’ve really enjoyed the bikram and yin yoga class I’ve taken at the studio, and since 24 Hour Fitness offers this yoga class as part of my membership, I might as well take advantage of it.  Yoga is a great de-stressor, and after the last month, I need all the help I can get in that area.  Look for a post about my thoughts on this yoga class later in the week.

This schedule works around plans that I’ve already made with friend, and I’ll make sure to work any new plans around this schedule. It’s just that important, and I want to look at my exercise time as MY time; a way for me to treat myself well and take care of myself.

Getting intense workouts in consistently is the final piece (and what has proven to be the most difficult aspect) of what it will take for me to lose the weight toward my goal(s).

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