Sweet Home Santa Barbara

Monday, February 6, 2012

Workout Routine Tips

Happy Monday! Time for a Fit Club update, but before that, let's all have a moment of silence. Why you ask? Because of the tragic news that the Patriots lost


. . .


Were you silent? K great. 


Moving on. If you've been keeping up with my Fit Club updates, you can probably predict the way this post is going to go. I'm gonna have some good news, and some not so good news. I'm gonna list out my work out routine (a big thank you to everyone who has left positive comments congratulating me on keeping up with my gym goals!) and I'm gonna tell you that I need to work harder on making that 80/20 goal happen. Of all of my New Year's Resolutions, that's the only one that I haven't been very good with.  


While I'm proud of myself for keeping up with the others, this is something that I want to continue working on. It's easy to make excuses for splurging every now and then, but when every now and then becomes once every other day (or even more often), that kind of defeats the purpose of an "occasional" splurge. 


One of my Fit Club goals was to be happy with my body, and I finally feel like I'm at a place where I am. I look in the mirror, and I see a happy and healthy person looking back at me. That feels really good, considering body image is something I've struggled with in the past. That being said, I don't want to let my healthy new outlook on my body inhibit potential progress. 


Am I at my ideal weight? No. 
In all honestly, have I lost any weight since I've been getting to the gym more often? No. 
Do I feel better? You bet. 
But can I work harder on my eating to see real change? Absolutely.
Did you like all those questions/answers? Awesome.


So since you can all see where this post is going, I'm gonna change it up a little today. As for the update, your prediction was correct. I made it to the gym 6 times this week (yay!) and didn't eat as healthy as I should have (bummer!). As for the typical summary of last week, well we're gonna leave it at that. Let's focus on motivation for the week ahead, shall we? 


Tips on Developing a Consistent Work-Out Routine:

Side Note: These are just things that have worked for me.

1) Create a gym playlist.

It's amazing how a good song can get me in the mood to push myself. Plus, another thing that helps me is pacing my work out according to the length of a song. Songs are generally 3-4 minutes long, so if I want to stop to walk, I can push myself to get to the end of a song before taking a break. Pick songs that will motivate you and pump you up. Why yes David Guetta, I am a sexy bitch. 

2) Find activities that you enjoy.

I've found that enjoying my work out is really key to keeping myself consistent. There are so many different ways to get exercise: running, walking, hiking, dancing, kickboxing, yoga, catch my drift? Find something that you enjoy so that you don't feel like you dread your work out every time. If I don't enjoy what I'm doing, I'm much less likely to actually do it. 

3) Add variety to your work out routine.

I think I've already stressed this a lot in previous posts, but mixing up my workout routine really made a difference for me. If you can find 2 or 3 different activities that you enjoy, you'll have more things to choose from each day you work out.

4) Focus on the benefit you get from working out. 

I feel awesome after I work out, who doesn't? Lately, even when I'm gross, sweaty (I'm talking it looks like I was just in a wet t-shirt contest) and have no make up on, I'm walking out of the gym feeling sexy and confident. Remembering how great I feel after a good workout makes me much more motivated to get my butt to the gym. 

5) Find a time that fits well with your schedule. 

Whether it's in the morning, during your lunch break, or in the evening, find a time that works well with your schedule and stick with it. Maybe it varies on different days of the week (Fridays I go before work, and every other day I go after) but try to find times that work for you and stick with those times. 

6) Just do it.

Everyone deserves a break sometimes, so I'm not saying this should happen every time you're not feeling the gym. But on certain days when you're not wanting to work out, try pushing yourself to just do it. Chances are, you'll feel great afterwards, and it might motivate you the next time you're feeling like skipping a work out.

7) Get a buddy.

Power in numbers, right? If you have a friend who's working out with you, you'll have someone to push you on those days when you're tempted to skip out. Shout out to my work out buddy:



And those are my 7 tips that have helped me develop a consistent work out routine. Me? Giving tips on working out? Never thought I'd see that day. If anyone has tips on how to make healthier eating choices, feel free to send them my way! I'll gladly take help in that area. For this week, I'm taking it one meal at a time. Starting with this breakfast frittata I made: 


If you read about my last frittata experience, you'll be proud to see that it actually looks like a frittata this time. 

That's all for today, folks. Sorry this was a long one, but props to those who made it to the end. 

4 comments:

MJ said...

those are great ideas. I still struggle with the work outs. I am doing them about 5 out of the 7 days, but still not enjoying them.

Jena said...

Sounds like you've got a killer routine!! Routing for you :) It's so hard when the scale doesn't move. It will pay off, for both of us. I am hoping one day to step out of bed and have my pj bottoms fall to the floor because my weight finally shed lol.
PS SO jealous that you live in SB. Love it there. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.

jennykate77 said...

Great workout tips!! I think having a buddy is CRUCIAL!!

That frittata looks amazing!

Great, I'm hungry now!

Anonymous said...

I sooo struggle with the gym! After working all day, it's pretty much the last thing I want to do, but hopefully these tips will help me! And I was too sick to watch the Super Bowl, but I know my husband was also totally bummed that the Patriots lost. :-)