Houston we have endorphins...

Guess who just got back from the gym?  Ummhumm that's right.  <<doing the happy gym dance>>

We had to start all over (going from 3 sets to 2, but still keeping the 15 reps) BUT we actually circuit trained today so we were getting the heart rate up as well as toning muscle.  Going in the middle of the day apparently is key, where you don't have to wait for machines.

I decided that riding the bike 10-15 mins a day is fine because the idea is to work out an hour every day.  I've read that is what people should aspire to in order to lose weight.

So, I go for a walk, either at the mall or with Winston, walking 20-40mins.  I can ride the bike 10-15 mins and of course the 30 mins I work out on Pilates or the 30-40 mins I work out with weights rounds it out.  Today it was an hour and a half not counting the Pilates I have yet to do.  So I'm not going to beat myself up for not doing 30 mins on the bike.

I can work up to that.  :)

 

Speaking of Pilates, here's what I'm doing this week:

Reebok Pilates Core Strength Kit

This is the kit I used from the beginning, and even when I was doing the beginner exercises people could see the difference right away.  Which surprised me because the beginning exercises didn't seem to have any impact at all - and I'm old school "no pain no gain".  I didn't think just doing ten reps of these rather painless exercises could change my body.

But they did.

The only exercise I couldn't do at the beginning was the bridge.  It's where you lay out on your back, brace your feet on the balance ball and then lift your hips and back from the floor, supporting your weight with your feet on the ball.  This required coordination I didn't have - they call it a balance ball for a reason.  Anyway the first exercise you lift up your hips and back from the floor, and then do ten small lifts while balancing your feet on the ball with just your shoulders on the floor. 

As if that weren't bad enough, the woman then puts you through the rolling bridge.  You still lift your hips and back from the floor, balancing on your feet on the ball - but then you send the ball outward with your feet and roll it back up.

I have two words for this exercise.  OWWWWWWWWWWWW and EEEEEEEEEEEEEE.   I've gotten to where I can do it, I just do it a lot faster than she does it LOL. 

 

I'm going to shop around come Saturday though, I want to incorporate another routine so that I don't burn myself out on doing the same thing day in and day out.  The resistance bands intrigue me, I may go that route.  I'll let you know once I decide.  I'd like eventually to do the Winsor Pilates but it's a little more expensive than I can afford at the moment.  It's okay, though, I need time to condition myself up to doing it anyway.

I'd also like to get the ab roller crunch machine from HELL that I use at the gym.  Since I'm only going to the gym three times a week, I'd like to have one at home so I can do it daily like Abel suggested.  There's a cheaper one at Walmart for $20, but I think I may wait to pay $50 for the nice one like they use at the gym.

What else am I going to do with my income tax refund? 

Oh that's right.. I'm going to pay off my ticket, clear my license and get a car...

 

Yeah you heard right.  I'm tired of being a homebound hermit.  I want to be free.

So much so that I'm almost jealous of Steven being a serious contender for the assistant manger job at Lane Bryant.  I'm not big on retail, or management for that reason, but somehow I'm really envious that Steven could get this job.   It sounds perfect for me.

And I know it's totally silly for me to even consider it.  I've got too much on my plate as is.  I have the work I do for my sister, thewriting, the weight loss and now college classes.  It's a constant juggle trying to do a little on all of it every day, can you imagine putting a full time retail management position on top of it?

It's just one of those rare opportunities where I think I could do really well at it. I used to be a manager at Burger King back in 1994.  I'm a pretty good boss.  God knows I have a great work ethic.  Yeah, it's retail but it's definitely a service I could get into (pretty clothes that fit me, hello!).  I'm really shy to meet new people but the only people who come in there wouldn't hold my weight against me.  We're all kind of in the same boat, trying to fit in and be comfortable in a thin obssessed world.

Anyway it's silly.

Totally silly.

I'll get over it.

 

I have too much to do.  I did get a little sidetracked by Myspace and the book, but you know what?  Those were good things.  It's Myspace that got me back on track, really.  And I am not going to ever regret what time I spend on the book - that's how I'm going to make my living one day.  I have to make it my priority.

It all comes back to learning to juggle.

And I can do it.

I just lost sight of how capable I really am, that's all.

I got over myself.

I'm back.  :)