What's with the name?

What's with the name? In my mid-twenties, I had essentially gone through one kind of life and am starting to enter another. The people that are probably going to read this blog know exactly what I'm talking about - but for those who don't know, here's a brief rundown . Cheers to Chapter 2! A journey in health in many ways, and to be the best version of myself I can possibly be. I am also a blogger for GreenMommas.com. This is my blog.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Welcome to Ab Challenge August [has it really been 5 months already?]

July Progress: -8 lbs / -36 lbs total

8 spin classes
5 Bodypump classes
25 miles tracked on RunKeeper (walk/run/hike combined)

As month five of my health quest comes to a close, I'm starting to realize how many great new habits I am forming and how my mindset has really changed. Case and point : I packed my gym bag for Monday morning with two t-shirts and no workout pants! I was mid-change in the locker room as was completely bummed that I wasn't going to be able to do my spin class. But hey, no excuses right? Don't worry, I did not do a spin class with no pants! I thought of ways to overcome this mini 'challenge', though. There was another spin class at 1 (I had signed up for the noon class) so what could I do to make it to that one? I thought about just going back to my desk but the idea of not getting my Monday workout in was just not acceptable. So this is what I did - I took the world's shortest shopping trip to TJ Maxx up on Shelburne rd. I darted in there, grabbed a pair of $7.99 workout capris and headed back in to work - I did this all in 10 minutes. I completed the 1pm spin class. That's some hard-core dedication if I do say so myself :). I mean, it's not like I didn't need some more workout clothes anyway, right? I'm at the point where no excuse is acceptable anymore. In fact, I realize how great I feel when I get a good workout that I get pretty upset if I'm going to go a day without it. Five months ago, I would've really enjoyed just hanging out on the couch on a Sunday, relaxing. But on Sunday we did a 3 mile trail hike with Landon, which I definitely enjoyed.

July was a pretty good month. I'm back on the weight loss train! Not like I was ever off but I pulled a pretty high loss this month of 8lbs. I was on point with my workouts - I even had a few weeks where I did more than five workouts, my eating was great. I would've like to have done more like 10 spin classes, however the studio was closed 1/2 of last week so I got more running in than I planned. I did splurge for the first time in a long time during my birthday weekend. The drinks were going down smooth and I did have some mac & cheese (gasp!) for the first time since March. Once every four months having pasta and delicious cheese is really not going to throw me off track. It's a manageable healthy lifestyle [with very planned indulgences]. So here we go, in to August. I really wanted to set some goals in stone [on the blog] to work towards. Seeing how I am obsessed with Pinterest these days, the idea came pretty quickly : Ab Challenge August! YES!

This is the Ab Challenge I'm doing. I'm shooting for three times a week on top of my normal routine. Why Abs, you ask? Now, we all know I am light years away from a six pack. This is more about strengthening my core to aid the fat-burning process in that whole stomach area [that is a massive trouble area for me!]. Plus, between bodypump and the spin & sculpt classes I feel like I am getting plenty of arm/back/leg strength training. A great core workout is what I'm lacking in my training plan [that's what I'm going to call it from now on]. I did a trial run of this ab routine, I barely made it half-way through without stopping from fatigue, so it will be quite a challenge indeed. I will be tracking my stomach and hip inches to see if I actually make an improvement with this strategy.

August Fitness Goals [July plan with the Ab Challenge added]:
Ab Challenge workout 3X/week
Spin 2-3X/week
Bodypump - once a week
Quick 30min run 1-2X/week
Long walk once a week

Weight loss goal :
-7.5 lbs [-43 total] Who's hitting the the 40lb mark this month? ME!

Nutrition Goals:
Keep on course - less booze!

Please follow along, or feel free to do the Ab Challenge with me so I have someone to complain to about how sore I am! Oh, and feel free to check out my Workout playlist on Spotify. I'm always updating!

Pinspiration for August : 




2 comments:

  1. Way to go, Jess! Abs are a weak area for me, too. I just tried a new exercise the day before yesterday - an adapted Captain's Chair... I did it laying on my back! It's the best I can do right now but at least I did it and my lower abs definitely felt it. I'll certainly give the ab challenge a try!

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    1. I had to look up what a Captain's Chair was, I could definitely not do that upright like it's intended! I still couldn't make it through the entire Ab Challenge this morning - but did 11/12 exercises and wow it is still burning I think! Hoping just to be able to complete the whole thing by the end of this month! Great job April, ab exercises are tough and one of my least favorite things :)

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