Week 2 of my new exercise plan is almost over. Wow time is flying! It’s already mid February and last night we finally had our first significant snow fall of the season. It was only an inch maybe at the most, but that amount is a lot easier to handle than the winter weather we usually have at this time of the year.
Not only is the snow gorgeous, but it also reminds me that it is still the middle of winter!
For a few weeks there it was hard to distinguish whether it was late January/early February, or if it was closer to April or May!
That spring weather brought about the urge to be outside, and take my work outs to the great outdoors. I love the months between April-October when we can go on walks, I can go running, the days are longer, and the sun rises earlier. I miss my outside morning runs before work, there’s just something therapeutic about seeing the sun rise and feeling like you’ve started your day on a healthy note!
The good news is that I have been starting my day on a healthy note, inside! I enjoyed my work outs this week, but can I be honest? I just wasn’t feeling it this week. Week 1 I was excited to start my new plan, felt well rested, and had a fun work out schedule to look forward to. This week though was a different story. It was really hard to get up all week, I felt tired and just plain irritable, and I had a ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ attitude with no set schedule. I made up my work outs as I went along, which may be okay for some people, but I am such a planner that I love being organized and knowing what comes next. I only worked out 3 out of the 5 days during the work week, and I really didn’t give it my all at any of the work outs. I was simply going through the motions and I know that’s not how significant changes take place. I truly believe it’s better to have 3 amazing work outs, than 5 so-so work outs. I don’t think I need to work out everyday to make a difference, but when I am exercising, it need to be hard and with a purpose!
Here are a few places I saw room for improvement for next week:
1) More sleep!Since I get up around 5 a.m., I really need to be getting to bed no later than 10 p.m. every night. My body works best on 8 hours of sleep so even 10 is pushing it, but this week I wasn’t going to bed until 10:30 or 11. That is definitely not enough sleep for me!
2) Have a plan! Since I love having a schedule, it worked out great the first week when I had every exercise planned out before I even started day 1. I like being able to see what’s coming, and I was able to put more time and research into my work out planning during the weekend. Through the week, I just don’t have time to sort through blogs/pinterest/articles to find the perfect work out for me, so I would simple choose one in the morning and not even know what the work out entails. Having to stop and read through every direction while exercising can be tedious, time wasting and boring. It can totally turn your whole exercise mood off!
3) Watch expectations! After such an incredible first week of exercise, let’s just say I was feeling high on life. I could already feel/see changes and I had enjoyed every work out I had. I also worked out hard and had the energy to do so. I could tell on Monday this week that it was going to be a harder week. My heart just wasn’t into it and I automatically compared that work out to last week’s. This set up a spiral of negative emotions and lack of effort through the week. I need to remember that each work out is separate from the last. I can’t compare apples to oranges, so why would I compare work out to work out? I wish every time I exercise I would give it my all, I would feel amazing, and I would have a blast. That is not always the case, but I can be thankful for my body and that I have the ability to exercise. This should help my attitude and remind me to take each day at a time.
Here were my work outs this week:
Monday: 30 Minute Elliptical Work Out
Tuesday: 10 Minute Easy Elliptical Warm Up and ‘Fast at Home Workout’ from Pinterest
Thursday: 10 Minute Easy Elliptical Warm Up (Same as Tuesday) & ‘Jump Rope ‘n’ Abs Circuit’ from Pinterest
I did change up the above work out just a touch. Instead of using a jump rope I would elliptical instead. It was a fun way to mix up cardio and circuit training.
So there are my work outs from the week. Looking back on all I did, maybe I did more than I thought. I have some ideas about how to improve this coming week and am excited to start again. I am hoping to get a work out in this weekend and organize myself and my exercises for Week 3!
How do you get past the first week high of the start of a new exercise plan?
Do you compare present work outs to past great ones?
How do you pick yourself up after a work out that doesn’t feel as productive as you wish?