Beauty Must Suffer

Purchased a gym membership yesterday.  One of my good friends is working on a personalized workout plan for me.  I'm so ready to be back in shape.  After my plans to work out yesterday morning were botched two times, I ended up going to my Taekwondo instructor and doing a private lesson.  Then I decided I would go work out last night after the hellion fell asleep.  Well, if you don't know me, then I must tell you that whenever I put the hellion to bed (8:00 P.M.), I fall asleep (99% of the time) also.  I didn't wake up until 10:00, then I laid in bed for thirty minutes before finally convincing my lazy ass to get out of bed and go to the gym.  I worked out for an hour and a half, and I can definitely feel the burn this morning.

My 1 1/2 hr. workout last night was focused on my legs:

• 30 minute cardio workout = 2.25 miles on the treadmill.  (I know that that isn't too great, but I was proud of myself, considering I haven't really worked out in almost a year.)
• Leg curls = 4 sets of 15
• Leg extensions = 4 sets of 10
• Lunges = 4 sets of 14 (My friend Steven suggested squats, but I was too self-conscious to do squats in front of all the guys who were working out.  Haha!)
• Leg press = 4 sets of 15
• 50 crunches

I'm not going to lie though, after I got off the treadmill I almost went home.  I was sweating and panting and my face was completely red.  When I was working out regularly last year I would only get on the treadmill for 15 minutes and run a mile and a half, so I kept that in mind while I was on the brink of quitting halfway through my cardio workout.  Then when I was doing my second set of lunges, I got a cramp in my inner thigh.  If you know me then you know that I absolutely hate lunges, but I push myself to do them because they are such a good workout for your legs.  After I finished working out I stretched-- which I never do, btw.  I think I'm going to start incorporating stretching into my workout.  Before, after, and/or both.  I know I should stretch, I'm just too impatient to do so.  Anyway, the motto I use when I'm working out is this:  "beauty must suffer."  I repeat that in my head during my entire workout.  It helps me persevere!  Try it yourself the next time you feel like quitting.

My ideal goal is to lose about 15 lbs., but if I can lose at least 10 lbs. then I will be happy.  I want to be able to get back to the weight I was at this time last year, and since I am determined to work out constantly I think 15 lbs. isn't too bad of a goal for myself.  We'll see where I'm at in due time!

I left the gym at 11:45, got home around midnight, ate a few Ritz crackers with squeeze cheese (what?  I didn't eat dinner, ok?), and went to sleep.  This morning after I dropped the hellion off at school I went back to the gym and did another 30 minutes on the treadmill, but this time I did 2.27 miles!  See, one day and I'm already improving =)  After the treadmill I did another 50 crunches and went home, because tonight Chad and I are going to the gym to work out.  I'm going to focus on my shoulders and triceps-- after cardio, of course.  Then I'm going to finish, like I do with every workout, with crunches.

I don't ever want this feeling to go away.  I feel much more confident about my body and more motivated to work out regularly now that I've actually taken the next step.  (The first step was dropping $300 for a 1 year membership.  Eek!  I definitely plan to get my money's worth.)  Why did I quit working out in the first place? 

Next on my list is incorporating my yoga practice back into my routine.