It's Monday...Again!

Okay, true confession time: I hate Mondays!

My weekends are typically very relaxing, enjoyable. and laid back. Unlike some of my more hard core fitness fanatics, I trust in my weekend activities for my "exercise" as opposed to actually conjuring up a routine. That said, by the time Monday gets back to town, I am not motivated or ready to put on the sports bra and get back yo business.

The cure for me is to go to my on-line vision board or my Facebook page—where I subscribe to tons of health and fitness pages—to find something to get me going. I usually succeed and manage to get Monday conquered in short order.

So, straight from my timeline, I share with you this gem for the gym:

Fit: Once You're Committed, There's No Turning Back

Each morning as I prepare for the day ahead, I sit down with my notebook—filled with every single routine I've completed over the past 14-months—and I plan my routine.

Some days focus on getting the heart rate going via a tough cardiovascular workout, while others focus on building strength via weightlifting, but the main ingredient is always the same—F-O-C-U-S.

I've devoted myself to the idea of fitness for better than two-years now and what started out as a surface-level goal of netting a nice mid-section and killer arms has become a lifestyle that feels empty minus the presence of a healthy diet, an exercise routine, and an attitude that always feels I could be doing more to get better—I just know I haven't reached my best "me" yet.

That said, fitness is not a goal, it's a lifestyle. I don't know how much I can stress that point to those who are reading, but it's something that I strongly believe. You have to make the decision—sometimes every day—that the choices you'll make will be ones geared towards keeping you healthy in the long-term.

Am I perfect day in and day out? Absolutely not! If you read this blog with any regularity you know I have days where I fall off the wagon of health and want to throw it all away just to go back to the bliss of eating without precaution—to live in a world where being "skinny" is enough. But that ship sailed for me long ago, with knowledge came a bigger responsibility to myself. And that responsibility means that I am always fully aware of the choices I make regarding food and exercise.

I could never go back to being the person who threw caution to the wind because I am no longer that person.

The point I'm trying to make here is being skinny is not the goal, being fit is—whatever your definition of that word happens to be is up to you. You choose your focus and you make the decision on how you'll get there, but once you enlighten yourself with all the knowledge that commitment to good health involves, please remember, there is no turning back.

Boxing As A Workout?...I Can Dig It

I've often come to the end of a long day and wished to heaven I had a heavy bag, a set of boxing gloves, and tons of space within which to use them both. Seriously, even as a stay-at-home-mom, there are days when you want to kick the living crap out of people for their blind ignorance.

That said, I have often mentioned the idea of purchasing said bag and gloves to my hubby—if only to at times save his shoulder from coming into contact with a wandering blow—and he's as been pretty receptive to the idea as well.

Bearing all that in mind, it was interesting to read the following article last week regarding the increasing number of women who use the sport of Boxing as a release and workout for both their bodies and their sanity.

"It's fun. It's empowering. It's as much psychological as physical," he said of the workout, which he said can burn up to 1000 calories. "If you can't do a six-punch combination, you do a two-punch. Everyone gets their own bag and goes at their own pace."

He calls the hour-long classes hardcore and quick.

"It's a testosterone-filled environment for people who seek out an intense workout. Women don't walk in there with makeup on."

...boxing workouts are great for toning the upper arms, back and abdominals, areas that women often like to target, while providing a high-intensity cardio session at the same time.
"It's all intermixed with boxing," she explained. "Just hitting the bag is cardiovascular, and you're working on your abdominals and your arms. You're also twisting, and then there are plyometric (jumping) moves, followed by pushups and sit ups."

She said boxing is a particular draw for professional women.

"The people who take our classes are Type A," she said. "They learn to do it well."

Her clients mainly attack heavy bags, not people. "I don't think anyone imagines they would hit anybody," she said. "But just imagining they could is a confidence booster."

 So I can burn up to 1000 calories and I get to hit something...sign me up!

Related articles

• For women, boxing workouts pull no punches - Reuters (drugstoresource.wordpress.com)
• Bags, Pads and Mitts (wingchunkuen.me)

How Vain Are You?

I'm not a fan of overly arrogant people because, by and large, their attitudes stink. They don't appear to have any genuine humility and often act like they are most entitled people in the world. It's a particularly unattractive trait in a man—I'm sure that opinion has to do with my being a woman—and it's certainly a personality marker that can make or break any personal relationship I attempt to foster with an individual.

That said, I readily admit I'm a vain about being "fit" and though I don't go around shoving my fitness methods in people's faces, I am aware that I work hard to have the body I do and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm proud of its progress compared to where it was two years ago.

In my opinion, some level of vanity is necessary if I hope to get to the "goddesss" body that I am always referring to. You simply can't reach your best you without being a stickler for things like food and how much, and the kinds, you consume or getting serious about how you approach your workout sessions. 

You have to say to yourself 'I'm going to do this the right way or not at all' because, otherwise, you're not on a fitness mission, you're just exercising.

Complete attention to detail is necessary in order to reach your maximum potential.

So, you're likely wondering who am I to say this to anyone? After all, I don't have any fitness products attached to my name and, as far as you know, I might not even work out everyday.

Being an unseen blogger can give the wrong impression I'm sure.

Well, without letting loose a barrage of photos, I'll only say you'll have to trust me when I tell you I take being fit very seriously and I do exercise on a regular basis—five, sometimes six, times per week.

It's not a hobby for me, it's a lifestyle. And that lifestyle is built on one principle: maximizing my efforts to reach my greatest potential physically. I'm not satisfied with only being able to fit into a particular size jeans or looking great in a bikini. I want to be able to look in the mirror and say 'damn, girl' and know that I did that all by myself.

Is that a little vain?  Probably.

Still, though, what's wrong with a little vanity between the mirror and you?

Related articles

• Link Time: Being Vain's Not So Bad (bellasugar.com)
• Vanity (thewittyandthemundane.wordpress.com)

Day 25: Find Your Fight...

Most people are content to admit that they are defeated. Believe it or not, it's easier to give up than it is to say, "you know what, no matter what happens here, I'm all-in ". No we, as human beings, feel the easier way is to disappear and accept that we are not strong enough to win.

In truth, there is fight in all of us.

While some of us may not know our strengths yet, we do understand our weaknesses well enough to not leave them exposed. We know where our deepest fears lay, and it is that understanding that keeps us from putting ourselves out there to rise up against the challenges and conflicts that life sets in our path.

That said, it's important to realize that inaction is as dangerous as action.

If you allow yourself to fall prey to circumstance, you will never break free from the negativity or the misery that surrounds you. It's important that you always remember that you have the option of fighting—always.

Never allow the fears fed to you by self-doubt keep you from making progress. Find that lion inside your heart and make it roar. Make it roar loud enough that everyone can hear you—show this world just how strong you truly are.