...until I find myself in sunny Florida at the beach! or to put it another way (more relevant to my current state of mind)... until I have to wear a bathing suit and shorts! (thank God that Bermudas are IN!) I had my "freak out moment" yesterday after trying on some of last year's summer wardrobe only to find that either my dryer was on shrink mode at the end of last summer or that I've eaten one too many cookies since then! That's when the scale came out and so did my eyeballs when I saw the dreaded number. How'd THAT happen?? Some people need motivation to exercise (I'm one of them), and at that very moment I couldn't get on the treadmill fast enough. I put on my running shoes, tuned Kevin's MP3 player to "Beth's Mix," hit the "start" button on the treadmill and let the calorie-burning sweat trickle down my face until I saw the number 400 appear on the digital "calories burned" display. Wet and exhausted, I ended the workout 40 minutes later feeling great! If only I could be more consistent!
Exercise usually comes in spurts for me. I maintain consistency for a few weeks and then I stop for... well, way too long apparently. But one thing that I’ve noticed as I ride this "exercise roller coaster" is that variety really does make a difference. And it doesn't necessarily always have to be variety in the type of exercise (although that helps). It can also be variety in the method of doing a preferred exercise. I love my treadmill, but I have noticed that if I do the same routine on my treadmill everyday, I get easily bored and wind up not wanting to do it all. On the other hand, if I vary my workout routines, I tend to be more consistent. There are a few workouts that I have enjoyed along the way and would recommend to any treadmill enthusiasts out there.
Give these a try for fun:
Workout 1 (This is actually 9 different treadmill workouts to try! You can always customize the numbers depending on your ability. I like these workouts because you're changing things up every two minutes so it doesn't get boring.)
Workout 2 (The goal of this one is to prepare you for a 5K, which is a great motivator, especially if you train with someone. I did this one for a while and really enjoyed it.)
Workout 3 (This is the workout I’m currently trying. I just found it. It’s a little complicated, but it looks like it’s going to be fun!)
Another thing I like to do for variety is to walk at a slower steady pace while doing arm exercises with my weights. This way, I got a more full body workout.
And thank God for MP3 players! Listening to my favorite tunes while exercising is an essential for getting me through! Switching the songs up periodically also helps for variety.
Anyway, I hope you’re motivated to try something new to get into shape this summer. I sure am! And I figure making this post will be extra accountability to stick with it!
Here’s to a shapely summer!
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