But anyway, on to the main topic of today's post... I haven't only dropped off the face of the earth, I've also slacked BIG TIME with my work-out routine. I still love Ballet Beautiful, but I think I need to switch things up every month or it gets super monotonous. Variation is the key, I really believe! At least for me! I've noticed a pattern in my life with exercise. I stick with something very diligently for 1 month and then stop. I stopped right before going on vacation with the intention of doing workouts throughout the week, but never did any of them! There are many things I think that are a drawback when we go home for vacation and there never seems to be enough time to set aside some exercise time. I know I need to change that, but I need to figure out a strategy. I'm not sure what that is yet! Anyway, so I had a lot of work to catch up on when coming home from vacation, so I decided to just get straight to work and not worry if I didn't exercise for a few days. Well, a few days turned into a full month of being rather dormant. Really annoying, because that pretty much has erased all the work I did the month before. So I am starting again. I think starting a goal or challenge for one month and sticking through it til the end would work better for me than a never ending stream of one workout video every other day or every day for however long. I still adore the whole Ballet Beautiful series, but I need new and different types of exercises to keep me motivated.
That brings me to a little challenge that I've decided to do. Don't laugh too hard! I know some of you may scoff at me for doing this, especially since it's so far from the type of workout videos that I like. But it may be the kick in the pants that I need. Plus it's fun to make a challenge and see if I can stick with it until the end. But I'm not going to stop there. I'm going to try and make another challenge for the next month. I'll just pick a new workout DVD to challenge myself with and do the same thing as I'm going to do now. I think I need variety in my life otherwise I get bored and move on.
So, are you ready for it? Starting tomorrow, I've decided to begin the 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michael's. YES, that one! The one that everyone is doing. It's going to be hard, I know it, but that's the only way you build muscle. And strength is my main goal for this. I'm going to take before/after pictures and measurements and we'll see what happens. I'm not expecting a drastic change. I'm guessing I'll either stay the same weight or gain weight, but that's not my concern at all. And although I'm not "overweight" I really need to work my wimpy muscles really hard and I think this workout will be a good challenge for them. Anyone is welcome to join me if they like! I would love to help inspire others to start a workout routine! I know it's really hard for me to stick to things, which is why I decided to write it here. I will try to update now and then to keep accountable. Feel free to comment if you plan to do this with me! I'm planning to start tomorrow instead of the first of August, since I know there will be probably 5 days that I won't be working out (company coming) but hope to make it up by the end of the month. If you are interested, you can start anytime you like, of course! Also, another thing I like about the workout is that it's only 25 min (with 2 min extra for stretching etc - though I'll probably spend more time than that stretching) and that is a lot easier to work into my day. I think most people can spare a half hour of their day, so there shouldn't be any excuses! Plus it's easier to do it when you have an end date and a goal to work towards. What do you think? Am I crazy?
P.S. I talked about how I had a horrible flare of eczema a few posts ago and just recently I think I came across a bit of a "cure." I had been taking a zinc supplement for my acne and ran out while on vacation, so I stopped taking it. Well, my eczema got considerably worse by the end of the trip and was terribly itchy. I didn't think anything of it, but I ordered another bottle because my acne was getting worse too. I didn't put two and two together until researching it and someone said to take zinc. So I started taking a little more and what do you know? It's actually clearing up my terrible horrible eczema! Mine is behind my knees and it was awful. Itched so bad I couldn't bare not itching it. And if you've ever had eczema you know how itching it only makes it itch more and more. Anyway, I was battling this eczema since last winter (it started 2-3 years ago and went away last summer, but came back again in the winter) and in just a week it is healing up and not itchy anymore! So I highly recommend taking zinc supplement if you have bad eczema or acne. It might help! This may seem like a lot, but I take 30mg after every meal (so 90mg total). The kind I have also has copper in it, since zinc can deplete your copper. I plan to keep this up for 2 months and then take less zinc after that. Hopefully the eczema won't flare up again! Anyway, something I thought I would pass on! Sorry this is such a lengthy post! I just had my morning coffee, can you tell? :)
{image from the movie "the women" via screwball cinema}
