Hello All! Happy Sunday!
I have had a wonderful Sunday so far, and am ready to be my best this week! With all the changes in my blog, I have been thinking a lot about my calling as a Wife and Mother and how trying to be the best Mom and Wife I can doesn't mean I have to put myself on hold. It just means I have to work three times as hard. Because not only do I have a husband to cherish, and a little boy to chase after, I have to take care of ME. I think as a parent you put a lot of things on hold for your children. And I think that is great, being a parent has a lot to do with being selfless and taking time for your little ones. BUT I know I am a better wife and mother and friend and am better in my calling when I feel good about myself. I am not talking about how I look in the mirror. [however that can be a huge motivator in itself] What I am talking about it how you FEEL. What makes you feel great? Do you have a talent that makes you shine? Or something simple, like taking a walk, reading a chapter in the Scriptures, saying your morning prayers to start out your day. For me, the one thing I can do to make all the other little [or big] things fall into place, such as; reading my scriptures, saying my prayers, my chores, deep cleaning, Visiting Teaching, my calling in Relief Society...etc., etc....is the wonderful, sometimes dreaded word:
EXERCISE
I know. Sometimes it makes me cringe too. Sometimes I just want to crawl back into bed and sleep. And occasionally I do! But I can tell you, the days I get out of bed and get my behind moving I get SO MUCH ACCOMPLISHED. I am a better Mom that day, and a better wife, and I want to do everything: Tackle the dishes in the sink that were left from yesterday. Clean out that little drawer that has everything in it, yet I can't find anything in it. Do my Visiting Teaching, make something new for dinner and MAYBE just maybe, wash the floor....by hand.
The point is, exercise is my motivator. Then why would I NOT start my day off with a workout?! Some days I fail. Some weeks I fail. But not this week! This week I am setting the goal to follow my weekly schedule. Last week I did great at the beginning of the week, and plateaued toward the end. Some of you were asking for Workout's. I will tell you what usually works for us.
I am really lucky, I have lots of options for workout buddies. In the morning while the husbands are working hard at work, my sister and I tackle the workout with each other. We switch off days of being 'the trainer'. We just started this and so far it has been wonderful. Let me tell you why. We both grew up in a small town where a lot of our life was spent doing sports. We had amazing coaches that pushed us to our limits! We know what to do to push ourselves. We know what is required to get in a good workout session. If we don't have it planned, we get together, sit on the couch and the conversation goes something like this: "What should we do today?" "Hmm....I guess we could go outside because it's nice." "Yeah...that's a good idea." Then we get talking about life and sit on the couch for an hour, by then it is time to move on with the day and do our homely duties.
With this new approach, we let down the other person if we do not have a planned workout for 'our day'. When we map out what exactly we want to target the next day, we have more time to think of things such as getting in your cardio, then muscle toning. Whereas before we were just going for a jog, no stretching, the occasional toning, or vice versa. I find myself digging through old memories of track warm-ups, and actually went to the store and bought chalk to do our famous DOTS workout. (want to know what DOTS are? Check it out
HERE.) YES, I know. Bold move. I have printed off workouts I pinned on pinterest that sat in a folder untouched. They now have a folder in my desk that I refer to almost daily for planning my workouts. (to follow me on Pinterest find the "P" button a the top of the this page, click and it will take you to my profile!)
The same goes for when the Hubs comes home. We workout together along side one of my best friends. We alternate days being the trainer. We all have things we love, and the others hate. But we [try] to respect each others workout day, and continue on! For one of my workouts I made them do DOTS with me. Marissa hated them, and Mackay thought it was hop scotch.....So we wont be doing them again with that group! But that is the fun of Pinterest and the internet. Never ending supply of workouts! (;
You guys, this works! I will eventually start to see results in the mirror. But for now I am focusing on the small victories of planning workouts, and WANTING to eat better instead of doing it begrudgingly. Or tackling that horrible drawer. Or taking my kid to the park so he can have fun outside instead of sit and watch me clean all day. Those are my small victories that come from exercise. And to me they are way more valuable than what the scale says. It is defining my day, therefore defining my time as a wife and mother, and ultimately is defining me, and who I want to become.
With all that rambling having been said, here is my weekly schedule! And Remember:
[Note: I also take a gander at
Tone It Up's weekly schedule and get a lot of videos, or cardio routines there each Sunday. Sometimes I change things up and add things I feel like doing, but it is a great guide to follow!]
Alrighty:
Monday:
1: My Morning as Trainer:
-Cardio: Couch to 5K Week 1- day 2! ( We started this last Friday.)
Couch to 5K- Found on Pinterest:
-Stretch
2: Marissa's Evening Training
Tuesday:
1: Lindsay's Morning as Trainer
2: MacKay's Evening Training
Wednesday:
1: My Morning Training:
-Cardio- Couch to 5K Week 1, day 4
-Stretch
2: My Evening Training:
-No Excuses Workout [MacKay will not do Tone It Up workouts...(;]
Thursday:
1: Lindsay's Morning Training
2: Marissa's Evening Training
Friday:
1: My Morning Training:
-Cardio: Couch to 5K week 1- day 6
2: MacKay's Evening Training
Saturday:
1: Saturday is harder to get together with everyone. So today is My Day.
-2 mile run
I use 5 lbs weights
Sunday:
1: REST DAY. I made the choice to not workout on Sunday, and let my body recoup! I will post my weekly schedule this day.
I also get asked the following questions:
What do I do with my 1 year old while I workout?
I take him with me! In the Morning workouts with my sister, we usually do cardio outside, we both have
BOB Running Strollers [which we bought second hand, not as expensive as new] and our kiddlins LOVE our runs! Then we take our workouts inside our places, or out on the grass. They keep themselves entertained. Of course sometimes we have to take a break for time outs, potty breaks, "I'm hungry Mom"'s, etc... but we get right back to it! When my little one was a wee thing, we just tried to keep him entertained with his swing, bouncer, or whatever we could find! It takes longer to workout with kids then it does alone. But that's alright! Don't let it discourage you. In the evenings with the hubs, sometimes we take "baby duty" and have to switch off.
What if your workout partner/partners bail?
It is always hard when your partner bails. You lose motivation, and change is hard. But life is life, and sometimes you, or them just CAN'T do it that day. If it was my training day, I follow my original plan. If it was their day to plan I go to my computer and go to toneitup.com. This is why I love Tone It Up so much. I just go to their weekly schedule, and scroll down to the day I am on, & they already have it planned for me. I just follow what they tell me to do. Walah! Easy Peezy.
Well there you have it! My weekly schedule! Like I said before, I am going to stick to this weekly schedule like gum on the bottom of my shoe at the mall.
What are your tips and tricks to stay motivated throughout the week? ESPECIALLY with eating healthy. I am my worst enemy. That, and cupcakes.
XOXO- Shanna
