the good, the bad, and NOT the ugly : )

I came back to school for the end of this week, so I was unable to go to the gym. I was definitely afraid of this! Who goes to the gym strong for 3 days, and then takes off for 4 and expects to keep up the intensity? Well, this morning (after giving myself a day of recovery yesterday) I was determined to prove that I am worth every ounce of effort.

So I set the alarm for 7:30....got out of bed at 7:38..... and pulled on sweatpants and a tank top and went out to work out! I went over to the local park that has a nice little running path around the outside. It's not terribly big and has a nice incline to it, which gives me a bit of a challenge.

I was worried at first how I was going to motivate myself, being that my Zune was un-charged. Being without music while running is something that I DO NOT enjoy. The music gives me that little bit of motivation with the beat and the words to keep going. However, I had already made up my mind to go!

I walked on over at a slower pace to warm up a bit. I left at 8:00 and got there 10 minutes later. Took a minute to stretch and then went running. I tried to keep at a higher pace than I usually do, which was hard without the music to judge my pace. I ran solid for about 10 minutes, and then I decided to do more. I'm using the gym to focus on weight training, so I decided to do some of my own right there.

I headed over to a bench and did some dips. This really gives your arms a work out! Sit on the edge of the bench with your palms on the bench with finger tips facing straight out. Then walk your feet out until you are suspended beyond the bench with your arms supporting your weight. Use your strong arms to dip your body down and back up. I did some with my knees bent and others with my legs straight out, almost like a backwards push-up. Wow did my arms feel it!

Another way to use this position is to bring your legs in slightly so that your knees are just bent. Then use your leg muscles to support your dips up and down. You will definitely feel this in your thighs!!

After doing these, I decided to do some abs. Plank position is a great way to use your ab muscles. Plank position looks just like a push-up in the "up" position. Hold for an extended period of time and feel those abs working! I also used the bench for this by putting my hands on the edge of the bench to hold myself up. I think the angle of the body also provides a nice challenge!

Then I decided to do some squats. I did a couple of sets of these. At first I kept my legs in semi close together, about shoulder width. Then I moved them out to work on different muscle groups. It felt great : P

After doing this set of exercises, I decided to run back the other direction and stop and do a few more dips at every bench I passed. I only passed 2..but I ran hard until I got to the end of the path. Then I had a nice cool down walk home.

I was only actually in the park working for a bout 25 minutes, but I was definitely sweaty and gross by the end of it. I don't know how many calories I burned, or if I even did that much good, but I know it felt great to know what I was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time!

As far as food goes today, I was pretty good! I went to a bridal shower this morning and despite the chocolaty treats and cupcake goodness that there were, I had a bit of fruit, 3 multi-grain crackers, and a 2 small rectangles of cheese. For lunch, I had a veggie burger with mustard, lettuce, and tomato on whole wheat bread. On the way home from rehearsal I went to a "serve yourself" frozen yogurt place in town. I had only a little amount, which was just enough to settle the craving. I mixed a chocolate yogurt with sugar free vanilla and topped it with fresh strawberries. Dinner was a turkey wrap with tomato, lettuce, and pickles (no cheese or mayo!) and 24 frosted mini wheats for dessert. After dinner, I have had simply fruit fruit roll up, a matzo, and a sesame seed bagel. All in all, I'm pleased with the day. I had frozen yogurt, but I didn't get an obscene amount and didn't top it with candy, cookie dough, or syrup. The only thing I'm not so pleased with is having that bagel! I could have had 2 more matzo's and STILL not reached the calorie count of the bagel. It was convenient. That's why I ate it. There was no reason behind it. My body didn't need that influx of carbs this late at night. No idea.

Well, my fridge should be close to defrosted by now (have you wondered why this post was so long???) and I hope to pack up my car before heading home tomorrow!! Good night!

Back to the gym tomorrow!!