As in, watch to see if I actually get a routine going! LOL

After watching "The Biggest Loser" last night, I actually set my alarm for 5am to get up and exercise before the hubby and 3 kids got up. Fortunately I had my workout CD all ready to go, and took off to the office where my boss keeps a treadmill for employee use.

15 minutes on the treadmill
20 stomach crunches
15 pushups

This is the first day I've actually exercised in a very long time. Although I didn't like getting up in the dark, I have felt terrific even four hours later! I need to focus on working out every other day for the next two weeks. That should be long enough to establish a habit and make it routine.

Well, I did an impromptu set of pushups with my son this morning! He was watching Lazy Town on Nick Jr. and Sportacus was doing these one-hand, one-foot pushups which my son wanted to try. He couldn't do those without falling over, so I showed him regular pushups. I did 5 as a demonstration, then we did 5 more together.

I also broke out the toning cords this afternoon! My plan is to alternate treadmill and toning cords, with one day off per week.
Here's what I did:

35 lateral raises
50 bicep curls
50 standing rows
50 chest presses

Did I mention I just lost the two pounds I had gained a couple of days ago?

15 minutes on the treadmill today
10 pushups
15 stomach crunches

I think I'm going to switch the pushups to the days I work with the toning cords. I could tell this morning that I had worked those same muscles yesterday. Worked up more of a sweat this time, and my muscles were a little sore on the way home. I know, it sounds lame for only 15 minutes, but it's 15 minutes more than I did last week! I'm just focusing on these two weeks for now; I figure by then it will be routine.

Down ANOTHER pound today!

40 lateral raises
50 bicep curls
50 standing rows
50 chest presses

15 minutes on the treadmill
25 stomach crunches

I still feel like I'm going at a snail's pace on the treadmill, but I can't seem to kick it up a notch. It makes me feel wimpy that I only walk for fifteen minutes but am starting to spend the rest of the day feeling like a truck ran over my legs. I keep telling myself that it's just because I'm doing it every day, but we'll see. My scheduled day off is tomorrow - let's see how Wednesday goes.

Scheduled day off

50 lateral raises
50 bicep curls
50 standing rows
50 chest presses

It seemed to work best to do these in about three steps: first round 25 reps for all four, second round 15 reps, third round 10 reps. Otherwise I know I never would have been able to do 50 lateral raises! They're the hardest for me for some reason.

I was so nervous taking a day off yesterday. I was afraid I wouldn't exercise today. But I'm glad I did!

10 minutes on the Sky Glider

MAN, I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

I scored a FREE Sky Glider (think Tony Little Gazelle knock-off) courtesy of my local Freecycle group. Hopped on that puppy this afternoon, and it was awesome!! I only got in ten minutes before I was wiped out; I worked up a much better sweat on that thing than I ever did on the treadmill - EVER. Even in my (ahem) younger days, lol. I'm not as coordinated as I had thought, though, so I mostly worked my legs while holding the stabilizing bar (rather than working the arms in tandem). I shouldn't be too surprised - I'm no good at the ski machines either. Oh well, this was so easy to do once I got the hang of it, and I'm sure I'll add in the arms for the full cross-training benefit in a couple of days. I can definitely get up at 5:00 am to move on this puppy!

50 lateral raises
50 bicep curls
50 standing rows
50 chest presses
(I need to focus on keeping my stomach in while I do these - my overall posture is kinda lazy!)

20 stomach crunches

12-minute ass-whipping on the Sky Glider tonight!

Wow, adding music makes a real difference! It was much easier to establish a rhythm this time, although I'm still experimenting as to where to place my center of gravity. I found I got the best results if I was leaning forward slightly. Too far backward and I feel like I'm about to fall off. I had intended to go for at least fifteen minutes today, but after twelve minutes my arms and legs were shaking. Whoever says these machines only work one half of your body while the other half coasts along obviously wasn't doing it right! Oh, and unlike my first 10-minute ride on the Sky Glider, I used both arms and legs the entire time today. YEAH!

I've also decided I'm going to need to be extra diligent about exercise for a full twenty-one days instead of just fourteen. I had thought it only took two weeks to form a habit, but I read somewhere else that it took 21 repetitions of something before it became a habit. Oh well, not that I'm planning on stopping any time soon!

50 lateral raises
50 bicep curls
50 standing rows
50 chest presses
25 stomach crunches

17 minutes on the Sky Glider today!


It's starting to feel more natural now, and I can rely on my legs to do more of the work now. I think the reason I could only do 12 minutes last time was because I was using my arms too much. Of course, being down two pounds since Friday probably doesn't hurt! Next time I'm going to try for the full 20 minutes, and maintain that for the next week.

Scheduled day off

50 lateral raises
50 bicep curls
50 standing rows
50 chest presses
25 stomach crunches

Almost didn't get these in on Wednesday! It was very late last night, hence my post this morning. Whew!

I've gained back the two pounds I had lost. Again. Hubby is going to buy me an actual body fat measurement tool, so hopefully that will shed a little light on what's going on. My body shape is definitely changing, so I don't know why the numbers aren't moving. Maybe I should go back to weighing in just once a week?

20 minutes on the Sky Glider today!

It feels so good to have hit this goal! I've discovered that I can't use my "treadmill music" because half of it is too slow, so I need to put together another workout CD for the Sky Glider with a faster pace. It's actually a bit easier to stay in a rhythm when it's faster! If I get it done by the end of the day, I may try to get in another 20 minutes still today. It would be very nice to fit in two 20-minute sessions each day, but I'm going to hold myself to just one - at least for another week or so. I NEED to do at least 20 minutes on the Sky Glider each time! Otherwise I am wasting my time!!

20 MORE minutes on the Sky Glider this evening! YEAH!!!