1. If you look at my oldest archives (2005-2006) I never mention the "E" word as I wasn’t really exercising. However you can see it old comments that people were curious.
2. Then October 10, 2006 I recognize the need for more structured workouts. That’s over 6 months after I reached my goal weight.
3. December 31, 2006 I finally answered the workout question. Didn’t I have anything better to do on New Year’s Eve??? :~P
4. By July of the next year I was "Thinking About… IT". Is it bad that I crack my self up? ;~P LOL
5. Within 2 months I was calling myself a Gym Rat!
6. By November 2007 I was starting to really notice changes in my body from working out and I talk about my stamina increasing.
7. In March the Running started and I shocked myself with my nre love of long workouts.
8. Unbelievable, by April of this year people were asking me about Exercise Motivation. ME?!?
9. June I ran my first ever 5k race!
10. In August I proclaim my love for Weight Training and dispel some myths.
11. And of course, most of you know about my recent relay run and pull up brag.

I didn’t plan on sharing all of this with you but when I sat down to write up a simple treadmill routine my trainer had me do the other day I was inspired. Not by the workout itself as much as my mindset while doing it.

Let me explain.

The trainer plops me on the machine and tells me what to do. Then he walks away. At first I was like… "NOOO Don’t leave me. I’m going to be bored. There’s no way I can finish this alone. Especially without my iPod!" Then I realized that was "Old Roni" talking. I could SO do this. I’ve done it and I’m doing it! Then I start thinking (you guys probably hate it when that happens ;~P) Thinking about how far I’ve come and how much I used to LOATHE getting on this stupid gerbil wheel. How a year and half ago I’d be lucky to walk for 5 minutes before wanting to kill myself out of boredom.

Now look at me. For Pete’s sake, who have I become?!? Some crazed workout obsessed women that almost had a cow because she had to move her gym date to meet with a client. (I’m serious, that just happened and I’m pissed). LOL

In all seriousness, I want to shake everyone who wants to lose weight and get fit and tell them it IS POSSIBLE! You just need to do the work and make it a priority. For me it was a slow progression. I think that’s key. You can’t expect to be MizFit overnight! It takes hard work and dedication (I’m sure she’ll tell you the same ;~P). It takes doing what you can, when you can and recognizing that perfection isn’t worth it. But being good to your body and your soul is.

Ok, I TOTALLY took a detour from the point of this post. Sorry. You guys probably think I’m nuts. Who am I kidding, I am. :~)

Finally here’s the workout! This is for the beginners out there. All the "Old Roni’s" who think they can’t do it. The ones who can’t last more the 5 minutes on the treadmill without getting bored.

The idea is to change it up every minute by increasing the incline and speed and then stepping back down. For me, the fact that every minute I’m changing something seems to help. Although it has you looking at the screen all the time which can make it seem slow. I guess it depends on the type of person you are. :~) I like to be "doing something".

By the end of this you’ll get a nice 25 minute walk in. Try to lose yourself in it. Reflect on your day, jam out to your favorite tunes, watch a little TV. Whatever it takes! You deserve 25 minutes to do something nice for yourself, don’t you?

Note: I’m not a trainer, a doctor or a even a nurse. If you kill yourself by doing this routine it’s on you. ;~P Maybe that’ll teach you not to listen to crazy people on the internet.

So far out of of all the things we’ve done (I’ve only been to three classes mind you) I found the push/crunch routine the coolest. Here’s the deal…

Start with 10 push-ups (any way you can do them – Challenge yourself!)
Then do 10 crunches
Then 8 push-ups
8 crunches
6 push-ups
6 crunches
4 push-ups
4 crunches
2 push-ups
2 crunches

The fact that you do less and less each time gives you a such a sense of accomplishment because it gets easier and easier but at the end you’ve done 30 push ups and 30 sit ups! Too easy? Start at 14, or 20! Want even more variation? do different types of crunches each time it’s “crunch” time.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Tonight (after mustering enough energy to get out of the door) I hit a cardio kickboxing class.  The instructor always ends with 15 minutes of ab work and tonight she did such a simple effective routine I have to share. I still feel like I have a rock in the pit of my stomach!

Ok so here’s the routine… (I’ll link to the a description of the exercises as they do a much better job of describing and illustrating then I ever will!)

1. Start with 10 Reverse Sit Ups
2. Then 10 Basic Crunches
3. Then do 10 of them together (aka a Full Crunch)  
4. The end with a Modified Plank for as long as you can hold it (at least 10 seconds)
5. Rinse and Repeat 3 TIMES!

It’s so simple and the exercises varied enough I didn’t get board. Midway through the second set my stomach muscles were on fire! Try it and let me know what you think.