Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Mid Week Motivation 9: My favorite strength training DVDs (and plan of action)

Good morning everyone!

Happy Wednesday hump day. Today's post is inspired by the fact that I've been doing a whole lot of cardio since the beginning of the year. Although I absolutely love cardio (endorphins galore!) and I've also been incorporating some strength training (weights) workouts almost every week, i've been feeling that I should be upping up my game a bit (or a lot).

Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strengthanaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. -Wikipidia

I may eventually sign up for a serious cross fit class or something similar but as with every goal I ever set for myself, I like to start with the basics (or sometimes not so basic- hello Jillian Michaels the muscle killer) and move my way up. And so, this week I gathered all of my favorite DVDs (the ones that I've actually look forward to doing) and I am ready to set up a plan for myself!

Here is the stellar collection of faves:


I've been a fan of workout DVDs since I was around 15 years old and only Jillian Michaels and Gilad have managed to create workouts that don't bore me to death and that I actually look forward to. And yes, I met Gilad in person a few years back and he autographed my DVD. #DontJudge ;)

I don't know about you, but I've found that setting specific goals and tracking progress as I go along is one of the best way to stay motivated and consistent with every goal we set for ourselves. I've reiterated this over and over again on the blog.


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Simple Three Step Goal Setting:

Target areas: Also known as body parts I look forward to 'tightening' more and see clear progress: Abs, arms, thighs (<--wondering if this is the same for every women in the universe?).

Consistency: My original plan will be fitting in a strength training workout 2-3 times per week on alternating days. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays or Monday, Wednesday, Friday, depending on the week. I'll also keep visual track of consistency by writing down each strength training workout completed in my fitness calendar.

Tracking Progress: I will be taking before pictures, which I will post with the after pictures when I see more results feel more comfortable (I love my body dearly but there is something about showing my bare belly on the internet, just a bit weird for me right now). I'll also track my progress by how committed I stay with my consistency plan above.



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And that is all my loves! What fitness goal do you have in mind? How will you stay motivated? Hope this three step goal setting plan helps you in your own endeavors, whatever they may be!

Love,
Belle

10 comments:

  1. I love Jillian Michaels workouts. I should really get our my workout dvds!

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    1. She's great. That ab DVD is a killer. I think Ive only done that once. Need to get focused!

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  2. Oh no! I just left a comment and I don't know what happened to it! Well I wish you the best of luck with your workouts. I haven't been motivated lately but u think reading this was what I needed. I'm all for strength training. But I HATE HATE HATE working out my abs. That's my weakness! I'll give it a try. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thank you! I have to admit is hard to stay motivated and to be quite honest-- I am with you on that abs thing. I wish there was a way to see results sooner because often times it feels like so much work and we're like "hey, where are my abs?!" lol. I guess is just a matter of consistency.

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  3. This is an awesome selection, I have to get back to exercising but have been procrastinating. Thanks for the post!

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    1. Is not easy but it can be done. Focus and consistency is key. I think procrastination is something we all struggle with. You're not alone :)

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  4. Nice! I like how you lay the plan out., I need some direction and this post has helped motivate me - thank you1

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    1. Yay! glad to know this served as motivation. We all need it! Let me know how it goes.

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  5. My problem right now is motivation :( even to go out for a run is too hard! I'm trying to just stay with "one day at a time", but it's like not even that work for me. I don't really know what happened this year, I guess I just have to keep trying. Love videos, they are great to workout at home!

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    1. I heard somewhere that when is hard to take it "one day at the time" is easier to take it one meal at the time or one section of the day at the time (ie: morning, afternoon, evening). Ive been there! I know the beginning is always tough but once we get through that initial hurdle, we actually look forward to working out and getting fit. Good luck! let me know how it goes.

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