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 strength, anaerobic 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

Self-Love should ALWAYS comes first

There is one single lesson that the universe has been trying to teach me for a while and after about 30 years of life I think I am finally getting the hang of it...

When it comes to relationships I have been guilty of expecting others to love me when I didnt give myself the love and respect that I deserved. I used to hear the "cliche" saying of "love yourself first" all the time and always thought it was corny and dumb....until I realized it's far from it.

When you love yourself...

1. You dont accept poor treatment from anyone

2. You speak up for yourself

3. You make a conscious effort to treat your body, mind, and spirit with the respect it deserves

4. You walk away from anything and anyone that doesn't make you happy and doesn't add anything to your life

5. When you love yourself you show it by respecting yourself-- in every sense of the word.

This valentines day, whether you have a significant other or not or whether or not you have a hot date planned. I encourage you to think of yourself first. Are you happy? are you in a situation that is adding positivism to your life? are you doing everything in your power to make sure YOU are okay? (before anyone else). You may think that's selfish but, like in airplanes when the oxygen masks come down, unless you give yourself 'oxygen' how can you expect to give it to anyone else?

This morning my actions of self-love included: waking up bright and early and thanking God for yet another day. I then got a workout in:

(Gilad- my favorite work-out person, Jillian Michaels comes second ;)

 ...and made myself some delicious breakfast. 

Not my actual breakfast but close enough. Source

Now I am ready to enjoy my day to the fullest. And bonus: is my sister's bday! :) so, looking forward to time with the family and loved ones <3

Have a great one! And remember to LOVE YOURSELF UNCONDITIONALLY. 

With Love,

Mabelle