Today's Workout

Because I finished my 25 mile goal yesterday, I decided to take the day off from running to let my joints re-coop. Today, I focused on CARDIO. And I moved around to different machines for a better calorie burn.

I did:

Stair Master - 10 minutes - Aerobic Training program - Level 10

Elliptical - 28 minutes - Weight Loss Interval program - Resistance 4 then 8

Exercise Bike - 15 minutes + 3 minute cool down - Around the World Hill program - Level 10

Stair Master - 8 minutes (I was supposed to do 10 minutes, but I had to quit early) - Same as above

Then, before my stretch, I did some ab work.

1 minute plank

40 bicycle crunches

10 wiper planks

20 clamps

20 jack knifes with exercise ball

20 leg lifts

10 rolling side planks (This was a first for me! Found these in a fitness magazine last night)
10 wall curl ups with exercise ball

10 side wall crunches (10 per side)

And boy - I was SWEATY.

I'm super excited about a new toy I ordered. It's called the Polar FT7 and it's a heart rate monitor that tracks progress and records your calorie burn. A lot of the fitness blogs/instagrams I see use them and they look pretty useful. According to DHL, it's on the delivery truck today so I should get it tomorrow when I go into town. I'm pretty excited to learn how to use it! It was a late Christmas present from me to me. I'm always so thoughtful when I give gifts to myself.. I'll let you guys how I like it once I get it all figured out.

Even if you don't have an hour+ like I did today, you can still accomplish a good workout with 20 - 30 minutes. And you don't have to be in a gym with fancy machines, either. The most important thing is moving and getting your heart rate up for a period of time - 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes... Whatever.

I used to say that I never had time to commit to exercising and that's why I never developed a routine. But now that I look back, I realize how much time I wasted watching TV, checking Facebook, shopping online, whatever. While it doesn't feel like it, that time really can add up. I could have cut out some really useless time spent and gotten in a small workout each day. But, hindsight is always 20/20. And it doesn't matter what happened in the PAST, the present is all I have and I'm going to use it for good!

Have a sweaty day, ya'll.