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I'm the kind of girl who always loves feeling productive and like I'm really doing something for myself. So naturally, I'd be the kind of girl who gets addicted to working out, right? Not necessarily. No matter how fulfilled I may feel after I've gotten gelatin muscles and am covered in a mist of sweat, I simply can't get over how positively RANK workout clothes are. Every time I'd feel the urge to workout, I'd put on my workout clothes and simply feel that I looked horribly stupid and in feeling so I'd just pull off my workout clothes and dress myself once again in my casual everyday attire and hate myself for being so self-conscious, even with myself. This is honestly the number one obstacle that kept me from working out for a long time.
As a typically very feminine dresser who wears lots of dresses and skirts and cutesie corset tops (yet who cringes at the mention of the word, "sexy") and would never have the guts to go out and embarrass herself in a gym workout class, my problems were vastly solved after my dad finally purchased the treadmill I had been asking for for ages. Once this happened I felt I could actually start doing something about my shape. I picked out a basic oversized tee from Victoria's Secret, some old VS pajama shorts and a pair of my sister's old Asics and began my routine. I could now wear a silly outfit and no makeup and workout until I looked like a hot mess in the comfort of my own, embarrassment and awkward run-in-free home.
I started my workout routine by dedicating one uninterrupted hour daily of simple treadmill cardio exercise. Initially I tried following the recommended training setup for someone of my age and weight, but I found that at times it was simply too intense for my wimpy little body, and instead opted to customize my own routine as I went along. So basically, in order to keep my muscles and body working I would routinely change up the speed/incline on the treadmill say, at every ten minute interval. For instance, I would start at incline 0/speed 2.5 and walk like that for about 3-5 minutes to warm my body up, then switch it up to an incline of 5/speed of 3 for another 10 minutes, followed by an increase in incline to 7 while keeping a speed of 3. Eventually I would increase the speed to 3.5 and walk like that for 10-15 minutes, then for a brief time pick up the pace to a jogging speed of 4 with an incline of 7 for about 5 minutes, then push up the incline to a 9, but lower the speed to 3.5 and continue to gradually decrease the speed and incline until my 60 minutes were up.
If you don't have a treadmill, you can be a bit gutsier than me and actually go run outside for an hour, which is supposed to be better for you anyway.
As you may be able to see, I have a pretty sweet set up going on in my garage currently where the treadmill faces a small TV mounted on the wall that I can watch while I do my cardio if I don't feel like listening to my iPod. Note: if you're also working out in your garage, don't forget to invest in a fan. You may feel like you're dong more work if you don't have a fan simply because you sweat more, but this doesn't necessarily mean you're losing weight. It can also mean you're simply sweating out your water weight - which is cool and all, but make sure you keep some additional bottled water with you so that you don't dehydrate!
The treadmill work was certainly helping to keep me lean and trim some fat, but I really felt the need to work on my major problem area next: my "pouch," "pooch," "lower abs," or whatever the heck you wanna call it. As a recently joined Pinterest user, I decided to see if Pinterest could really help me find some helpful tips on losing my pouch as many of my friends had said they were finding some incredible craft and beauty tips from it. Indeed, my beloved Pinterest came through. Here are some of the overall ab workouts that I have found are to be most effective for me:
- Ab Mini-Workout
- 10 crunches, 15 bicycle crunches, 30 second plank, 20 second side plank, 10 crunches, 20 bicycle crunches, 20 second side plank, 10 crunches, 30 second plank, 20 leg lifts
- The more I got used to doing this routine, the longer I would do each exercise. For example, after a week I switched it up to a 40 second plank rather than a 30 second one, and 40 leg lifts rather than 20 (especially since this workout is one of the best for "pouch" trimming).
- How To Run Correctly
- The yellow image on that page titled, "How To Run Correctly," really helped me improve my performance and endurance on the treadmill. It helped me improve my technique and thus make sure I'm working out in the most effective way possible.
- Flat Back Lower Ab Exercise
- This one really is pretty killer, but I definitely feel the burn within a matter of seconds and it's probably the most helpful of the lower ab workouts I've tried. Would definitely recommend this exercise for quick results!
- Jessica Biel's Routine
- I am actually not at all a fan of Jessica Biel. I didn't like her back in Seventh Heaven and I'm still not crazy about her now, although The Illusionist way back when was a great film (her role was still minor in that anyway though). But there's no denying that homegirl has some nice abs. I found this article on Pinterest as well as one featuring Anne Hathaway's Catwoman diet and workout and was super intrigued. The exercise I've enjoyed most from the Jessica Biel routine has been the Seated Russian Twists, which I perform with the metal weighted plates pictured above. These really get the job done, and they're actually kind of fun!
Pinterest also led me to some Victoria's Secret Models Full-Body Workout that I've yet to actually fully check out, but hope to soon. If you'd like to see more workouts or healthy recipes, look through some my Pinterest boards and browse the site for more tips.
Although it has taken me a while to realize it: don't be like me and don't let yourself be stopped in your efforts to better yourself by sheer stupidity and self-consciousness. If you don't have the luxury of being able to workout at home, go workout wherever you can anyway. Who cares if you look a little silly? You're probably just being hard on yourself anyway, and you probably look just fine, like anyone else working out at the gym or in the park, and you really shouldn't have anything to feel embarrassed about. Being shy stunted my personal growth for a long time. Take a page out of my book and say "F YOU!" to shyness. Get out of your shell, get out there in your tacky workout clothes, and go get fit!
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