Hi everyone! So today is the first day I am making Fitspiration Friday into a link up! So I hope you’ll link up your posts that inspire you (and others) to live fit and healthy lifestyles! You can link up anything in regards to that: fitness tips, inspiration, motivation, recipes, workout routines… any of it!

 

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Today, I am happy to tell you that I survived my weight training class! Yesterday I took my final and I made an A in the class!! *woohoo!!*

So, do you remember when I was freaking out about all the goals I needed to reach by the end of this class?

“Okay… for the final, in 5weeks, in order for me to make an A, I have to:

• Do approx 35 bench presses of 60lbs
• Lat pulls of 50lbs… unsure how many I have to do yet. Um, HULK women that have taken the class before the prof. said the girl that had done the most ever had done just over 200. HOLY CRAP. Yeah. I’ll be lucky to hit 40. Really lucky. Cuz right now I think I only use 40lbs. Gonna have to step up my game on that one too.
• Arm curls 25lbs.. this one I should be okay. I currently use 20-30lbs, but again not sure how many I’ll have to do. I’ll let ya know.
• Abdominal Crunches- 98 in one minute. WTHeck!? *bangs head on wall*
• 30 min stationary cycle with a 1.5 kilo-lb resistance. I don’t know how hard that’s gonna be, but it doesn’t sound easy. And I have to hit at least 14 km. I should be able to do this. But the teacher was acting like it will kill us. *great* “

Well. After five weeks of training hard, here is what I was able to accomplish:

• 10 bench presses of 60 lbs… Yeah, no way did I get to 35, lol. Granted, I didn’t train as hard for this as I should have, but I’m pretty proud I did 10! 60 lbs is a lot! lol
• Lat Pulls of 50lbs, I did 55!! Woop woop!!
• Arm curls 25lbs, I retested this once. The first time I did this I hit 32reps, the second time I tested it, I hit 45 reps!!! #beastmode! And I made it on the top 10 list (for girls) and I’m in 3rd place. Yessss!!!
• Abdominal Crunches, I only made it to 91. *sigh* Granted, I didn’t train hard enough in this area… But still 91 in one min, pretty good! :))
• 30 min. stationary cycle with a 1.5 resistance. OMG This KILLED me DEAD. The  longest hardest 30 min of biking ever. But, my goal was to hit at least 14 km, and I hit 15.6!! Which put me at 3rd on the top ten list!! Third place again, gahh! I wanted second, but I just couldn’t push any harder at the end. I was dead. I hit my wall at about min 25 and thought I was gonna barf. But I didn’t! :D

Now that I am done with this I am going to set myself some new goals. From this class I learned how to take your information and calculate how long it will take you to get where you want to be.

For me… Its going to take me 10 weeks. It sounds like a lot, but I’m glad I have a date to shoot for.

If you want to keep yourself motivated and on track you MUST… I repeat, MUST!! Set goals!! If you don’t set goals you’re going to be aimlessly wandering through the gym, not putting in 110%, and get bored. Trust me, I’ve done it before. You may be in the middle of it now. Goals are key to success. And when you are setting goals, set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

• S- Specific
• M- Measurable
• A- Achievable
• R- Realistic
• T- Time Specific

I suggest, set 3 goals that you want to reach in 6 weeks, and then set 3 more goals that you want to reach by a certain date (anniversary, birthday, graduation, party, etc).

Make sure they follow the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines! And write them down. Stick it on your fridge, keep it in your journal, put it by  your bed. Whatever you need to do, just make sure you write them down.

Another important thing to do to keep yourself on track, motivated, and focused is to keep a exercise journal/log. Write down what you do when you go to the gym. Write down the cardio you do, the strength training you do (including the weight you use, and the reps and sets you do), and write down the stretching you do.

Why?

1. If you don’t have a plan, you’re going to wander aimlessly through the gym.
   • If you’d like help setting up a plan, please email me! I’d love to help you.
2. Writing down what you do from the beginning is going to encourage you 6 weeks down the road. You’ll be able to look back at week one and see what type of cardio & how long you were doing it. You’ll be able to see the strength training you were doing. And hopefully you’ll be able to see a big improvement after six weeks!
3. Write down things that encourage you. Did you see a workout routine in a magazine you wanted to try? Cut it out and glue it into your journal. If you’re anything like me, unless you cut it out of the magazine and do this, you’re never gonna try it, no matter how cool it looks. :))

Finally, try to get a workout buddy! Either one that you go to the gym with everyday, once a week, or someone you chat with over the phone/online that is your “virtual” workout buddy. If you have someone that you can be accountable to, go to with questions & advice, and talk to about healthy eating, then you’re going to succeed greatly! I have a couple people like this that I can go to, and they are my lifelines! Its hard to do this alone, but when you have a buddy you can encourage each other and keep each other going!

So, I hope these tips were helpful for you today. Start strong. Set goals. Write them down. And knock them out!!

And please o please link up! :)) Preferably a post you’ve written recently, about anything health and fitness related. I’d love to read them and be encouraged by YOU!

*Please note: I am not a professional, I don’t have my Personal Training Certificate. Instead, I am a person who has struggled with heath and fitness her whole life, and is continually finding ways to improve my health. Everything I post are things I have learned through a class or experience. Take it or leave it. :))*