Get fit and toned.

On Monday, I drove to my soon-to-be-triathlete friend’s house, and did a 20-minute run with her (ok, I stopped running and walked fast for a minute or two several times). I did better than I expected, though! Then we got on her and her girlfriend’s bikes, and rode for about the same amount of time. Oh man…I hadn’t realized how much I missed riding a bike!! I have one myself, but it’s badly in need of some maintenance. The chain is all rusted, and it may need new tubes for the tires. I’m off to work on that right now!

The motivation I had formerly is no longer there, but I’m still doing my weights every other day, for the most part (I do skip sometimes when my schedule gets in the way). I haven’t been keeping up on my cardio, but I have a close friend who’s training for a triathlon, and I’m going to start running with her several times a week. That should help with the motivation issue. Lately I’ve found myself staying up way too late at night, and eating more than I need to, and so I’ve gained a bit of weight along with the muscle. Gotta get that turned around!

So I recently began seeing a girl who is currently in the midst of a cross-country bicycling tour…and I’ve vowed to work out every day while she’s gone. I have, too! At first I was doing weights and cardio every day, but then I was informed I’d see better results if I gave my muscles time to heal in between. So now I alternate—weights one day, cardio the next. Even if it’s just a long walk. I’ve completely stuck with it, too, and though I haven’t lost any weight or inches, I have noticed that I’m generally a bit more firm and toned, and my arms in particular are showing a difference. It’s been about a month now…we’ll see where I’m at in two weeks when she’s back!

My arms are looking more toned than they ever have before! I’ve even had several friends comment, and ask if I’m working out…which I am, but not with weights or anything. (Who knew “snake-arms” would tone those muscles so well?)

...and bought bananas and those little Clementine oranges and cashews to snack on instead of the Pringles I wanted. (I know cashews aren’t exactly low-fat, but they’re much higher in nutritional value than potato chips!) Also bought veggies and fruit juice and such things. I think if I can accomplish my goal of getting enough sleep, this goal will be a lot easier, since I’ll have more energy for work-outs and won’t be lying around snacking late at night so much (since I’ll be asleep).

Especially when I get home from work at night, and I’m tired and cold and my brain hurts and all I want to do is either curl up in bed with a book and something hot to eat, or relax in a hot bath with a book and something hot to eat. I know that I shouldn’t eat late at night if I’m going to get into better shape, but it’s really hard to stick to that.

On the plus side, I’ve been doing some little mini-workouts sitting at my desk at work. One is sitting on the edge of my chair, leaning back and bracing myself, and lifting both legs (straight) as high as I can get them – good for the abs. Another is putting my hands on the arms of the chair and lifting my body using only my arms – great for the triceps, and probably some other muscles too.

I start my weekly bellydance class tomorrow, and I plan to practice nightly at home as well. That should be a good start!