Get Healthy Week 2: Workouts

I am going to host these Get Healthy link-ups on Thursdays, but I'm not sure if y'all would like for me to host them every week or every other week. What would be best for y'all? This is about YOUR success, so I want to do what is the most helpful to YOU!

This week is all about exercising and workouts! I want to start off by saying that the MOST important part of working out is finding something you can enjoy. You don't have to enjoy every second of every single workout because honestly, who loves doing burpees? But, you should enjoy doing at least one part of your workout routine.

For example, I have tried running over and over in my life. I would try to do it regularly and see if I ever experienced the "runner's high." Nope. Nothing. I would wait and give it another try 6 months later. Still nothing. I did this for years.  The bottom line is that I really don't enjoy running. It's like torture for me. All I can think about when I'm running is when I can stop.

But, I love dancing. Dancing is therapeutic for me. I have danced pretty much most of my life in some form or fashion. In November of 2011 I signed up for my first Zumba class. I'm not going to lie, the first few weeks were rough trying to learn the routines. But, after that I had a moment. It was seriously like, "How Cherish Got Her Groove Back." I fell in love and got in great shape. The best part was that I enjoyed every second even when it hurt, and I was never thinking about the time. I felt alive and free.
I realize that not every Zumba class is the same. I'll be honest, I don't care for a ton of Latin music, and in my class we danced to a few Latin songs, but most were rap and country remixes, which suits me much better. This is a dance we did. We danced to Pitbull a lot. It looks kind of vulgar, but get past that and look at the intensity of the abdominal movements. It is a TOTAL BODY workout!!! You will be pouring sweat! And if you think you're too old, you're wrong! We had women in their 60s and 70s in our class! Every song has a different routine, obviously, so some have more legwork than others. You do Zumba in front of a huge mirror, because you have to be able to see your movements, but don't let that deter you. I promise that no one can focus on watching everyone else because they are focusing on their own movements or watching the instructor.

There again, dancing isn't for everyone. But if it's something you are naturally good at and enjoy, then I would encourage you to take some dance or Zumba classes. If you love running and that's where you feel alive and free, the run your heart out!! I will be cheering you on from the bushes along the roadside, lol! The point is, when it comes to cardio, try to do something you really enjoy, because the weight lifting and toning usually isn't so fun no matter how much of a fitness junkie you are. If you can enjoy doing your cardio, then doing the rest isn't nearly as bad.

I also took Bootcamp classes, which were led by my Zumba instructor, and that made it fabulous. Some days we did bootcamp before Zumba, and some days after. Bootcamp is intense. It is brutal at times. I almost quit after the first night. But, thank God I stuck it out because it works!! I actually did Zumba/Bootcamp 5 days a week for 6 months and didn't lose a single pound. That was so frustrating to me even though I knew I was losing fat and building muscle in its place, and we all know that muscle weighs more than fat, but takes up less space. But, I felt better than I had in years. I had more energy and I just felt good. Bootcamp is a variety of exercises including: wall sits, dips, burpees, jumping jacks, jumping rope, squat hops, suicides, running bleachers, running laps, planks, mountain climbers, weight lifting, parter exercises, crab walking, boxing, lunges, abdominal work, and SO much more. They reason it works is because you are mixing it up constantly, which is what is best for toning your muscles. Here is a great Bootcamp video:

The only reason I had to stop going to those classes is because we moved. As soon as we moved I started the strict clean eating diet. That's when the weight started to fall off. I lost over 10 lbs. in 3 months, and I've kept it off. I weighed 141 and now I hover between 128-132. I'm 5'10". I have no desire to lose any more weight. I just want to maintain it and stay toned, so I no longer do intense 5 days a week training. I still do Zumba at home. I have the music and we have a bonus room with some gym equipment and I do it there. I do weights 4 days a week. I'm really active in general, meaning I don't sit around a lot. In fact, most of my sitting revolves around blogging and I always feel bad about that. Ha! I am always moving around, working in the yard, cleaning, and of course it's near impossible to sit down when you own a veterinary practice. Some of the exercises I do are on my Pinterest Health and Fitness board, and I'm sure many of you are aware of most of them.

Some of my favorites are:
Awesome Leg Exercises

10 Exercises in 10 Minutes

Jillian Michaels Standing Abs

I also love using dumbells for arm exercises. I use between 10 and 20lb. weights depending on which exercise I am doing. Wow, I feel like that was a lot of information! As always, feel free to ask me questions! If you want you can share your progress, struggles, prayer requests, and exercise routines as well in the comments section or you can link up!! Just so you know, you don't have to dedicate a single post to this link-up if you don't want. You can certainly group it with another post if that works best for you! I am SO proud of each of you and I can't wait to hear how you're doing!! Don't forget to let me know if you'd rather have the link up every Thursday or every  other Thursday! Once that has been determined I will put a schedule on the sidebar of my blog so that y'all can plan ahead on the Get Healthy topics! All Get Healthy Posts can be accessed by clicking here!