Thursdays are my favorite days of the week. Not only because it is the day Vampire Diaries comes on but because I only have one 75-minute class to attend and the rest of the day is free. So today I took a huge leap forward and went to my university's gym to workout. I had been there before to take yoga classes and run on the track but this was the first time I would be in the big part of the gym where they have all the treadmills, ellipticals, weights, the whole 9 yards.
I had recently bought the Body Pop Active Draw the Line Leggings and I had made a comment that they were tight on me and that I would use that motivation to get in better shape. Since then I have been drinking water, eating tons of green, doing squats and calf raises and now incorporating cardio to help burn fat. The leggings cost $80 so I told myself that I wasn't allowed to wear my leggings until after I ran a total of 80 miles.
Long story short, I walk in and head to the treadmills. I start running at a pace of 5mph. I went for a total of ~40 minutes 3.15 miles ran 0.65 mi walked. I don't have a lot of gym experience but I do have some tips if you are like me.
1) Listen to music while you workout. Seems a little obvious. Music helps you forget the heart feels like it will explode. The more upbeat, the better. Sidenote: I might make a workout playlist.
2) Don't come it with a specific goal. If you come in thinking "I will run two miles and that's it." I had a number in mind but I had a "go with the flow" mentality. I was running thinking I would run two miles and when I looked on the distance and it said 1.5 mi I thought to myself "I could do more." So I thought 3 miles, and then I thought 3.1 miles (5Ks anyone). Ultimately I went 3.15 miles.
3) Mix it up. Do more than one machine. Today I did my treadmill work and then I thought "Why not? Let me do the elliptical"
4) Do not compare yourself to others. It is your workout. It's not the workout of the girl who looks like a track star running 2x as fast as you. You can use it to motivate you but don't let people who look like they are working harder discourage you.
Photo summary
Post Workout Pic:
How you know you had a good workout:
Don't ruin all your hard work with a high calorie meal! Here I had wheat penne pasta with chicken and kale (that I was so eager to eat I did it before I realized I had to take a pic). And a salad with spinach, chicken, boiled egg, beans, croutons, cheese (and most importantly, no dressing). My healthy dessert is honeydew with strawberry yogurt topped with raisins and granola. Crushed It!
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