THE gym vs. MY gym

For YEARS I went to the gym......well....on and off....  Work, kids, and LIFE seemed to get in the way of the gym at times, BUT, when I DID go, I LOVED going!

My routine was always pretty much the same....

I'd get there and jump on an eliptical machine for a half hour to 45 minutes (or a  stairmaster in my earlier gym days).  Sometimes, I may have even changed it up and gotten on a bike.

From there, I'd meander over to the ab machines and do various crunches and oblique exercises....every day (because at that point, I didn't think of my core as having muscles that needed rest and recovery days like every other muscle).

If it were leg day, I'd then hop on just about any lower body piece of equipment I could and do 3 sets of 12 at weights that would make me cringe to get out that last set.

If it were upper body day, I'd do my 3 sets of 12 bicep curls....then head over to do triceps....  After feeling like everyone on the elipticals and treadmills were staring at me while I struggled to lift the lowest weight on the machine, I'd probably give up after the second set and head over to do some lat pull downs (because I knew I could actually do those...so it would make me feel a little better).  Then I'd look around to see which pieces of equipment had the fewest people around them.  If there were too many people around, I might just go back to more cardio.  I didn't want to struggle through lifting puny weights in front of other people.  I had no upper body strength and didn't want people to see that.....of course....it's tough to increase it if you don't do any lifting!!

Every day was pretty much the same.  I'd lose weight, plateau, and work the same muscles day after day.

When I use MY gym (aka, my living room), I get to follow a calendar for a program of my choice that varies my workouts so that I am NOT working the same muscles each day.

And if I am struggling....and can't finish my reps....or have to stop because I can't breathe...or have to drop the four pound weights and pick up the Q-Tip sized two pounders....nobody is there staring at me.  In fact, nobody even needs to know (although I guess the secret is out now...)

Working out at home has allowed me to actually BUILD upper body strength!  I can actually DO push-ups now!  Without being on my knees!  I actually HAVE triceps!  I even used the dumbbells AT THE GYM....IN FRONT OF PEOPLE!

And I keep seeing improvements!  The plateau doesn't happen because I keep mixing up my programs and working my muscles in different ways.  Could that happen at the gym?  Absolutely.  But I'd rather just pull out the pre-made calendar, grab the disc it tells me to grab that day and press play!

Why would anyone want to DIET??

Why in the world would anyone want to diet?

Whether you are someone who is doing "clean eating" or "paleo" or "vegan" or WHATEVER, I hope that the decisions you are making about your nutrition are based on lifestyle decisions. 

What do I mean by that?

Losing weight, making healthier choices and improving nutrition is a lifestyle....not a fad.  If you are choosing a diet that is a LOT of work for you to stick to....then you probably won't stick to it.

What good is THAT?

Yes, you may get into the bathing suit you bought for your upcoming vacation or wow everyone at your reunion...but what happens one month or one year later?

If you are going to make changes to your diet, you need to make changes that you are happy with.  Could I probably get MUCH better results from my workouts if I cut out the Oreo's and ice cream and didn't eat pasta every other night....  DUH.  But why would I want to deprive myself of things that I really enjoy?  I try to make healthy choices 80% of the time....and give myself a little leeway the other 20%.

Have you seen the Weight Watcher's commercial with Oprah?  The one where she says, "I eat bread everyday" and she says that she still has lost weight?  That's the thing!  You can lose weight by making healthy changes that you can live with and still including the things we just don't want to give up.  If we are going to stick to something, we can't be depriving ourselves!

So, whether you are on Atkins or Weight Watchers or some no processed anything and no sugar diet....I'm not criticizing you.  I'm only asking....is this something you can stick to?  If it is...GREAT!  But if it isn't....why do it at all?

The Old Spinster Teacher

There are times when I realize why teachers were portrayed as the single old spinster in the past.  Teaching can put quite a strain on everything else in life!
           
Thank God my current husband met me while I was teaching, so he knew what he was getting into...but not everyone is that lucky.  Maybe you got married at a younger age or you are a career changer, or you put your career on hold for your family....but now.....you spend your Sundays grading and prepping.  You bring a bag packed with work home each night.  You spend a random night in the fall staying with your class to help them hold a lasagna dinner fund raiser. The list goes on and on.
           
Your spouse may have thought that you were getting into this cushy 8 - 3:30 job.....until the reality of everything outside the school's walls sets in.
             
You don't get paid extra for the extra hours and it takes time away from your family.

So, what do we do??????  We try to make time for everyone and get everything done and burn ourselves out!  There has to be a balance....and there also has to be a lot of patience and understanding at home for all of the things that just can't be put aside.

It has taken me YEARS to actually set a limit to the amount of school work that I do at home.  Of course, sometimes, that limit just can't be followed (if report cards are due...they are due).  There has to be time for family, for ourselves AND for work.

How do YOU balance it all?