I know I said I wasn't going to do a daily exercise blog because it was too hard for me to keep up last month, but I would like to at least make note of how I started the month for future reference. I will possibly just stick to weekly blogs, but I also may possibly stick to daily ones as often as I can.
I like when I have the time to take note of my day in any way I can, so that I can have it for my future reference when working on writing about this part of my journey for my book. I have been working on a book for quite some time in taking notes and thinking over experiences and have the intention to someday bring it all together in a real live actual book. I have no expected end date for this book, and I do not have anything in chapter or story form yet, but I am bringing things together at my own pace. It is not something I am placing a lot of stress on, but am honestly going to do this for myself when the time is right to bring everything together.
That being said. I want to make a quick note for myself that on March 1st, I walked about 3.1 miles and 6,823 steps with my Fitbit. My step goal is currently set to 6,500. I feel pretty good about meeting my goals every day for over 90 days in a row so far. Every 30 days meeting a goal, I increase the goal by 500 and go for the next 30 days. I felt especially happy about this today because I was feeling pretty dizzy and my stomach was upset most of the day, but I pushed through and finished my steps anyway. I like pushing myself in these instances anymore. Even if I have to stop and take breaks (which I did while walking today), I just get back up and keep going until I reach my goal. Something about this makes me feel powerful; especially doing it while feeling ill the past two weeks.
I completed Day 1 of the Eat Drink and Be Skinny Planks and Push Ups Challenge (eatdrinkandbeskinny.com). This consisted of choosing my Plank Level and timing myself to see how long I could hold the Plank. I chose Level 2 on forearms and toes. I held it for 1 minute. I was hoping for longer, but it was tougher than I expected. I have learned lately though not to be disappointed when I don't meet my expectations, but to look at it as a challenge to find ways to improve. I really like engaging my creativity in order to find new ways to challenge and improve myself with things.
I also completed Day 1 of the Blogilates 30 Day Butt Lift Challenge (blogilates.com). I completed this challenge last month and loved it. I really loved the transformation I felt in my body while completing this challenge, so I chose to do it again this month. Day 1 consisted of 5 squats, 5 Pointed Butt Lifts each side, and 5 Fire Hydrants each side.
I next completed Day 1 of the Blogilates 30 Day Flat Abs Challenge (blogilates.com). I started this one closer towards the middle of last month. I initially started out trying to do 2 days at a time to catch up to the current date. Then I took 6 days off from challenges last month and then was trying to do multiple days at a time again, but was unable to catch up or finish this challenge last month. I really loved this challenge and the exercises though. I totally felt the exercises working to target and tone my abs. I decided to do this one again this month, and hope to finish it this time. Day 1 of this Challenge consisted of 5 Roll Ups, 5 Ankle Reaches, and 5 Double Leg Lifts and shows 1 cup of water. I know I had more than 1 cup of water, so I checked this off too.
I typically drink between 6 and 12 glasses of water per day. I don't remember the exact amount of water I drank Sunday though. I forgot to keep track of it in my Fitbit App as I usually do. I need to remember to track my water every day. I usually do, but I am unsure of why I forgot.
The next challenge is a new one for me this month. It was just posted this weekend over at (blogilates.com). this one is a 30 Day Thigh Slimming Challenge. I was secretly hoping for a Thigh Challenge this month. I have been losing weight since the middle of November when I lost 4 pounds and 2% of my body weight before joining DietBet at the end of November. I have lost over 20 pounds since joining Dietbet, and I have lost inches in my waist, abs, belly, hips, and most other areas (I haven't measured again recently, but will when I wake up on March 2). However, I have not lost even an inch in either one of my thighs. This for me is the most problematic area and I am ready to do my best to destroy my thighs wih the Blogilates challenge calendar this month. Day 1 from this calendar included 5 Plie Squats, 5 Leg Swings each side and 5 Side Lunges Each side.
Lastly but not leastly, on my challenge calendar this month, I am doing the Lose the Love Handles Challenge from the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans (shrinkingjeans.net). I started this one last month because it was their February challenge. I mistakenly missed the instructions to do 2 sets of each exercise the first 21 days and 3 sets the last 7. I modified my calendar to do 1 set the first week, 2 sets the second week, 3 sets the 3rd week, and 4 sets the 4th week. When I was ill and I took time off from challenges this put me behind with this calendar. By the last week and a half when I was trying to do multiple days from different calendars trying to make up lost exercises before the end, I usually only made it through 1 day on this one and I still skipped it again a time or tow because the multiple sets were just too much for me with the other stuff I was doing. I finished through day 21 last month, but didn't finish it. Therefore, for this month, I have decided to just do 1 set of the exercises each day off this calendar. I understand that sometimes I have to adjust things to fit my needs. If this was the only one I was doing, I could see doing more sets, but since I am doing a lot of other things too I am fine with just doing 1 set of these exercises as I am only doing 1 set of the other challenge exercises too. I also learned that I am ok with not managing to finish this challenge last month. It was hard! I did the best I could. I can't ask myself for anything more than my best, and an intent to do better next time. For Day 1 of this challenge, I completed 5 Side Planks (I am still doing the knee planks and hope to graduate up to full legs extended this month), 5 Russian Twists and 8 Bicycle Crunches.
To recap on March 1, I completed Level 2 Plank (forearms and toes legs extended) for 60 seconds, 5 Squats, 5 Pointed Butt Lifts each side, 5 Fire Hydrants each side, 5 Roll Ups, 5 Ankle Reaches, 5 Double Leg Lifts, 5 Plie Squats, 5 Leg Swings each side, 5 Side Lunges each Side, 5 Side Planks (modified using knees), 5 Russian Twists, and 8 Bicycle Crunches. I walked 3.10 miles and 6,823 steps.