Accountability Post - Blog Posts

Accountability Post- 2 January 2022

I completed my first workout of 2023 today. Pretty proud of myself. I, almost, didn’t go to the gym. I’m really glad I did. 

I decided to restart my slightly modified version of the tik tok famous 12330 workout. Last year, I mentioned this in a post where I, briefly, discussed what I had been including in my workout routine. So, the 12330 workout is a treadmill workout that was created by a social influencer named Lauren Giraldo. Basically, you walk on the treadmill on an incline of 12, speed of 3, for 30 minutes. I do a 10330 (Incline 10, speed 3, for 30 minutes). For some reason, in my head, an incline of 12 seems too intimidating (Honestly, an incline of 10 is still a lot for me, but I did it lol). 

Cardio-wise I’m still going to be doing the hill workouts I was doing last year (whenever I actually worked out). I think I’m just going to alternate between them and the 10330...just to add some variety, so I don’t get too bored.

Anyway...on to today’s workout...

Today was leg day (my fave):

1. 3-minute warm up on the stairmaster

2. 18 minutes of weights

3. 30 minutes on the treadmill (Incline 10; Speed 3) + a 5-minute cool down after

I’m feeling pretty great (and tired lol). Now, I’m going to read a couple of chapters of the first book in my 2023 reading list (All About Love by Bell Hooks), then I’m off to bed. 

Here’s to starting the year off strong :)

Accountability Post: 12 September 2022

Finally got myself back in the gym. I ended up going after dinner. This is going to take a while for me to get used to, as I, usually, prefer morning workouts.

Anyway…today was leg day!

This consisted of:

1. A two-minute warmup on the stair master (it would have been three minutes, but I was already starting to struggle at the 30-second mark lol I’ll get there eventually)

2. 18 minutes of weights (I usually aim for 15 to 20 minutes of weight lifting)

3. A 20-minute hill workout on the treadmill, followed by a five-minute cooldown

I didn’t go as hard as I would have liked to, but at least I did something. That’s enough for me 🤷🏾‍♀️

Now I’m going to go make some tea, read, and then head to bed. Good night, ya’ll!

Accountability Post #1 (Starting Over)

Hey ya’ll....it’s been a WHILE.

Just a few life updates before I get to the health/fitness stuff:

-I have, officially, finished moving out of my apartment 

-I have, officially, finished moving back home (This is going to take some getting used to but I’ll be fine...plus I still have a bunch of stuff in boxes that I have yet to unpack...baby steps)

-I have been getting settled at my new, post-grad job

Overall, I finally feel a bit more grounded now (at least in comparison to the past two months lol). So, I’m ready to get back on track again and start taking better care of myself.

I’ve been putting so much time and energy into other people lately and neglecting myself. I’m disappointed that I let it get to this point, but I’m ready to redirect my focus and start investing some of that time and energy into myself and my goals...not just the health and fitness goals. I have a bunch of personal and professional goals that need attention...

I have not been to the gym in WEEKS. But, that’s okay. The past two months have been extremely hectic and I needed to take some time to deal with a lot of stuff...some of which I’m still dealing with but, everything will be okay in the end.

I didn’t go to the gym today, but I did manage to get over 10,000 steps. This is amazing for me because, usually, I average around 4,000 to 5,000 steps a day (less on the days I’m not working). 

I’m aiming to start going to the gym again tomorrow. With how my schedule is right now, the gym is going to have to be an after work thing. I know this will be difficult for me for a while because I have always preferred getting my workouts done in the morning....I mean I could try to go before work but, with how early I start, I would have to be going to the gym at 4 in the morning...which would mean having to wake up at 3 in the morning (No thank you lol).

Anyway, I’m going to read then go to bed.

Good night, everyone! Sending you all good vibes and energy for the rest of this week. :)

Accountability Post #5 (23 June 2022)

Arm day!

My workout consisted of:

1. 5-minute warm up on the elliptical

2. 23 minutes of weight lifting

3. 20-minute hill workout on the treadmill + 5-minute cool down after

Honestly, I almost didn’t go to the gym today. I had to remind myself of my fitness goals (and the fact that I pay for a monthly membership lol...). I ended up going later than I would have liked to, though. So, there were more people in comparison to these past few days. Thankfully, I was able to use all of the machines in today’s routine. 

I, most likely, won’t be able to go to the gym tomorrow. So, I’m going to go on Saturday instead. Tomorrow, I think I’ll try to go on a walk around the neighborhood or I might even see if my family’s old Wii still works and play Wii Fit (lol). Anything to get some movement.

Accountability Post #4 (22 June 2022)

Leg day!

Today’s workout:

1. 3-minute warm up on the stairmaster

2. 19 minutes of weights

3. 20-minute hill workout on the treadmill + 5-minute cool down after

I was unable to use all of the machines I usually incorporate into my Wednesday leg workouts. I ended up just using one of the other machines in my routine twice. Still feel good, though.

Accountability Post #3 (21 June 2022)

Today was arm day. 

My workout consisted of:

1. 5-minute warm up on the elliptical

2. 29 minutes of weight lifting 

3. 20-minute hill workout on the treadmill + 5-minute cool down after

Since I had not done any arm workouts for over a week, I made sure to take it easy during the weight training portion of my workout. So, I did not go as hard as I would have normally liked to. However, I still think I had a great workout. I feel good and am looking forward to tomorrow (yay leg day).

Accountability Post #2 (20 June 2022)

I did not make it to the gym. However, my Fitbit registered all of the cleaning and packing I got done today as “swimming.” That counts...right? (lol)

Additionally, I made it to 10,000 steps. Honestly, this has been a very rare occurrence, given the fact that I have been spending most of my time at home these past few weeks. So, I think today was still good. 

Also, I know that I was not consistent with my accountability posts last week (didn’t even last a day before becoming inconsistent lol). But, I’m not going to be hard on myself about that. I’m just going to try harder and continue to try. I’m really determined to not give up on myself this time around. 

Accountability Post #1 (13 June 2022)

Today was leg day (my favorite day :D) 

Before we get to my workout, though, I want to stress that, when I exercise, I do not aim for burning a specific amount of calories. My main goal is to move my body in some way, at least 4 to 5 times a week, for at least 30 minutes each session. I have found that, for me, personally, focusing too much on how many calories I am burning makes my workouts a lot less fun. I’m trying to relieve stress, not add to it.

Anyway...  

My workout consisted of:

1. 3-minute warm up on the stairmaster (trying to work up to around 5-10 minutes...3 is all I can handle for now lol)

2. 22 minutes of weightlifting (I, typically, aim for 15-20 minutes)

3. 20-minute hill workout on the treadmill, followed by a 5 minute cool down

In the past, I have always completed the cardio part of my workout first before moving on to weights. However, since the end of last month, at the advice of some gym bros (lol), I have been doing weights at the beginning and then cardio. So far, I feel great. It has taken some getting used to, but I’m starting to think I prefer this order. I feel that I am able to put in more energy and effort into the weightlifting portion of my workouts and still have awesome cardio sessions after. 

I finally have a routine. Once I start seeing results that actually show that this routine is working, I will definitely be sharing.

Now, I’m going to go shower, drink some tea, then go to bed. :)

13 June 2022

So...last month, a couple of my friends and I created our own 90 Day “Glow Up” challenge. We created goals that we wanted to accomplish together (e.g., trying a new recipe each week, working out 4-5 times a week, etc.). Additionally, we each created individual goals that we want to work towards during this time frame. Unlike some of the challenges I have seen gain popularity on social media (e.g., tik tok, insta, etc.) a component we added was that if you “mess up” or are inconsistent one day, you just try again the next day. There is no restarting or punishing ourselves. Instead, we will check in with ourselves, reflect on what’s working and what hasn’t been working, and then keep trying. We, officially, started our challenge on May 30, 2022 and will complete it on August 31, 2022. 

I have decided to start making accountability posts pertaining to my individual goals on this blog. My friends and I have been keeping up with each other on a shared google doc that we used to outline all the “rules” of our challenge. However, there have been days where I have not been as consistent as I want to be. I feel that making additional posts here will help me to stay on track. 

I also want to emphasize that with this challenge, the focus is not just on physical health. Additionally, instead of being stuck on losing weight, my personal aim is to build up my strength and increase my endurance. I also want to focus on my mental and spiritual health. Basically, my main goal is to really work on loving and being kinder to myself and my body. I’m using this summer to focus on myself and improve myself for, you guessed it, myself.

My next post will be my first accountability post for this week. Stay tuned :)