Veggies & New Workout Equipment!

This is the newest addition to our little apartment. We found this on a bulletin board at a local grocery store for $100! It came with 2 45lb, 2 35lb, 2 25lb, 2 10lb, 2 5lb, and 2 2.5lb weights! It also came with the floor mats, and the bars are a good heavy duty metal. Oh and a nice punching bag that we left outside in the rain... I don't know where we would have put that anyways. Our apartment is already full, and the only place we could think of putting it was in the dining room, which we hardly use anyway!

I am super excited about it though because I have always wanted workout stuff at home. So far I have only gotten as far as lifting the bar 5 sets of 10 reps, lol. But the bar is 45 lbs! Who is going to be strong? This girl right here! :)

I love food. So gosh darn much. I am trying to eat my veggies and get more protein in, and this meal was delicious! Salmon, zucchini, and Blood orange strawberry juice! What I wont tell you is what I had for dessert... bahaha... oh jeez. Hey, atleast I admit it! :)

Helloooo...

Today is a particularly good day. I feel good! Not because I have lost any lbs or reached a major milestone, just simply because I do! I am sure keeping track of my calories and doing some strength training had something to do with it!

I LOVE a good workout. For some reason it seems so difficult to get out there, but once I do and I'm done, I feel so much better about myself! Well, I don't have much to say for now, other than here is the ab workout I did. Pretty sure I should have some sore abs tomorrow!! :) Something I am actually very excited about.

Strength Training!

Weight lifting.. isn't that for men? Women don't need to do it because we don't need big muscles, right?
Let me just tell you how WRONG you are!
Weight lifting is actually very beneficial for women. Don't worry, I'm not talking about going out and bench pressing 150 lbs 50 times a day. Unless for some weird reason you want to I guess!
I was thinking back on all that time I spent running on the tredmill, trying to work my butt off (literally!) to lose weight. For two months I did this pretty consistently and guess what. I never lost a darn pound! How frustrating is that!? It was still good for me to get that cardio exercise and I am not regretting it at all, but it sort of dawned on me a few weeks ago that I hadn't incorporated any strength training! Then I remembered the time about 5 years ago (yeah, it's been that long..) that I had lost a good 15-20 lbs. What was I doing? Yeah, I was running my heart out. But I was also doing strength training!
Thus, my little spill on why this is good for not only weight loss but for health too!
Did you know that strength training...
Increases your metabolism?
A study was done showing that women who did strength training 2-3 times a week gain 1-2 lbs of muscle and LOSE 3-4 lbs of fat.
Burns more calories per unit of time, even while at rest?
For every pound of muscle you gain, you will burn around 40-50 extra calories per day! The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you will burn!
Which facilitates body fat loss?
Which is why I lost weight much faster several years ago.
Makes your bones stronger, decreasing the risk for osteoporosis?
Yep, weight lifting increases your bone density making them less brittle.
Improves balance and athletic performance?
Well, obviously!
Reduces risks of injury, back pain, and arthritis?
Well, minus being sore for a few days after the workout.. :) But I think this is talking about more serious injuries.
Fights depression?
This makes me laugh a little, because I know that I work out a little harder when I am mad or frustrated, and it does actually make me feel better!
Reduces risk for diabetes and heart disease?
It lowers your LDL (bad cholesterol), increasing HDL (good cholesterol), lowering your blood pressure, and improves the way your body utilizes sugar! Who knew!?
Creates a feeling of confidence?
How could you not have a little boost of confidence when you feel like the Hulk? Ok or maybe just Wonder Woman.

So, if it has all of these benefits, what the heck are you waiting for? Go pump some weights!