Ok, this morning i was determined to get out and do some walking before the heat of the day gave me another excuse to not............... well i finally got the motivation to do it and the funny thing was, i actually enjoyed it. It was only a 10 minute one but the thing is i actually made it without stopping. I am aiming to go for another quick one tonight once it has cooled down a little..... will let you know how i go.

Ok, after a tragic 2008 which included several close deaths, drama's and dramatics all helping me to delay my new way of life I have made a pact with myself that 2009 will see me a whole lot healthier and a whole lot thinner. Unfortunately I get very uncomfortable after a very minimal amount of walking and my butt feels as though it could also serve as a table  and hold a cup of coffee. Every night i lay awake and feel good and think right tomorrow i will go for a walk and when the time comes i seem to make a new excuse for not going. Tomorrow is the day and i will have the motivation to do it!!!!

Now that my gym room is back to normal (instead of being used as storage) I decided it was time to really get in and use it. So this morning while Eric napped I got in and did 5min on the strider then used the bodymaker thing (its one of those huge machines with so many parts to work each area) and used parts of it that i previously did not know about. As a result I used muscles that did not previously get a work out- like my bust area and sort of under the arms and my legs!

I used the part where you sit and with the weights on the feet you straiten your legs out- it really really worked the top of my thighs and am now starting to have issues with walking. I also used the legmaster and did my little bum waddle down the hallway so between all the leg exercises I did I had a great lower body work out!

I am easeing my way into the upper body/mid section due to the risk of a hernia, only used a small weight but will slowly increase this so that all that flab can tighten up a bit.

I feel so good but soo sore- but no matter how bad i feel i know its because something is happening for the better.

The workout is important at the moment as I have not been out for a walk for soooo long- has been raining since Sunday afternoon. I miss my walking and i think Eric does as well, he really wants to get out of the house.

Anyway, will be doing the same tomorrow so might not be walking by the end of the day :)

Just thought I would share an exercise with you all that my mother showed me. She was shown it many years ago at Weight Watchers and is apparently one of the best ways to shift that annoying hip/thigh fat

What you do is sit on the floor with both legs out strait and using your hips you push each leg forward one at a time and sort of 'walk' your way along the floor (hope that makes sence)

I gave it a little go before and I could feel myself using a muscle rearely used so I think it could actually make a difference, plus, it does not over-do the stomach muscles so its one I can do at themoment.

Anyway, thats it. Just wanted to share :)

Finally was able to go for my first walk as the rain looks like it's starting to clear. I knew I would not be able to go far but was really surprised at how unfit I am now. After 10min of casual walking I was puffing so I turned around and headed home, by the time I got home I was really hot and out of breath AFTER ONLY 20MIN! Was not long ago I could walk for an hour at a faced pace and be fine.

I know I should not get upset over it, I have been through so much in the past few weeks and expected to take a while to get back to normal but I hate being back where I started 6 months ago. I am determained not to let it beat me, I know I can still do this. I just need to find my motivation again- seemed to have lost it somewhere.

Well I am writing to brag- a lot!!

I have just gotten home from the gym, given Bel a bottle and put her ot bed (she is not well at all at the moment- on antibiotics again- but that is not what I am blogging about!)

I feel like I am walking on air because I did pump, with 2.5kg on for lunges- I really really really struggle with lunges! really do, so I was excited about that, but the real excitement and bragging rights are allowed because.....I ran for 20 mins!!! All at once, wihtout stopping! yes t-w-e-n-t-y minutes! I am so so stoked! It worked out to a bit over 3 km, so not quite at the 5km mark for those of you in the C25K GROUP, but a nice chunck of it! After pump, I thought, now dont be lazy and get on a treadmill and walk for a bit, you skipped the gym yesterday so make up for it! I normally do do a little bit ont he bike or tready after pump, but thought that with Bel as sick as she is I should go and take her home, but I figured, if they dont like her being there while sick they will come and get me, so my inner voice took over, I jumped on the tready and after 1 minute I had this overwhelming urge (silly urge really!) to run, so i walked it for 2 mins then just let my body do what it wanted to do! I thought ok, Ill jsut doa  week 4 of the c25k, which is 5 mins run, 90 sec walk x 4, but at 5 mins I felt fine, so kept going, at 10 I thought- I've run this far before and it's jsut weak if I stop here, so I made myeself go till I got to 15 and once i got there I still felt pretty damn good and my mind told me that 20 was a nicer rounder number! so i just kept pushing myself, and it wasnt really until 18 mins that I had to used every inch of will power to keep going and I am so glad that I did cause otherwise I would have felt like a quiter.

I think that this jsut shows that our bodys are fantastic machines that are often capable of much more than we give them credit for. I know that my fitness has really increased lately as I have been doing RPM classes and pushing myself in those, I think that I feel like I should push myself more in all my classes casue I know how much RPM hurts, but I know that I can get through it and it is this that is making me fitter- so instead of jsut quitting when the going gets tough and I need to breath a little heavier I have found the inner will power to keep pushing my body to it's limits. Dont get me wrong, I dont over do it like some poeple. But i have realised that in the past I have beena  bit 'weak' in my approach to my workouts and not giving myself enough credit as to what I am capable of. By doing this I am also getting greater satisfaction from my workouts, I am feeling healtheir, fitter and working my way towards the life and body that I want!

I have somehting else to brag about but Annabel is now sitting on  my knee and it is taking me ages just to type this little bit! I htink it is lunch time- I need to refuel!!!

Remember that pushing that little bit harder will not kill you but will get you where you want quicker and with greater satisfaction!

xoxoxoxooxoxox