#100 workouts

[biceptual-curls-korra]

100 Workouts until Fanime - 100%

Guess who met her goal of completing 100 workouts before her convention??

This gal right here!!

Although Finals week really set me back from actually achieving my weight goal in time...pizza truly is my ultimate weakness.

Pro Tip: Eating pizza for nearly a week straight is the fastest way to regain and keep that little belly chub you worked so hard to shrink. (/weeps a thousand tears)

Do I feel stronger? That’s a bit of a hard question for me. My endurance is definitely up thanks to kickboxing. I can do more pushups on my toes. Burpees are easier. I can do about two unassisted pull-ups (this is with my bar hanging in my bedroom doorway at the random moments I hop on it without a proper warm up). But in terms of how much weight I can lift, its actually not as high as it has been at times in the past. This is because I haven’t been focusing as much on strength training thanks to my school schedule. I’m sure that by the end of summer I will be back at the top of my game, though.

Despite that, my muscles are looking more amazing than ever before!

[biceptual-curls-korra]

100 Workouts - 80% done!!

Guys, I think I’ll be hitting my goal of 100 workouts well before Fanime hits! Woohoo!

I feel like at this point, with 80 workouts under my belt, my upper body muscles are really starting to shine through. Like, even with my arms down and unflexed, by shoulders retain their definition. 

I’ve been doubling up my leg workouts (my weight training days are now arms, legs, chest/back, legs) and I’m really seeing good progress there.

For those of you who are struggling to gain muscle/lose weight and getting discouraged, I want you to read this and understand - it has taken me 80 workouts, along with clean eating, to get to this point. Eight-zero. I started this in December, and changed up my diet in January, as well as a secondary diet change at the end of March. It takes time and dedication to achieve your goals - you can’t just half-assed it. You gotta be determined - that’s what pushes you to push yourself.

Speaking of determination! I made the top score for most jab/cross punches last week at my kickboxing gym!! I got 94 combos in 30 seconds, which was 188 punches total! My instructors recorded me doing it, but then none of us counted the punches in the moment and I went so fast that in order to count them later, we had to do it frame by frame XD 

But yeah, all that progress aside, I still weigh over 150 lbs (*laughs and cries at the same time*). I’m only 5′ 4″, so there’s a vain part of me that will forever frown at that. I’m sure its mostly because of my muscle mass at this point, though...

[biceptual-curls-korra]

100 Workouts - 40%

I’m finally starting to see results.

How crazy is that??

It has taken me FORTY workouts at 4x a week for 10 weeks to lose enough fat to start seeing my muscles again.

Now, real talk for a second.

There have been a lot of moments during this where I felt discouraged at the slow progress.

There have been a lot of moments when I stepped on the scale and frowned down at the days of minor weight gain after finally losing a pound or two.

There have been a lot of moments when I looked in the mirror and just felt sad about how my body was still looking.

There are STILL moments when I flex and feel so disappointed at how much of my bicep and shoulder muscle I’ve lost.

But through it all, I’ve been getting better.

I now know how to stop myself from eating more than one small helping of treats.

I know how to look in the mirror and remember what my body looked like at the start of summer (and right before Halloween). If I got there once, I can get there again! And knowing that gets me all kinds of excited.

I have fitness friends thanks to kickboxing, people I can talk to before class who know how real the struggle is. 

Even though it’s taken me 40 workouts, the progress is still there and it will continue so long as I continue to make it happen. 

[biceptual-curls-korra]

100 Workouts Until Summer

A few days ago, I mentioned doing a new challenge that others could follow along and participate in. I’ve decided to call it 100 Workouts Until Summer and here’s how YOU can participate:

1. Find your assigned end date.

A goal only works if you have a finish line, so you NEED to have a deadline. Mine is Fanime, which is the last weekend of May. 

2. Do the math.

Once you know the date of your deadline, you need to do the math to figure out how many workouts you will need to squeeze in a week in order to get 100 workouts in before then. 

How do you do such math?

Count the weeks from Dec. 1 until your deadline, and then divide that number by 100. The answer you get is how many workouts you need to squeeze in each week for the challenge.

I need at least 4 workouts a week to reach my goal.

3. Define what counts as a workout.

A walk around the block? 10 squats, 10 pushups, and 10 sit-ups? Going to the gym? Your parameters should match where your level of skill is, to ensure you aren’t cheating yourself in this challenge. 

I’ve been hitting the gym for years, so for me, my workouts need to be more than half an hour, and burn more than 400 calories in order to count.

4. Plan your routine.

To help ensure your success, make your workouts part of your weekly schedule, and not just something squeezed in around the schedule that already exists. 

As of right now, I schedule 3 kickboxing classes into my week. I sometimes squeeze in a 4th one, if my schedule allows it. I will have to add in a day at the gym to make sure I hit 4 workouts a week, rather than relying on my current schedule to maybe make my goal.

5. Check In.

100 workouts is a lot. To help stay on track, be sure to set check-ins for yourself. They can be weekly, bi-weekly, daily, after each workout, whenever you like.

My plan is to check in every 10 workouts. This is mainly so I don’t lose count of where I’m at >_> 

6. Pace Yourself.

When Dec. 1st hits, it will be time to hit the ground running. Be sure to commit yourself to something you can stick with for the long run. But since this is (at minimum) a 6 month commitment, be ready to step up your workouts as your body grows stronger. Be ready to eat healthy for maximum results as well :D

I’ll post again about it on Dec. 1st. Keep an eye on the tag “#100 workouts” 

[biceptual-curls-korra]

100 Workouts - 20/100

Made it to 20% of my goal today! Woohoo!

Have I seen any progress? No.

Do I know why? Yes ;-;

It’s because I’ve been eating nothing but junk pretty much since Thanksgiving. And you know what’s really sad? That even though I’ve been totally on track for all my workouts, I’ve noticed I’ve been having a harder and harder time keeping up with the workouts. 

And it all comes down to what I’ve been putting in my body.

So...fail on my part for that.

Fortunately, my gym has another 45 Day Challenge starting up this week. It’ll be a great way for me to get back on track fast (especially since their prizes are things like $20k for first place).

So from here on out, I’ll be stepping up on eating better for my body!

[biceptual-curls-korra]

I’m gonna make a new challenge.

It’s called the “100 Workouts Until _________” Challenge.

For me, it’s 100 Workouts Until Fanime. I did the calculations and that means at LEAST 4 Workouts a week if I’m gonna make it.

Anyone else is more than welcome to hop aboard and follow along at their own pace :)

[biceptual-curls-korra]

100 Workouts Starts Tomorrow!

Good luck to everyone participating!