Heading back to the gym

It's time to head back to the gym. My movitation to get fit has hit that marriage bump where after the wedding you get so busy with life you stop taking care of yourself. Or stop caring.

Since stopping my pole dance classes I've done little to no exercise.  A few weeks ago I looked in the mirror after a shower and saw myself differently. I looked skinny. Now I've always prided myself with having a ballet body all my life. To look and see myself as skinny jarred my motivation into place. There is a big difference between being thin/fit/slender and being skinny. I hate being skinny and I take offense when people use that word. To me it's negative. So to look in a mirror and describe myself with that exact word made me feel awful. It's all perspective though. My husband says I'm beautiful, and I believe him. There are days I feel like the most beautiful person in the world (whether society thinks so or not).

Rather than feel down and sad, the snap of motivation has pushed me back to the gym. I've lost so much muscle mass from stopping pole dance that I am in need of an arse kicking. Ballet classes are fantastic but it's not enough.

Last week, Frenchie and I decided we need to both workout. Him for weight loss, me for muscle gain. We have a hard time working out together because programs are normally geared to one or the other. To find a program that both of us can do to get the desired results is frustrating.

A couple years ago I was big into a program called The New Rules of Lifting for Women. (The original version is for men) The program is designed specifically for women that want to build muscle (and as a result for most, lose fat). In 2009 I nearly completed this program before I injured myself from a combination of bad choices. Here is a collection of posts if you want to read the history.

I am on a few forums and I have found myself suggesting this program to several ladies. Feeling like a hypocrite for pimping it out and not using it myself, I dusted the book off and decided it's time to reinvigorate my love for it. On top of that, I convinced Frenchie that he should do the original program designed for men. He's always up for trying something new so I found a template, got him the book and we're off to the races. The entire program can be done in our basement and because we are doing our own workouts we can be there together.

In an effort to be accountable, I think I will take pictures this week, do my measurements and check in every 2 weeks to show some progress. I just grabbed the JEFit app for my android and have found Stage 1 in the routine library. I'm very excited to be able to record my results and take them with me everywhere.