Progress!!!!

Things have been really looking up in terms of my exercise goals the past couple of weeks. Last week I managed to exercise three times. One of them was a hike at Griffith Observatory, which not only was a decent workout but served as an opportunity to experience fresh air and expierence a scenic view of the city. This week week I joined 24 hour fitness because the gym was offering a very affordable membership fee at the moment, and the gym is less than five minutes from my house.

Since joining a gym I exercised twice this week. My membership fee also covers a variety of different classes including zumba and yoga both of which I hope to try out within the next couple of weeks. I think joining a gym will really help me to meet my goal for the semester. Since I now know in my head that I am paying for a membership fee I feel I will be even more motivated to actually exercise regularly. Additionally, having the access to classes makes exercise time more exciting to me.

Since I have been progressing, I would like to talk about people who are supportive in my effort to change. I know the assignment sheet asks us to discuss just one person, but I have been blessed enough to have a whole group of people who are supportive of my goals. First of all I would like to talk about my mom. My mom has told me that she's really proud of me in taking the initiative to join a gym, and I know she will keep reminding me to go regularly since I'm now paying a fee.

My friends have also supported me in meeting my goal, since some of them share similar goals as well. For example, they have invited me to play basketball and offer time to go hiking as well. This form of support helps to set up an environment where I am not only excited to spend time with my friends but to exercise as well. Additionally, my roommates have been supportive of my goal. Living with people who eat healthy and regularly go to the gym, and give me a look if I think about going back to my lazy ways :) has really fostered an environment where I can meet my goals. I truly feel that having so much support to meet my goals will help me to actually act on them and succeed.

Lagging Behind

Again I am saddened to write about another week where I have not exercised even once. Lately school has been really creeping up on me, I get home really late at night after working on homework and internship work and like I mentioned last week just lack the energy to exercise. Sometimes it baffles me that I can make an hour a day to surf on facebook, watch TV, talk on the phone etc. yet I can't make an hour to exercise. I simply just feel too tired.

On a somewhat related note I have been able to normalize my sleep schedule a bit, thus I have been going to bed earlier and waking up early in the morning. Since I've had so much work due this week I've been using the extra time to catch up on work, but I feel this schedule will set the tone for me to start exercising early in the morning soon. I do feel more motivated and I am really trying to make time.

I'm also looking to start a hiking group, I have searched the Internet and have not found any groups readily available to join in my area. However, I have spoken to a few classmates who seemed interested in the idea. Hopefully this weekend will be the first outing for that. I really feel scheduling some time to exercise with people will help me to stay on track with my goal, as it provides a fun time to be had, and also encourages us peers to hold each other accountable.

Barriers to Change

Last week I exercised two times. One of them was through playing Broomball through a USC sponsored event. I think social events with friends serve as a very good way to not only have fun but to get in some exercise time as well. This week I have not exercised even once. I know this is hard to write, and I'm not particularly proud of my lack of progress. In my defense the whole week is not over, so hopefully I can get in some workout time by the end of the week. Also, I have been making an effort to get in more exercise through everyday life, I park my car further away so I walk more, and I try to take the stairs as opposed to elevators. So I thought this week would be a good time to write about the things that stand in the way towards me getting fit and how I can overcome them.

Barrier number one: I feel like I'm busy and it's hard to schedule in time to workout. School projects and internship work has kept me pretty occupied this week as opposed to other weeks. I really think it's important to schedule out the times I will spend on work and school and then schedule in actual time to workout. I think this problem can be overcome through time management and sticking to a schedule. It's important to make time to workout even when things get busy as maintaining one's health is necessary to be able to perform your best in school and work.

Barrier number two: Sometimes I just feel too tired by the time I get home from everything to workout. I'm starting to think that one way to overcome this would be to wake up earlier and workout in the morning. This way I can add in workout time around my schedule and hopefully this will give me more energy throughout the day. I think I would also be more motivated to have exercising be one of the first things I do to start a day as opposed to one of the last things I do during the end of the day.

Barrier number three: Once I go through one or two weeks of not meeting my goal I get discouraged and it gets harder for me to meet my full goal in subsequent weeks. I think this barrier can be overcome through just maintaining a positive mindset. Just because this week did not go well doesn't mean they all will end up the same way. I think it's important for me to think of the ways I will overcome my barriers, and focus on acting out on those plans to get me to meet my goals in future weeks. I also think I should just forgive myself for not meeting my goal this week and work towards meeting it in future weeks.

Who Inspires Me

As far as tracking my progress yesterday I exercised three times a week. The first was the insanity workout, the second was a walk through a park, and the third was a cardio tape tae bo workout. This week I started out with the cardio tape tae bo workout again, it seems to give me energy without totally wearing me out like Insanity did.

I would also really like to talk about one of the sources of my inspiration for change. A couple years ago I met someone who is a childhood cancer survivor, this person is around my age but as a young child had a serious case of Leukemia. Somehow she beat all the odds and survived the cancer. This person is in the habit of taking very good care of their health. Meaning I always saw her eating right and exercising regularly. This person is also a really strong go-getter in life meaning she sets goals and strives to achieve them, I always see her going above and beyond her initial goals.

This person is my inspiration for change, because I really admire her perspective of living life to the fullest. She once told me that the reason she is such a go-getter in life is because she remembers having cancer as a child, and she remembers almost dying thus she lives life to the fullest because one can never really know when life could end. Her view on life has inspired me to strive to live my life to the fullest everyday. Part of living life to the fullest is to take care of your body, through eating right and exercising, it's hard to meet long-term career/life goals when you don't have the basic foundations right. When I thought about why I became so motivated to really follow through with my goal of exercising I remembered meeting my friend.