First Day Back to the Gym

Went back to the gym yesterday for the first time in, oh probably three months. I always forget how much I enjoy it after I leave. I feel good. I feel accomplished. I feel skinny (ok, we won't go that far).

**I should make something clear before I continue sharing my journey of losing weight and my life changes. I do not want to be a size 2. I do however, want to be healthy and feel good about myself when I look in the mirror. Now to some that is a size 2, and that's great... for me my goal is a size 8 (which I am thinking will be my goal weight of 150-155lbs). I also don't want to be "buff" -- personally, as a woman I feel I should have curves and not bumps. Again, that's just me, I know people that look amazing cut and tone -- and I applaud them for that, but this girl -- wants some fluff, just not as much as I have now! I've read through health magazines and articles and most agree that a woman that is 5'8" should be between 130-160 depending on her frame build. So picking 150lbs wasn't just a random number.**

Ok, back to the gym situation: I am trying to find a happy medium of cardio and weights. I mean I could personally be on the treadmill, bike, and elliptical for days -- no problem. What I lack is the want (or need) to do a weight routine. I mean, I do a few things, a few times, a little bit...you know how that works. But as I start losing weight, I don't want to be that girl with the "bingo" arms that wave until next week. So I did what every woman does and checked out pinterest. Awesome, now I am even more overwhelmed and found 106 arm workouts, 195 leg workouts, 356 ab workouts...phew. Here's what I determined it comes down to -- do what I'm comfortable with and work my way up.

So right now, here's a day in the life of Melissa at the gym: 

Cardio:
30-45 mins (usually 20 in the beginning and 20 at the end)

Arms (currently using 8lbs):
3 sets of 10 Bicep Curls
3 sets of 10 Tricep Curls
3 sets of 10 Tricep Extension

Legs (usually set around 125-150lbs):
3 sets of 10 Hip Abductors (inside and outside)
3 sets of 10 Leg Press
3 sets of 10 Glute Press (each side - 50lbs)

Abs:
3 sets of 10 Sit Ups
3 sets of 10 Reverse Sit Ups
3 sets of 10 Side Cruches with Weights
3 sets of 5 Leg Lifts (on that stupid thing that I can't hold myself up on)
3 sets of 10 Ab Twist Machine (each side - 50lbs)

Melissa at home - because some things people don't need to watch me do:

Punching: 1 minute - 3x
Planking: 30 seconds
Push Ups (girly kind): 10

Now again, this is my routine - something that works for me right now. If you have suggestions, great, I'd love to hear them - but please don't come at me with "that's stupid, you should do this" because that will be an easy way to get on my nerve. I am however, putting it on my calendar to come back to this in a month and see what I can do to step it up.

On that note, I'm heading to the gym...

~Melissa
Official weigh in (1/6/14): 189lbs (yikes...)
Goal: 150lbs