8/10-8/20 Check in

On weekdays, it was no problem to get the minimum 30 minutes of cardio. I usually got that and some good lifting in. The past couple of weekends have not been so successful. Most of my problems come from poor consistency in maintaining a solid schedule of six days of exercise a week, and eating right. We'll get there.

On the plus side, I now know that when I'm feeling lazy, I can fire up Eye Toy: Kinetic in short order and get a very solid workout on. The exercises vary, too. Gotta work on that in the gym.

8/8 - 8/9 Check In

I've been back on the wagon! The equipment upgrade helped, as I immediately started to take longer to exercise to failure, and had to focus more on proper form. Higher reps, more resistance, and a higher cardio budget are all in the works. Best of all, I'm back in the pool at the gym now that it's been fixed. Swimming has to be about the best thing for overall toning, even if the wet hair adds 15-20 minutes to me getting out of the gym.

Cole's advice about eating more salads, while simple, was priceless. Actually buying the leafy stuff and prepping it means I have to get back into the kitchen more regularly, and even if I don't feel like a salad, I'm still going to fix something that is (a) 200% more healthy and portion-appropriate and (b) at least as tasty, in comparison to whatever I get out in the world.

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight.

I've been relatively good at maintenance these past few weeks of blog inactivity, but that's not the point. Clearly, whatever I'm doing hasn't been enough, as I've hit a massive ass plateau. Not to mention, the whole accountability thing of posting here at least every other day. Sometimes we have to remember what it is we are trying to accomplish and why. Look better, feel better, wear better clothes. In principle, there's also a statistical correlation between looks and career success, and Lawd knows I need a better job.

So what have I done? Upgraded my regular jump rope to a weighted one, upgraded my fraying workout gloves to a pair with wrist bracing wrap-arounds (so I can lift more/longer), and I'm getting in the pool more often, now that it's been reopened. Cole says I should start eating salads more often, which is a good idea.