My Chosen Workouts and What's Next

Y'all.

I'm loving the motivation I have. 

I find myself watching girls on IG lifting. I'm saying LIFTING.

These ladies are legit pro body builders or competitors. I'm by NO MEANS trying to be that, but man, they give me so much motivation just watching them.

They are so strong.

Their bodies are unbelievable. Body builders have huge muscle mass and are just huge, but those who compete in the Bikini or Figure divisions are just lean and toned. In an amazing way. 

It's super interesting to see the differences in physique for how each person trains differently for different divisions. 

Some focus more on the glutes and hamstrings, while others focus more on the V shape and back/shoulders/chest with a tiny waist.

So interesting to me. 

ANYWAY.

My main goal is to get stronger. Feel stronger. Be able to keep up with my kids. Live long enough to meet my grand kids. 

Anything beyond that is a bonus. 

BUT, I can see how it can get so addicting. 

Now that I'm almost 12 weeks in, I can really start seeing definition.

It's working.

And it's so awesome to see. 

Not to mention the obvious other positive physical effects. 

I'm in a great mood after a good sweat. 

I feel accomplished by 8:30 in the morning. 

There are two main areas that I'm focusing on. Upper body and GLUTES.

Yes. I'm jumping on THAT bandwagon and am aiming for those booty gainz. 

[Pic taken Aug. 31, 2020)

Here's the deal. Not only is having a healthy and strong butt helpful for other exercises and keeps the hips and pelvis strong, having a nice round ass is obviously a goal too. Who doesn't want that? 

Ok, back to my favorite workouts. 

I have found that I like this girl a lot. She's from Canada and I really like her videos. I think because I was so intimidated in the beginning, I wanted something that wouldn't make me feel stupid or like I couldn't do it. I've mentioned before - I DON'T DO CARDIO and I want to make sure I don't hurt myself in the process. She walks you through each exercise, but not in a condescending way and I feel like it all makes sense to me. 

I particularly enjoy this leg and glute circuit she does and I do this (with some of my own added variations) at least 3 times a week. 

I also like this upper body circuit and this arm circuit as well. I usually pair one or both with the legs/glutes workout. I tack on a few additional arm exercises here as well for that added challenge. 

I add in this back routine about 2-3 times per week as well. 

Also, since I just got my new Booty Bands, I added in this workout and this one. 

Not only am I doing these workouts, but I'm also researching and reading and watching a lot of content regarding weight lifting in general. 

I'm going to be eating more protein than I normally would in order to build the muscles. This is what I guess people consider the "bulking" phase. More calories, more protein in order to give my muscles the appropriate nutrition for rebuilding. 

I've lost about 10 pounds (at 11 weeks into this journey) and I'm very happy with this side-effect. However, at 116 pounds, I don't want to get too skinny. 

We're headed into the right season, too. It's getting chilly at nights and in the morning and you can tell Fall is right around the corner (my house is already decorated! I LOVE FALL!) But, this "off season" is when I can eat more and build more muscle. AND since I likely won't be going into the office for work until January 2021, I have the time to do it. I've been getting up early to workout before the kids are up and it's been great. 

Then, before our vacation in July, I can starting "cutting" (losing weight) to reveal all the hard work that's been going on underneath. 

That's the plan.