30-day challenge update & a nightmare

shortly after i wrote of my commitment to my 30-day workout challenge, it went out the window. andy's parents were visiting, but not staying with us, instead staying up where the wedding will be. andy was off, and was staying with them, i was at work. i stayed with them the night before, and drove 1.5 hours to get to my office for a 7:30am start time. i was planning to go home (and go to the gym for day 4), but they tugged at my heartstrings, and i turned the car in the opposite direction, drove 2 hours up there, and then turned around and drove back to work the next morning. (ugh, that was a lot of driving).

so day 4 -NOTHING
but, day 5 - pilates (1 hour)
day 6 -  at home gazelle and ab work out (45 minutes)
day 7 - NOTHING (oops. andy got home late from work, and we just went to dinner instead of working out)
day 8 - hot yoga (90 minutes)
day 9 - hot yoga (90 minutes)
day 10 - walk/jog at a local park (45 minutes) -- it was nice outside, sort of. a little chilly by the time i got home and out there.
day 11 - zumba (55 minutes), BODYCOMBAT (30 minutes)--i just wanted to test this class out, i couldn't stay the whole time.
day 12 (today) - pilates is planned.


and i had my second wedding nightmare. my first happened just after we got engaged. i had a dream that it was my wedding day, and i had everything figured out, except that i forgot to get a wedding dress*.

the other night, i had a dream that on the directions card we sent out with the invitations, i missed a turn, and people were calling me on my wedding day, just before the ceremony, trying to figure out where they needed to be! [our place is tucked back, off the beaten path, so i have to make sure the directions are right!]

*this is not going to be an issue because my dress ARRIVED today. i'm so nervous to see it--it's a custom dress, so i just hope and pray that it is everything i dreamed it would be!

hope this rain isn't getting you too down! only 2 days left this week! [thank goodness, today was a little crazier than i was able to handle.]

varied or unfocused?: a 30-day workout challenge.

i love my hot yoga studio. but they are always pushing for me to take on more classes/monthly unlimited/extra programs. i'm barely making it once a week on a consistent basis, what would make you think that it would be reasonable for me to pay for something that is equivalent to 3x a week for a whole month?

a lot of the yogis there participate in a 30-day challenge. which for them, is partaking in a hot yoga class every day for 30 days. now that's a little intense for me, considering going to hot yoga eats up a minimum of 2 hours of my time, not counting travel time to get there, and showering after class. needless to say, i only make it on the weekends.

also, i'm not going to pay for monthly unlimited for hot yoga, when i also pay monthly for a gym membership elsewhere, and have paid for pilates classes at a different place. and i like my varied workouts. some may feel that i am unfocused, by dabbling in so many different types of exercise, but i think they all have their benefits.

for example:   

hot yoga gets my blood pumping and strengthens and stretches every fiber of my body.

hot yoga

but pilates is an intense strengthening and stretching opportunity, but the focus and the vibe are totally different than hot yoga.

pilates

bodypump is my weight lifting class. i get to build muscle in all of those parts that i've toned and stretched in my other classes.

bodypump

and then throw in some of the cardio, whether it be the elliptical, or zumba, or spinning.  

 i think all of these work well together, my own version of p90x-the well-known muscle confusion workout, preventing the body from getting used to the workouts and plateauing. 

so, as saturday marked SIX MONTHS until my wedding day, i've kind of gone into panic mode that i haven't been focusing on working out and losing weight. my dress will be in around april for my first fitting, and i need to be pretty much to my goal by then--it's better to lose more now, than having to constantly take in the dress.

so i've decided to take on my own 30-day challenge. i am challenging myself to partake in some form of exercise (for at least 45 minutes) EVERY DAY for the next 30 days. that's a lot to take on, considering some of the things on my plate in the next 30 days. but i'm going to do my best, and not beat myself up if it doesn't happen.

so far, this is what i've accomplished:

day 1: hot yoga (90 minutes)
day 2: hot yoga (90 minutes)
day 3: zumba (45 minutes); core strengthening (15 minutes) [hooray for being off on monday so i can go to zumba!]


today is day 4, so who knows what today will bring!? :)

what is your favorite form of exercise/routine?