Sunday, September 1, 2013

13 in 13 Post #7: September Plans

September is here! Summer is over, and the new semester has begun. It's time to really push forward and make sure the last 4 months of this year are awesome. The last thing I want is to look at my New Years resolutions on Dec. 31st and see that I haven't accomplished them.

Today has been great so far. Although I did have to go to work today, I won't have to go in on Sundays for pretty much most of the rest of the semester. With that in mind, I've decided to make Sundays the day when I try to hit my 1 rep max on a particular lift plus a long cardio session.

Attempting this today has made me realize how my lazy month of August has really caught up on me. I felt weak and slow. It's alright. I set a few benchmarks today, and I look forward to beating them!

I focused on Push Presses for my 1 rep max. I basically did 8 sets (reps: 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1). I maxed out at 42.5 kg (93.5 lbs). I think that's the max I reached several months ago. It was disappointed that I couldn't hit 45 kg (I tried, but couldn't get it over my head. I think if I had felt a bit more secure - had a spotter with me - perhaps I would have made it. Again, so much of all of this is in my bloody mind). Anyway. It's a starting point.

I wanted to do 1 hr 15 min of cardio on the treadmill, but 60 minutes is the maximum allotted time that you can input into the machine. So I decided to just stick to an hour (instead of doing an hour and then going again for 15 min) and work on improving my speed each time. I jogged for a total of 17 minutes and did a total of 6.46 km (4 miles) within that hour. I really need to improve that distance. I know I can do better.

The last few weeks of August were rough. I just couldn't pull out of my funk. Everything I did was just about going through the motions. I know that at times you just have to push through, but this was different. I was just emotionally somewhere else. Plus the evening Kajukenbo seminars really took up a lot of time. Still, I learned a lot, and it really was a great experience.


The Kajukenbo girls with the Grand Masters

Anyway. Enough of that. Today is a new day - the start of a new month; the beginning of a new term. Let's make the most of it!

My checklist for August didn't really workout well for me. I know that I accomplished quite a lot, but I stopped keeping track after a few days. I'm redoing my plan for September.

Here's a list of my goals for this month:

1) Weight loss: End the month lighter than what I started
2) Exercise: Complete 35 workouts this month
3) Personal Trainer studies: Complete 3 quizzes
4) Cooking: Try 1 new recipe and post 1 new recipe
5) Academic: Start writing the first draft of my chapter (word target: 3,000)
6) Burpees: Continue working towards the ultimate goal of 20,130
7) Yoga/Stretching: Do yoga every morning & a minimum of 15 minutes of deep stretching daily _ at least 3 yoga/balance/pilates classes this month
8) Keep a food, fitness, and finances journal: track daily and monitor progress/adjust accordingly
9) Sleep: Get a minimum of 6 hours of sleep each night
10) Home organization: Go through my CDs; organize room for A; de-clutter the kitchen

There's lots to be done, but I feel ready.

My menu is ready:



Plus I'm starting a new journal to track my food, fitness, and finances. Writing it down is so much easier than typing it out for me.



Here's to a great September! 

5 comments:

  1. Yes! Here is to a great September! Love the goals. Menu looks good too:)

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  2. August was a lazy month for me, too. I'm up four lbs, a few inches and feeling sluggish. I'm going to turn it around this month. I'm ready to get things started!

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  3. Hi A! Love the photo of your Kajukenbo group!!!

    Aren't those failed attempts humbling?! I have some of those during every workout. But we have those because we are trying things that are so very challenging while believing in our potential. Overall, that kind of action and commitment cannot really be described as discouraging--though I used that word in my post today--for lack of a better term. :D

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  4. Here's to a great September for both of us. :) I love how you plan everything. I kind of track as I go, but don't put a lot of planning into the mix.

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  5. September is going to be AWESOME! Maybe you could shoot for 6.5 hours of sleep? I'd need a nap if all I got was 6 every night.

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Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I can use all the support I can get :)