's motd Friday Aug 6, 2010

[Guest guest]

THE CHALLENGE

Friday, 06 August 2010

In January of this year, I decided to challenge myself. I mean, when I looked in the mirror on January 1st, I liked what I saw but thought I could do better. So one of my resolutions for 2010 was to challenge myself to go up to my gym everyday I was in town and really work hard on my workout! And I was off....

Every morning, I'd march up the steps to my gym, a towel and water in hand. And of course, I'd have a CD filled with hot music to play during my workout. I spent 45 minutes to an hour in the gym each morning, really putting myself into my workout meeting the challenge I'd made. First, I challenged myself with pushups. And you wanna know something? Pushups require no fancy machines or gym memberships. You just get down on the floor and do them. I always did the bent-knee pushups. I would get on my knees, place my palms on the floor and do six reps, ten pushups with each rep. But after doing the bent-knee pushups for so long, as part of my challenge, I decided to move on to straight-leg pushups. (And believe me, they're tougher.) You get on the floor and now, you keep your legs straight rather than bending them as you pushup. And okay, don't laugh but, that first time, I could only do six of them! Oh, how pitiful of me, I thought. But the next day, I got up, tried again and did another six. After continuing to challenge myself, I now do five reps of straight-leg pushups and ten of them with each rep, everyday. I've even amazed myself!

I also challenged myself to do more sit-ups, also known as crunches. I do front crunches and oblique crunches. And get this, I'm up to doing one hundred of them a day! Since January, I've also been lifting heavier weights working to tone my body more. So instead of using 15-pound free-weights, I began using 20 pounds. And today, I work on my biceps, triceps and shoulders using 25-pound weights. That's ten more pounds of weight than I was lifting back in January. And you know what? I really feel better and my muscles are more toned. Hey, when you reach your sixties, like me, you either get that oh-so important exercise in or your body will grow rounded and you'll actually begin to feel old. Hey, not me! The bottom line is that working out regularly helps keep you young...it really does! No, I'm not going to tell you that I don't get sore sometimes because...I do. But I'm so proud to have challenged myself at the start of this year and...to have followed through.

So how about you? Did you challenge yourself to be more fit this year? And are you following through? Are you sticking with it. Are you seeing and feeling the results of meeting your challenge? Hey, I want you to feel like I feel! I want you to feel young. I want you to feel that energy flowing through your body. I want you to stay...forever young. Please, I'm begging you to get your workouts in today. Remember, you can do pushups and sit-ups everyday and get in that toning for a stronger back, chest and shoulders.

I challenge you!Love,