Finding Motivation // Reward Yourself

I've already written a post about finding the perfect personal motivation for yourself, but this past month I've re-discovered how important it is! So here's what I'm doing to motivate myself…


During the first few weeks of March when I was home for Spring Break, my mom told me that we're going on a cruise with lots of family in June! It's a quick trip to Mexico, but any fun trip like that means two things: lots of food and even more pictures.

So it's time for me to get my butt (and everything else) in shape!

My motivation is the cruise, so what's my reward?

I've been searching and saving for the perfect swim suit for this cruise! So when I reach my goal and feel my best, I can get that swim suit and wear it with pride!

Now I know most of yo know that I do not support the use of scales. I'll admit that I weigh myself maybe twice a year, but I like to go off of how I feel more than set numbers. When you feel great, you walk with confidence.
That being said, I am measuring myself. I have my thigh, bicep, and hip measurements (in inch) just to keep track. I don't have any goal numbers, but I do like this way of keeping track of my weight loss and muscle gain. My advice for measuring would be to not have set goal measurements. Unless you've talked with a professional trainer or someone with a degree, you may end up hurting yourself more than helping.

At the end of the day, please remember that you are wonderful the way you are. You do not need to look a certain way or be a certain weight. I just know that I do not feel my best now because I've slacked on my healthy eating and workouts. So go off of how you feel and smile, my friends!

Have a great day!

College Student's Guide to Surviving the Holidays

Finals are probably either over or nearly over for you by now.  So for those who have finished, congrats! For those who are still spending countless hours in libraries, studying for so long that you forget to eat and sleep, therefore gaining some weird psychological issues, you can do it!

When you get home, I know what's going to happen. We all do. And we're all dreading it.
So here's a few tips on how to stay healthy and fit when you get asked millions of questions by family you probably don't even want to be around!

Every time someone asks you what your major is: 20 squats

Every time someone asks you if you're dating anyone: 20 push-ups

Every time someone asks you what you want to do with your major: 15 burpees

Every time someone offers a grandkid for you to date: run 1 mile

Every time someone tried to give you career advice: 15 minutes of yoga

Every time your mom gets on you about how much you're spending: 1 minute plank

Every time someone makes a weight-gain reference towards you: stairs for 15 minutes

Every time a grandparent falls asleep during a get-together: 25 sit-ups

Every time you wish you were back at college: 30 minutes of cardio

And there you have it! Best of luck to you all this holiday season.
Here's a picture of my brother and I during our family Christmas-card picture time:

Oh hi

I should probably post more, right?

Hi, readers! It's me. Hannah. Yeah, the not-so-consistent blogger. But hey, I'm not perfect.

What have I been doing to keep up my "happy, healthy" lifestyle, you ask?
Good question.
I've been trying to fit in social, educational, and healthy aspects into my life, but they all seem to get replaced with sleep.
I am attending the gym about 2-4 times a week, but I'm not being too hard on myself since this is my first semester here and I'm figuring things out.
However, next semester I am taking a class that requires me to attend the gym 45 times per semester, along with a once-a-week yoga class! I'm really excited to do both and get back into that routine.

I did start a "squat challenge" with my roommate this week and it goes like this:
50 squats every morning and night for a week, then move up the next week by however many you think you can do. I'll probably add 25 per week.

Feeling like your butt needs a lift? Do this squat challenge with me! My goal is to be able to do 200 twice a day! Make a goal for yourself or use mine! As the famous and beautiful Zac Efron would say… we're all in this together.

Late Week Motivation

Follow my Pintrest "Fitness" board!
I check all the links before I "re-pin" to make sure it's good and honest information.

Hope you're all having a great week! I've got a really cool beauty post coming soon!

Motivation

I've seen so many people posting all over the internet: How does one stay motivated with working out?

I'm going to admit, it's hard.
Even now, when I'm going to the gym 4-6 days per week, I still have moments when I ask myself, "Do I really need to do this today?"

As in everything, everyone is different.
We like different food, different workouts, and we stay motivated differently.
Here are the top three motivators I have seen:

1. Peer Motivation
This is a big one. It's pretty broad as feel. Peer motivation can mean you discuss your goals with your friends and family so that they can keep tabs on you, or it can mean that you have a consistent "gym buddy." And your gym buddy doesn't always have to be someone who is at the gym with you, but maybe someone who texts you in the morning saying "Hey! I'm on my way to my gym! Abs and arms today!" so that you both have a game plan and similar goals.
Social media can play a huge role in this motivator as well. I know quite a few women who post their pictures online (Facebook, Tumblr, etc) every month or so to show updates. They have tons of friends, family, and strangers who know whats going on, so they can't let them down as well!

2. Reward Motivation
This is what my mom like to call "carrot motivation." The idea behind this is that you reward yourself something when you a goal. In example, you lost 10 pounds this month? Here's a new pair of Nike pants. You went over your mile running goal this week? Have a night out with your girls.
The goals and rewards can be made in a number of ways. You can think of them the week of, have them planned and written out in a log, or you can write them down on scraps of paper, place them in a jar, and randomly choose when the time comes. Have fun with it!

3. Personal Progress
This is my motivator!! When I first saw my biceps becoming more defined, I became more excited to go to the gym every morning and lift a little heavier. And now that I'm noticing ab definition (slowly…), I do ab exercises every day! Not only is my body changing, but my mind is too. As we know, exercise gives us endorphins. Those endorphins make us happier and give us energy. Therefore, the more we work out, the more energy we will have to workout again (hopefully not twice in the same day. If you're one of those people, go you).

Here's what Chris Pratt (Parks and Rec, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc) had to say about his gym motivation:

“I like clothes now. I have more energy. I sleep better. My sex drive is up. Blood’s flowing. I’m less susceptible to impulse. I’m in a different mode. When I was way out of shape, the idea of using whitening strips on my teeth seemed terrible. I have to do that every day? I’ll never do it. What you want is instant results when you’re out of shape. You want your teeth whitened in 45 minutes with the use of lasers. But when you’re in shape, you know it’s the result of doing a little bit every day. Moments aren’t just moments. A moment might be a week or a month. So instead of Boy, I’d love to eat this hamburger right now, I’m considering a little further into the future. I’m thinking, I eat that hamburger and that’s 1,200 calories, and I’m gonna work out tomorrow and lose 800 calories. I may as well eat a salad here, still do that workout, and then I’m actually making progress.” — Chris Pratt

What motivates you to go to the gym and eat healthier?
Let me know!

Last MGBx3J // New Shoes

We made it! MGBx3J is done! I definitely learned a lot about my body during these past couple months.

Something I'm really excited to do is work even harder this last month before I head to school! I'm kicking up my cardio to 60 minutes! 

The picture on the left is from when I started working out about a year ago. The picture on the right is from about 2 weeks ago. Not a crazy amount of progress, but I'm proud! I'll be taking more (better quality) pictures soon!

--

So, to quote my consistent half-marathon runner of a mom, you should get a new pair of shoes every 500 miles. Well, that's great advice for those who track their miles! But what about those of us who don't? I have had a pair of pink Nike Free 4.0 shoes for the past year and a half, which I loved. However, the top of the shoe started to tear so you could see my toes & the cushioning on the bottom became thin. So that's when I decided it was time for a new pair! 

Moral of the story: shoes will make or break your workout. Make sure you look for the signs of worn down shoes (rips, thin lining, joint pain, etc.) 

I love my Nike Free 4.0s! I tried the 5.0 recently, but the toe box was a little too wide for my liking. Plus, the 5.0 edges of the heel were rounded, which made me feel less stable (for when I'm working with weights).