Life Lately {My Fitness Essentials}

Today I wanted to share with you guys my fitness essentials. What keeps me excited and able to work out each day!

Fitness has been a part of my life for a while but not in a serious way. Walking, jogging and being a member at the Y was my usual M.O. I have never had a hardcore routine. About two years ago I was training to run a 5k. Then I had a car accident and busted up my knee. After my knee healed I got back to jogging, joined my husband's employer's gym and got back to lifting weights.

I was inspired by my cousin Emily who really had a successful home workout routine going with Insanity and various other programs. I started out on Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. I was doing it! But I'm not going to lie. After about 10 days in I tried to weigh on the scales - NOT recommended - and I thought I was going to see this huge drop and I didn't. That completely psyched me out and kind of abandoned it. I did get back into the gym from time to time and kept up with some jogging. I ended up in a 5K at my son's school without even really knowing it! How is that possible? Well I thought we were all just suppose to do laps around the new track for so many laps and by the time we finished (walking and jogging) they said congrats on the 5K! I was like, well well well!

That brings me to where I am now. I have had Shaun T's Focus T25 Workout sitting in my office still inside the box for like...2 years now? Maybe? Well, it was in December 2015 that I finally opened the box and got my butt in gear! 

As of this very day, I am on Day 23. I am going to do a separate post on my T25 experience. I will do a part 1 and a part 2 for the different phases of the challenge. Stay tuned!

THE ESSENTIALS

 An absolute essential before I start my workout is C4 Pre-Workout Drink. About 20 minutes before I start my 25 minute workout I will mix one scoop of C4 and about 6 ounces of water and drink it. This was recommended to me by a friend who is also focused on fitness. I like the taste and I can feel the effects immediately. There are a lot of pre-workout drinks out there and this is just one of hundreds. C4 happens to work great for me, I researched the ingredients on C4 and many others. Ideally, I would've loved to try the E&E that Shaun Thompson recommends but it is just a little too expensive. It was my favorite with regards to ingredients.

My essential for a good, sweaty workout is Focus T25. This is what the dvd set looks like. I got mine off of Amazon. I am not doing the 21 day fix. I don't have anything against it though. This is a lifestyle change and I actually want to just focus on going hard each day. I want to be fit! Dare say...A Bad Ass! 25 minutes a day is so achievable when you are first starting out. I'll get more in depth about the workout part in my T25 post.

My essentials for during and after the workout are my new Fitbit Surge, Emergen-C and an ice cold sparkling Dasani. I asked for a Fitbit for Christmas. My hubby chose the Surge. I am in LOVE with it. Really. I'm obsessed. I have never EVER known how many calories I was actually burning in a workout. I have never known what my peak heart rate is and when I reach it and how long I stay at that peak. The sleep function is fabulous and that's a whole different subject! 

I pop the top on my Dasani the minute I am done with the cool down. Oh.my.LORD it is so refreshing!! Sometime later I will mix some Emergen-C with water and drink it. Partly because I'm paranoid I'm going to get sick again and partly because I don't like taking pill vitamins because they make me feel bloated and nauseous and partly because it replenishes electrolytes.

Another fitness essential for me is...BRIGHT COLORS! The brighter and crazier the better! It is fun to wear these crazy pants. It gets me excited. Gets my blood pumping. I love neon color headbands and hair ties too! I love to be one hodge podge mishmash of crazy colors! And yes, I do wear my active wear to drop off my son in the mornings! So you may see me in these pants in public. #dontcare

And my final fitness essential: my Asics. In a blinding, bright color, of course. I never knew how much I would love an Asic tennis shoe! I have been a Nike girl forever but no more. These feel great on my feet and can handle High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) like a boss! 

There you have it!

My Fitness Essentials!! 

What are yours?