It's That Time!!

Wow, December completely flew by!  I will admit that I've been completely exhausted the over the past 2 weeks, and I took most of the time off from working out.   All of my work travel caught up to me.  I had no energy, and all I wanted to do was sleep as much as possible.  I had a wonderful Christmas and birthday, and enjoyed spending time with family and friends.  It was a great close to 2013.

So, today is the last day of the year, and I am super pumped up about 2014! There are so many new and exciting things on the horizon, both professionally and personally.  I have a huge milestone coming up in 13-ish weeks.  I bit the bullet and signed up for a professional fitness photoshoot at the beginning of April (see the countdown clock on the right? It doesn't lie! Tick Tock..).  I have tons of butterflies, but I decided that even if I'm not competition ready, it won't matter.  It will be a chance to celebrate all of the accomplishments to date and to take a very pretty set of pictures - no more hiding!

Aside from the photoshoot, I've also declared that I want to focus on improving my cardiovascular endurance over the course of the next 12 weeks.  Here is how I plan to get it done:

1. Get on the Bike.
2. Jump the Rope.
3. Hit the Bag.
4. Swing the Bell.
5. Lift the Weights.

My less than stellar performance in the Spinning class that I took on Thanksgiving Day (and also during WSSC) has been bothering me.  I've lost much of the cardiovascular conditioning and endurance that I'd worked so hard to build up over the years.  It is very clear that in order to become great at a sport, you must practice it consistently.  Since I no longer teach classes regularly, I've lost the benefit of having a schedule in which I must be at a class at a specific day and at a specific time.  I've found myself making excuses or putting other tasks ahead of my fitness goals.  Don't get me wrong - the time I've been in the gym this year has been immensely productive.  I've just let life and other things get in the way of the former "gym time is non-negotiable" attitude that I once had.

So, for 1Q2014, my goal is to consistently spin 3x/week and to box/jump rope 2x/week, while continuing my current program of lifting 3-4 days per week.  I was the most conditioned when I included spinning, boxing, and strength training (including kettlebells) into my program.  I also found these avenues to be invaluable throughout the fat loss process.  It is my objective to reintroduce these modalities into my routine consistently, as opposed to every once in a while.

What prize is your eye on in 2014?  Go get it!