When do you exercise?

I know we've all heard the rumor that it's better to exercise in the morning right when you get up, right? I think that it boosts your metabolism for the rest of the day or something. Not sure, but its supposed to be way better. So I try to commit and this is what happens:

Every. Single. Morning.

I go to bed, all excited and motivated like "tomorrow's the day!" Then in the morning...fail. I never get up! I just can't motivate myself to get out of bed to do something that I don't like doing anyways, when no one is forcing me to get up. I don't know what my problem is!!

How do you motivate yourself to exercise? What time do you exercise? Do you find it makes a difference to exercise in the morning vs in the evening?

M&M's for breakfast

Sometimes you just need to eat M&M's for breakfast. I wouldn't suggest doing it often, but sometimes, its okay. 

Personal Training

Yikes! The first appointment is always the worst because that's the one where they take down all your measurements and stuff. Lemme tell ya, it was not pretty. So, In the interest of science, I am prepared to share my fitness baseline results with you. This is not easy.

Weight: 184lbs
% Body fat: 36.5% (Well below Avg.) Avg= 23.7-20.7
BMI: 31.58 (Well below Avg.) Avg= 22.0-21.1
Waist-Hip Ratio: 0.73 (Avg.) Ave= 0.769-0.737
Resting Heart Rate: 89 BPM (Well Below Avg) Avg= 74-70
VO2 Max: 32.5mkm (Below Avg.) Avg= 33.8-36.6
Push Ups: 12 (Below Avg.) Avg=14-19
Sit Reach: 15.5ins (Below Avg) Avg= 18-19.99
Blood Pressure: 149/75 (Slightly Elevated) Avg=120/80

Measurements in inches:
neck: 13.5
Shoulder: 43.75
Chest: 39.5
Waist: 35.25
Hip: 48.25
Thigh: 23.5
Calf: 16.25
Arm: 13.25
F-Arm: 10.25

There you have it. It's all out there now. I provided all the averages so you can compare your own results if you'd like. As you can see, I've got tons of room for improvement. I'll re-test again in 6 weeks and hopefully I'll have gained lots of ground.

I love my trainer. Her name is Andi. She's very enthusiastic but she also a good listener. I'm really glad I'm in a position to take advantage of personal training. Check in to see progress!

Opportunities

As I have mentioned before, I am blessed to be able to work in an environment that promotes a healthy lifestyle. I have been given an opportunity to be personally trained by a neighboring business and I think I'm going to do it! I'm pretty nervous about it but the most success I've ever had was with a personal trainer. My goals are obviously centered around losing weight and looking super sexy this summer but I'm trying to distract myself with other goals as well. I'd love to be a runner but I'm just not. I have poor respiratory strength and my stamina frankly sucks. But I've always imagined myself getting up early and going for a quite run or taking pictures at the end of a marathon with my water bottle and a big number clipped to my front. So, thats the distraction goal. A group from Madison Park get together and run a couple of races every year. This year they're all running the Seattle Rock N' Roll Half marathon. I'm hoping to join them. I know it's a stretch but in my consult with my trainer, she said it was totally doable. 

With training, I'd also have to be accountable for what I eat everyday. In order to see results, I have to eat healthy and exercise. The trainers see the exercise so if they don't see results, they know its with my diet. I think that this is where I really need someone. It is just way too easy to slink off somewhere where no one knows me, buy a bunch of unhealthy food, and shamefully eat it all. Why?! Why does everything unhealthy taste so good while everything healthy doesn't?! 

I'll have my initial fit test this week so look for those frightening results soon. Has anyone else been personally trained? If so, how'd it go? Did you like it? Success?