First Day With A Personal Trainer.....

I am very excited to report that I have started training sessions with a personal trainer, one on one.  My husband has been training with a personal trainer 2 days a week, and now his trainer is doing sessions with me, 2 times a week as well.  I had my first meeting last night at 815pm.  I can say that I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect and it has been years since I have lifted weights and did things like that.  I have been doing tons of cardio on my own, but haven't done any "gym" training.  I was excited that he was very nice and had such a pleasant personality.  He is very smart and has lot's of knowledge of the body and it was so nice to talk to someone that knows so much about health and fitness.  It is really nice to have that one on one time, so you can get your questions asked.  We discussed the areas that I wanted to work on, and we decided on a program.  We actually did arms/back for the first session and it was for an hour.  We started out with a cardio workout, then did a few other exercises (push ups/abs/jumping jacks/squats/etc)  I was then warmed up and we started the official workout.  I cannot even name all of the machines we did but by far my most challenging one was: bench press.  I started out with 30lbs, then 40lbs, then 50lbs.  I did so many reps to where my arms were shaking.  We then kept moving to other machines and I can tell you that it challenged me like never before.  I literally could not lift my arms to touch my head.  It helped that we could carry conversation in between and laugh about things, so it did take my mind off all of the hard work that I was doing.  It did give me confidence when he said that he could tell I was an athlete and that I had good form while doing the exercises.  It is now the day after and my arms are sore but I am surprised that I can lift them up and handle it ok.  I am excited for this new journey that I am able to do, and cannot wait to see the results and feel stronger.  I know with the training I do on my own, and now with the personal trainer 2 times a week, that I am on my way to being healthy and strong.  Thursday is my next session and we are doing all lower body.  I would HIGHLY recommend looking into a Personal Trainer to start training with.  It helps you have someone smart plan things for you and to help you do the right form so you will get the best results!!!

Fitness Motivation....

This blog is going to be ALL about fitness and health!! So many people want to get into good shape so they can get noticed/look good/ etc.  I can only explain the reason for me training to get back into shape.  I have a husband that loves me the way I am right now at this moment, he tells me daily that I am beautiful and that I am sexy.  The reason for me training to get back in shape is because I am doing it for ME!!!!  I want to feel healthy and have tons of energy because I have two small children.  I want to be able to run and chase them and kick a ball with them and not get tired.  I see so many parents that are out of shape and cannot keep up with their children.  I want to be different, I want to have my children always remembering that I was doing the activities with them and keeping up with them.  I also am doing this for me because I know the older you get, the harder it is to get back into shape.  I will be 30 years old in March and I want to look better when I am 30 then when I was a National Tennis Champion in my early 20's.  So whatever your reason is, find it and cling to it!!!

STOP comparing yourself to others!!! God made you just the way you are with the body type that he wanted you to have!!! It is our job to maintain it and take care of ourselves!!!  Keep molding and shaping your body until you reach a healthy weight and then all you have to do is maintain it!!!

Be Realistic!!!! You didn't get out of shape overnight and you won't get into shape overnight.  It takes time to see results and often people get discouraged and give up!!!

Here are a few workouts below to help give people an idea of what they can do!!!  There are no excuses just do SOMETHING!!!

It is so important to stick with it and to keep changing up your routine.  One, it can get boring and you can lose motivation. Two, your muscles develop muscle memory and need a change up in routine.  I can honestly say that I have finally found a routine that I have been able to stick with and I am finally seeing results!!!  

Soak This In....

 A woman, dusty and worn from travel.  A man, knowing the child his fiancee carries is not his own.  Tired.  Back bent.  Head bowed.
A makeshift hotel room; really nothing more than a filthy animal pen.  A manager; a wooden box caked with dried saliva and leftover feed for beasts of burden.
Horror at the thought of giving birth alone, away from family, away from friends, away from home.  In this awful place.
 Peace from knowing that despite everything, everything will turn out right.
A God-man propels himself willingly into the icy grip of a sin-wintered world that will only view him with mocking derision and hateful distrust.  A baby, bloody and wrinkled, thrust shockingly into the world. Here, in a barn.
God, bloody and wrinkled, stowed humbly, gloriously, in the animal's food trough.

God had now become also a man.  Or more specifically, a helpless, vulnerable, reliably incontinent infant.  He who was self-existent and in need of nothing now needed a mother's breast to feed him, her loving hand to clean away his bodily waste, her patient wisdom to teach him how to speak and walk and live.
Unfathomable.

This is taken from a book that I am currently reviewing called " God in Slow Motion" by Mike Nappa

Workout Goals For This Week......(4,600)

Anybody who has been following my blogs knows that I have been working out for 2 months now and has been showing my progress to let others know how it is going and hopefully to inspire others.  I am on my 3rd month right now and I have decided to step it up this week and really push my body beyond its limits!  I will list my goals below and let you know what I am doing this week.  Tennis season starts early October so I have about 3 weeks before it starts so I plan to step it up.  I will weigh myself in October and let you know my results, so far I have lost 8lbs total.

  Monday- treadmill, bike  800 calories
  Tuesday-treadmill, bike, stairs 800 calories
  Wednesday-Off
   Thursday-treadmill, bike, stairs 800 calories
   Friday-treadmill, bike 800 calories
   Saturday-treadmill 600 calories
   Sunday-treadmill, bike 800 calories    
     So my goal for calories burned this whole week is: 4,600!!!

It is so important to not do the same routine each time and to really challenge your body with different routines, goals and speeds.  As you can see from above, I have a busy and sweaty week ahead!! I am also not including the things that I do at home (abs, squats, pushups, walking/running outside),

Feeling Like Life Isn't Real....

There are times I catch myself feeling like life isn't real.  There are so many days that I find myself going through the motions where I feel like I am not moving forward.  There are times that I struggle to find purpose and the meaning of my existence.  Do you ever seek and feel like you are seeking with all your might and still nothing?  This is at a current place where I am finding myself alot lately.  I feel like many times people put on a "face" that want to appear everything is perfect and fine and not get real with others and let others in.  I think it is so important to always let others in and let them know how things are going on behind closed doors.  How are we ever going to get out of a cycle if we don't let people in?  Do you have trouble putting one foot in front of the other lately?  Times like this I feel like just drawing near to God and never getting out of his lap.  There are times that I feel like God is the only person that knows EXACTLY what I am feeling and going through.  We can try and communicate with others, but God already knows how we feel and he is just waiting for us to seek him and make time for him.  I am in the middle of a storm right now and I am waiting for God to show up on his timing, because I know it is always perfect.  I feel like I have been waiting a lifetime and at times I can hardly breathe.  I know God doesn't work on our schedule and on our time frame, so I am keeping fixed on him.  As long as I am still alive I know that there is ALWAYS hope.  I am believing God for a miraculous move and miracle and an anointing!  I will not stop seeking until I get it.  I honestly do not know how people get through life without Jesus.  They have no hope and put all of the belief in themselves.  Just the thought and the pressure of this gets me down because I already know if I put all of the hope in myself, that I will fail.  We are not strong enough to carry the weight on our shoulders, only Jesus can carry our weight.  I really wanted to write this blog because I feel that people only write about "feel good" messages and don't get real with others.  I want to be completely transparent and let people know that this is something that I struggle with as well.  I struggle with getting through the days and find myself catching my breathe and being overwhelmed.  I have to constantly remind myself to look at Jesus and look at HIS promises.  Today is one of those days where it is a BIG struggle for me and I have many questions for God and I am waiting on revelation from him and believing that he will give it to me!!  So I hope this message gives hope to others knowing that EVERYONE has struggles and that EVERYONE should share what they are going through so we can truly lift one another up and encourage each other.

9/11......

Every person can remember where they were when the morning of 9/11 happened.  I remember that I was in high school in gym class and hearing that planes had crashed into the World Trade Center.  I didn't believe it, I didn't understand it at all.  Then when I saw it on the television I couldn't believe it, it didn't look real.  It was like watching a movie, and it was hard to believe it was happening.  I can remember the fear that came over the world and the hurt/anger that everyone felt.  It was such a sad day and I cannot imagine what it was like for the people that experienced it.  I remember the day after 9/11 and how everyone in the world locked arms and united for God and asked him for his strength.  I remember people singing in anthems "Amazing Grace."  I remember how strong we stood as a Nation the day after 9/11.  My main question is this: "What were we doing the day before 9/11?  The week before 9/11?  The minute before 9/11 happened??  Why weren't we united together in agreement and praising God BEFORE this happened?  God knew that after this event happened that people would acknowledge him for a week after and then go back to selfish living.  It really saddens my heart when I see how much our world takes God out of everything!!  We take God out of schools, we can't say certain prayers, we can't wear certain t-shirts, we cannot mention the name Jesus.  This world is growing colder and colder because God is pushed out of our world.  We need to start having God in our homes, this is something that we CAN control.  Adults, start seeking God DAILY and getting in fellowship with other members in the body of Christ.  Parents, start raising and equipping your children up in the ways of the Lord.  So many people rely on "others" to train and raise their children, but the truth is that it is OUR JOB as being PARENTS.  Men start getting bold for Christ, and stop being so passive.  Women start acting godly and respecting themselves because they are princesses of the Most High.  We need to conduct ourselves godly in EVERY way, this goes with the way we live, speak, dress, and conduct ourselves.
   We need to remember 9/11 and let it be a life changing wake up call to live for God EVERY SINGLE DAY OF YOUR LIFE!! Stand up for God and what the Word says.  God is in control of EVERYTHING!! We cannot look to our government to fix our problems or people to fix our issues.  God is the God of the impossible.  We serve a Mighty God that can restore his people, but it is up to us to repent and turn from our sins and walk in HIS PATH!!!

Attention To Every Country In The World......

Have you watched the news lately?  Do you see all the violence today that has increased recently?  I have some advice for you....Jesus is coming back very soon to take his people.  Jesus clearly states: Luke 21:36, Luke 21:11, Matthew 24:6. I wanted to give the verses and not write them down because I want people to grab their bibles and see what Jesus says.  People today think God is not in control because of everything that is happening.  God NEVER stopped being in control, he has a plan, he knows the beginning and the end.  God gave everyone FREE WILL and people can choose to follow him or become their own god and serve themselves.  We are most definitely in the end times because of how fast everything is increasing with evil, and Satan knows that his time is running out.  People blasphemous God and mock his laws and continue serving themselves.  People pick and choose what sounds good to them and what is comfortable to them.  If we constantly "hear" ALL of the good of God we can't reverently fear him as it says in the Bible.  We have to respect him and have all knowledge of what he is capable of.  We need to sit in our church seats and squirm a little bit because the truth hurts.  We KNOW we are sinful and some actually want to change for Jesus but the majority just want to hear "GOOD NEWS."  People just want blessing after blessing and don't want to change their lifestyle.  They want Gods blessing and not change for Jesus.  We need to fix our eyes on Jesus because he already conquered the world and he IS coming back for HIS PEOPLE.  If he came at this very moment, do you believe in your heart that you would be raptured?  If you have any doubt, then that is the Holy Spirit giving you conviction and is letting you know that things need to change.  You need to have Jesus in EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE!!!  There are going to be people left behind and in the Bible it says all will be deceived and willingly serve and follow the anti-christ.  In case you haven't read the Bible let me give you a quick summary:  The people who are going to be left behind are going to be in COMPLETE agony and pain, and crying out for help, but nobody will help them.  There will be evil of EVERY kind on the earth and God will pour out his wrath on EVERYONE.
    I hope this blog opened your eyes and your hearts.  It is time to fully surrender to Jesus.  Turn off the news and pick up your Bible, GOD IS IN CONTROL NOT PEOPLE!!!!!