workout – Jaclyn Grace

Happy Saturday!

Today is an extra happy Saturday because my mom and my brother came down to visit me! Anthony is working on a paper right now though, so I figured I would hop on here for a few minutes and catch up with all of you.

I am so proud of myself after this week for a few reasons. The main reason being that I finished my first full week of working in and commuting to NYC, as well as living in my very own apartment. I had been so nervous for this week for so long, but now I realize that I had no reason to be. It was a piece of cake…. well kind of. I struggled a bit towards the end just because I was so darn exhausted.

screen-shot-2017-01-14-at-5-24-54-pm — Mandatory first day of work selfie!

The second reason is because I worked out this week every morning at 5:30 before work. If you know me, you know that I would be happy sleeping until 10:30 every single day. This was so hard, but I’m so happy that I forced myself to do it. I loved coming home each night knowing that I had already been active for the day.

Before moving to Hoboken, I did tons and tons of research regarding which gym would be the best for me to join. Unfortunately, fitness is super expensive in this area and as a new grad, I’m still trying to get on my feet. Eventually I hope to start taking classes here and there at local studios (they have barre, yoga, and spin classes that I can’t wait to try ) but for now, I figured a program that I could do for less money from my apartment would be best.

With this criteria, I decided to jump on the Beachbody bandwagon and sign up for a year of on demand workouts. This allows me to stream any workout that I want straight to my TV and includes a great variety. Some of the more popular ones included are Insanity, P90X, 21 Day Fix, and Core de Force. I’ve mixed it up a bit to see how I liked the different programs and I haven’t been disappointed yet.

Right now I’m fully committed to 21 Day Fix and have already finished Day 7/21! I’ve been sore every day and I LOVE that the workouts are only 30 minutes each. I’m not sure I could handle getting up much earlier than 5:30 everyday!

screen-shot-2017-01-14-at-5-36-17-pm — My favorite post-workout / pre-work protein shake 🙂

Now I’m off to the supermarket to get some snacks and games for us to enjoy during the Patriots game. Go Pats!!

xo,

Jaclyn

Fri-YAY

It’s finally Friday night, which means that the weekend is officially here!

Last night I went bowling with a bunch of my friends. On Thursdays one of the bowling alleys near us has $11 unlimited bowling for college students. We went around 9PM and ended up staying until almost midnight. It was a blast!

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This was one of my first times bowling non- candlepin and I was absolutely horrible. Everybody had a good laugh over the fact that across my first three turns I did not score a single point.

Today was a pretty easy day for me. David delivered a surprise coffee (along with my homework that I accidentally left in the copier at home) to my doorstep at 8AM, which was a great way to start my day! After that I went to class for a bit and then ended up spending two full hours at the gym. I ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes and spent the rest of my time using free weights and doing a combined biceps and back circuit. All followed by a short stretch of course.

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I did not intend on working out for that long but once I got on a roll I just could not stop. I love the feeling of accomplishment after a solid workout.

I showered and ran a few errands in the afternoon before heading home to cook dinner. I had the leftovers of some veggie chili that I made recently, and also made a delicious side of sautéed mushrooms and kale sprinkled with some grated parmesan cheese.

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I plan on spending the rest of my night watching Netflix, reading, and enjoying a nice big mug of hot chocolate.

Enjoy your weekends!

xo,

Jaclyn

Four Weeks!

Happy Monday everyone!

I made it through my first day of work after ten days off… and it was definitely a challenge. Luckily, all that is in store for me for the rest of the night is sushi, Netflix, and a nice big glass of green tea. 🙂

I’m extremely proud of myself today. As of yesterday, it has been four weeks since I implemented a “lifestyle change” – if you care to call it that – which includes working out regularly, eating healthier, and living a more stress free life.

During these past weeks, I have focused mostly exercising and creating a regimen that works for me. I have always worked out and kept in relatively good shape, but never like this. I made a commitment to myself and so far I feel great!

I’ve heard over and over that it takes 4 weeks for something to become a habit, which is why I am so happy with myself for reaching this milestone!

You may be wondering why all of a sudden I decided to make this change..

This past year of college was very difficult for me. I was extremely stressed out, anxious, and generally unhappy. My schedule was filled to the brim with activities and other commitments, the schoolwork was very difficult and time consuming, and I was living in a tiny apartment with a roommate who I did not get along with.

I was captain of my college dance team, held a position in my sorority, worked 10+ hours per week, and was pursuing classes towards both my bachelor degree and my masters. To say the least – I was in way over my head.

I didn’t make any time for myself or the things that I genuinely cared about. I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I wasn’t taking care of myself. Because of my busy schedule I rarely had time to go grocery shopping, never mind taking an hour to go to the gym.

I didn’t know how to handle it. I was frequently in a bad mood and lashing out at the people who cared about me. I knew I was doing it and felt awful about it, but for some reason I couldn’t control it.

When I moved home for the summer in May, I took some time to re-evaluate decided that something needed to change. I realized that no matter how busy my schedule gets, I need to make time for myself! I decided then and there that I was going to dedicate this summer to self improvement.

665d9ee745f89597ea65b105c370274e I first decided to focus on my health! I made a commitment to workout at home 5 days per week and to start drinking more water. So far so good. I have found myself with more energy and much less stress in my life.

My next task is improving my outlook and attitude about obstacles that come my way, while keeping with my workout regimen. I started this by keeping a Gratitude journal, as I mentioned last week.

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully it gives you a better idea of where I am coming from!

xo,

Jaclyn

Q. What do you do to handle stressful situations in your life?

Keep Switching It Up!

Happy Monday! Today is especially happy because it is only a four day work week, and who doesn’t love that?! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend- I know that I did.

On Saturday I spent the day at the beach with friends for the first time this year. It really was perfect beach weather, though the water was freezing! Around 4pm we got cleaned up and headed into Providence, RI for Waterfire. This was an amazing experience! There are large bonfires floating all over the river, romantic music playing, and even gondolas floating along with the fire. If you have never been I would highly recommend it – especially if you are looking to have a special evening with your significant other. 🙂

On Sunday morning I woke up ready to get back on track with my workout routine. I dragged myself out of bed, changed into my workout gear, and tried to get myself going. For some reason, I was completely unmotivated. I only was able to complete 1 round of a HIIT circuit that I can usually do 3x! Feeling discouraged, I hopped in the shower and figured I could always try again later in the day.

That evening my aunts called and asked if Conor and I wanted to go for a bike ride with them. They have been biking like crazy and swear by it! After a little convincing, we decided to go with them and… We LOVED it! We rode 13.8 miles in total and it took us about an hour. My legs were killing me, my butt hurt, and I was sweating buckets – but I enjoyed myself. I no longer felt discouraged or upset over my morning setback.

The lesson in all of this is that you cannot let yourself get bored with your workouts! It is so important to switch it up. I had been doing similar circuits 6 days a week for awhile now and the last 3 or 4 had been almost unbearable. I was barely getting through them and working all of the same muscles. After changing it up with just one bike ride- I feel like I am back at the beginning of my journey and 100% motivated!

Don’t let yourself get stuck in the same rut that I did!

xo,

Jaclyn