A Beautiful Zen: In the Moment #4: That thing you do at the gym

(Unfortunately photos in this post were lost due to The Great Deletion of 2014. Some efforts to re-do photos will be made but not all posts will be redone.)

There was a lot of interest in the Fitbook that I showed in my Pre-Xmas Haul post so this post is on it and my fitness routine.

The primary reason I started going to the gym was because I couldn't carry more than one big bag of groceries home. Seriously. The bf started worrying about me because I can be clutzy. That with the fact that I was generally weak made him worry that one day I'll be barely middle-aged and break my hip from a fall. He urged me to start going to the gym to get stronger and to protect my bones.

I signed up for Snap Fitness. They give you an assessment every 3 months to track your strength, endurance and flexibility. They tailor a workout for you and I was just following those for a while. I'm been at it for a little more than year now, and was going about 3 times a week. I've moved from 24% body fat to 20%. (I don't really worry about my weight since I know muscle weights more than fat does.) If my pants fit and my body fat composition is low, I'm pretty happy. I feel stronger, have more muscle and am more fit than I have been in a very very long time.

I got the fitbook to help me keep track of my exercises. I use to do the same routine (more or less) for the last year but now that I'm more than just a beginner, I'm trying to switch things around and am generally exercising at 3-5 times a week now.

The Fitbook starts off with a 12 week calendar where you can broadly plan your workouts.

Then it's segmented off into individual 12 weeks, where each has a one week plan, followed by a page per day for your specific workout and your food log.

I don't use the food log at all. I was clued in by Larie about My Fitness Pal which helps you track the calories you eat. I didn't think I would keep up with it, but adding the foods and calories onto the app is pretty easy and it works.

In general, I think the fitbook is a great tool but I'm really not using the majority of it. I think I'll just use a regular spiral notebook next time and lay it out in a similar fashion. Having templates for all your charts and plans is a real help though, so this is a good tool for that.

On top of going to the gym and doing my regular routine, I have the p90X videos for at-home workouts and an account on Tribe Sports which has amazing workout infographics. Here's a couple below. The great thing about Tribesports is the challenges they have and the community of fitness enthusiasts. I don't take part fully in the community but it's a GREAT resource for workout ideas. If you like, you can find me @jarafst on Tribesport and on My Fitness Pal.