3/30/10 The April Gym/Exercise/Put-Down-That-Cookie Challenge

I've been trying to decide whether or not to do this, and eventually I was like, "Why not? We're all friends here, right?"

Right?

I mean, I may have never physically met most of you, but that doesn't mean that I don't trust you to have my back, cause you're my homies, and that's just how we roll, right? Word to your mother and all, although I'm not quite sure what that means.

Anyway.

Here's the thing: My gym has launched its April Challenge initiative, and this year I'm going to do it. And because things like self-discipline and accountability fly right out the window as soon as a fresh tube of cookie dough gets opened, I'm going to tell you guys that I'm doing it so that two weeks down the road, I won't all be like, "Gym Challenge? Are you sure? You must have me confused with someone else...probably someone who wouldn't eat this second piece of cake".

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to do a major overhaul or anything. I've been going to the gym for a couple of years and I generally like the shape I'm in. It's just that sometimes I tend to...well, slack off. With the workouts. And the cardio. And the cookie vigilance.

But the April Challenge is all about pushing yourself, and accomplishing new goals, and not gorging oneself on Easter candy, so here we go.

This month I will:

• Do my cardio classes on Tuesday and Thursday and not skip them for any reason other than death.
• Do the ENTIRE ab workout DVD and not give up 15 minutes into it and watch the rest of it in fast forward while I sit on the couch.
• Work up to doing 20 minutes on the tread wall at 90 degrees. (At the moment it is killing me to do 10 minutes).
• Keep my elliptical pace above 130, except for cool downs.
• Not buy lots of Easter chocolate just because it is there and on sale.
• Not eat dessert more than once twice a week.

I'm trusting you to keep me accountable, my Interpeeps. My home-dogs. My sistas from another mista (except of course, for my actual sista, who is from the same mista, but you get the point). Pop on every once in a while and be all like, "Did you do your cardio this week? Did you? DID YOU?!" Cause I'm all about the motivation.

And just so you know that I'm serious, this is the before picture, which I am posting as a comparison for the end of the month. (I'm not sure if we will be able to tell a difference after 30 days, but I'm hoping so). If you want, feel free to do the April Challenge with me. Your gym doesn't have to be doing it...you can just piggyback onto my Challenge virtually. Just pick out some exercise goals and spend 30 days trying to hit them. Sound good? Good. It starts April 1, which means you have one day to finish off that bag of potato chips.



The Before Picture (not bad, but there's always room for improvement, right?)
I'm also going to admit that before I let Tony take the picture, I was all, "Wait! I need to put on some lipstick!" and he was like, "For a exercise photo?". Which just goes to show that men do not understand the lengths one most go to to psych oneself up into posting a picture of themselves on the Internet wearing a sports bra and yoga pants. I don't care what you look like.