July and August will be my last two months before I go for vacation. In these two months, I need to double my effort in order to achieve the body goals that I set for myself. As I started to focus on doing target exercises, I’d seen my small progress in the last two months. My lower body is starting develop from what I wanted it to be. Compare to how I think before, I just realized that I should not make necessary targets which is impossible to do so considering the kind of body that I have. Even my partner and the people around me told me that I don’t look like healthy if I still lose weight. After considering their opinion and as well as mine, I just decided to maintain my figure and start focusing in developing muscles. I’m pretty sure that it will take a lot of time for me to work on it, so all I need to do is to continue what I started. It has been more than a year when I started doing workout. I remember how I started with an almost 56 kg weight and here I am now living in my best figure after so many years of neglecting my body. Although I still have long way to go, what important for me is I developed a habit of taking care of myself. That’s the most important thing that happened to me during this process. Without developing a habit, I will for sure be in that same situation when I’m suffering with my confidence. Even on my vacation for the next month, I planned to continue my workout and incorporate new activities for myself.

For these two months, I successfully stick to my routine and follow the workouts that I planned for each month. The main focus of my workouts is for hips, butt, arms and abs muscles. Rather than looking thin, I now prefer to look healthy and fit. In order to do that, I need to develop muscles and at the same time eat healthy meals. Compare to before, I now made it sure that I’m eating at least a cup of vegetables or fruits every single day. Other than that, I don’t skip breakfast unlike before. My consultation on the last week of July had tremendously helped me also to make a meal plan for myself. As soon as I got the results, I made my research about the food that I should intake in order to address the vitamin and mineral deficiencies that I found out based from the results. In these two months, there’s truly a lot of things that it taught me. At first, I was thinking that working out will be more than enough, but based on experience, it is also important to know what’s going on with my health. Even though we may look healthy outside, there are things within us which requires scientific approach to know. If ever I didn’t take that consultation, I will probably be clueless of my condition up until this day.

“Prevention is better than cure / an ounce [auns] of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Meaning: it is better to stop something bad form happening than it is to deal with it after it has happened.

Like what I’m doing since last year, I’d been basing my workout routines from different YouTube channels of well-known health coaches. By following them. It became easy for my body to get used in doing varieties of workouts. I tried doing before a workout routine application but I found it not effective unlike watching it on YouTube. For the next year, I will try to do it again and maybe that time it will be effective for me. Other than that, I planned also to invest on equipment and item such as resistance bands, yoga mat, dumb bells, workout clothes and many more other things. I decided to invest on it because I find it more motivating to exercise if you have the items that will inspire you to do so. As of now, I’m just borrowing from my flat mate since I don’t have yet the budget to buy stuffs. Gladly she allowed us to borrow it but of course with proper care until I got my own items. I am thinking if I can try to but it at home since it’s quite cheaper there than here. I hope that I will still have a budget for it so that I can save more money rater than buying it here.

As I turned 27 next year, I need to really take care of myself more. I need to continue what I’m doing right now and incorporate more physical activities on my daily life which will help me to live actively. As soon as I’m in my 30’s my body will surely change from all the things that will happen on that period. To be able to keep fit and healthy, I need to make sure that I’m consistently doing workout and taking healthy meal options. I just want to live with a best fit as much as possible. I’d seen the people around me who gets older, they usually neglect their own selves which results to unhealthy practices. Now that I’d seen the results of it, I need to make preventive measures in order not to be in that same situation. On my previous blog, I shared different tips in order to get rid of my excuses. Now, I’ll be sharing other tips for you to be consistent in doing workout:

1. Make a Daily Routine & Post it. Planning your day will the best option to do if you are just starting. By doing this, it will help you to schedule a time doing your workout without compromising any important task that you have on the day.

2. Look for routines that motivates you. For this tip, you need to ask yourself about the things that you enjoy or curious on trying. Is it running, dancing, jumping rope, weights, brisk walking, cycling or any other physical activities? Once you set a routine, it is important that you are determined and inspired to do it so that there will be a higher chance for you to be consistent.

3. Follow different health coach on your social media accounts. One thing that made me more inspired in doing my workout is when I started to follow different influences who promotes healthy lifestyle. By doing this, I created an environment where I surround myself of things which will inspire me to work out.

4. Make an assessment of your progress. Although progress takes time, a simple track of your results will push you to continue what you started.

5. Have an alarm. If you’re just starting to workout having an alarm is ideal to do so. It will serve as your reminder to work out in situation when you forgotten about it. As soon as your body got used to it, you can slowly get rid of this tip.

6. Make a right environment that will inspire you to continue. In making a change in your life, it is inevitable to be demotivated by the people who doesn’t want you to grow. So, for this tip, you need to manage your environment to make it an ideal factor for you to continue. If you are the type of person who can handle the negativity, you can just imply disregard those negative attempts. But if you are the one who gets affected easily, you need to make a choice of getting rid of any distraction.

Like in my previous workout blogs, I will share here my workouts that I’d done for each month, progress, schedules that I successfully done it and also my thoughts about the whole experience. Let’s just say that this blog aims to inspire people out there that the only way to achieve one’s goal is to make a necessary step to do. Let’s not all focus on the results because the journey that we’ll going through are more notable than it. Like what I’m going through right now, I just focus more on the habits and mindset which I was able to develop. That is more important for me right now because I believe that great things really take time. A year of doing it is just only the beginning of everything. There will be more workouts and progress that I will be sharing in this website so stay tune!

Here below are the summary of my workout plans and measurements for the month of July and August.

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” -Colin Powell

July Work Out Progress

This month, I started doing target exercises which focuses on my lower body and abs. My target is to have an hour glass shape body and in order to do that, I need to do routines that will address those specific parts of my body. With the use of body shape calculator that I discovered online I need to have a measurement of 34-26-36 or 34-25-35, as of July my body measure 34-27-35 so I still need to work on developing more of my lower body and reducing an inch of my waist. Either of the two measurements will do so I just need to double my efforts before my vacation. For July, I started to do hip dips workout and it seem pretty doing well since my hip’s measurement had an inch increase. I decided to continue it for the next months so that I will develop more muscles on that part. Here below are the recap of my July workout routine:

“If you don’t find the time, if you don’t do the work, you don’t get the results.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

Like what I shared on my tips above, I’d been actively tracking myself doing my workout routine. I marked it every time I’m done with the routine on my journal and in the end of the month, I carefully sum it up for my review. Not only I track my workout routine, I also track my calories intake, sweets/fast food intake, self-care routine and sleep hours every single day. It may seem impossible to do so, but I’d been doing since the year 2022 started. The reason I decided to track everything is that I wanted to make sure that I’ll not miss any single day not doing anything for myself. This is my top priority for the year and I don’t want to waste all of the efforts I exerted in the past months. At first, there are times that I missed recording my daily routines, but as time goes by, it became a habit of mine to write down on my journal all the things that happened during the whole day. To give you an insight on how many times I successfully did my workout, here’s the summary of my schedule in this month of July:

As you can see on the above illustration, there are some days that I missed and that is due to the time where I almost collapsed due to my period. I wasn’t able to go to work as well on that day since I literally can’t stand from the pain that I’d felt. Despite of that, I continued doing the routine on the next days but just settle first in doing mild exercises. After my body recovered, I went back to my usual routine until the end of July. In some days, I also incorporate arm workouts and hula-hoop for 10-15 minutes instead of doing Yoga. I was thinking that I need to wake up at least 15 minutes earlier next month so I can start my day with hula-hoops. That planned would still be tentative but let’s just see for the next month. I think that it will be ideal to try it rather than regretting in the end.

During this period wherein I’m doing something for myself, there are people who tried to educate me of things that I must do. I respect them on that part but there are some suggestions which feels like unnecessary to tell. Anyone can sense if a person motivates you or questioning what you do. In my situation, I’d felt the latter one. But rather than opposing whatever they tell or suggest, I just listen but continue what I’m doing. There are times that I feel furious about it but I always believe that results speaks louder than words. I will just choose to keep my mouth shot and focus on what’s good for myself. I will not let a room for any negativities now because this time what important for myself is the only thing that matters. In my previous workout blogs, I shared the different activities that I planned to do for the rest of the months. I just decided to add some target exercises which will be my focus for the rest of the months. The list is comprised of different kind of workout and mindfulness activities. You can check it below:

In this particular month, the activities I did are Abs & hip dips workout. I source all the activities in YouTube and I did it alternately 5 times a week in the whole month of July. You can check the videos below:

This fist abs workout is really intense although which takes 15 minutes to complete. Like what the title shows, the workout targeted the belly part which has been the major concerns of most women. To be able to achieve a decrease of inch on my waist line, I did this type of routine for the whole month of July. It was really hard at first and I also experienced muscle pain afterwards. Since I keep doing it, my body got used to it after a week which makes me feel more easier to do the whole routine.

I fell in love in this activity as soon as I did it. Every time I do this work out, I always feel so relax. It literally cast out all my stress and negative thoughts. After I tried one yoga routine of Adrienne, I fell in love to her routines. Especially for me who’s not that flexible, her routine is the best for me. I planned to continue doing workout and yoga routines together in these remaining months of the year. Now that I develop a good habit, I will continue to be consistent on this so that my effort won’t be wasted.

“I know that if I set my mind to something, even if people are saying I can’t do it, I will achieve it.” – David Beckham

August Work Out Progress

After a month of doing target exercise, my body became used to it and I’m not in pain anymore as I continued it for this month. Other than the target workout, I also incorporate other activities such as 15 minutes hula-hoop and 10 minutes arm workout. I make it sure that I’m doing all of it every single day so I’ll be on my best body before I go for vacation. For this month as well, I started to take at least a cup of fruits and vegetables every day. After I had my second consultation, I really took note of all the foods that the doctor suggested to me. Thankfully, our cafeteria offers fresh salads and fruits every day which became my healthy snack throughout the day. In this specific month, I still feel not that proud of my body. I feel like I still need to work on a lot until I’ll be in my best ideal self. One reason why I’m a bit on a rush to see the results is because I’m pretty sure that I will gain weight on my vacation. Especially that my mom is there to cook my favorite foods, I will perhaps exceed my calories intake for a day. That’s why I am thinking that I need to continue working out in order to balance this sudden change. Rather than regretting everything once I come back from vacation, it is better to work it out continuously even if I’m on vacation. That will also be my top priority for that month.

A lot of things may change during that period. In order not to waste all the efforts that I did for the past months, I really need to make sure that I will not ruin the habits that I already developed. I’d seen how it happened before to the people around me when they ended up doing unhealthy habits for so long. I’d already made a progress and I should always think of all my efforts on that journey. The dedication that I have for August should continue for the rest of the year 2022.

To assess all my efforts in this month of August, I can conclude that I successfully followed my routine and at the same time achieve my goals in this month. To give you a glimpse of the routine that I did, here below is the illustration of it:

As you can see, this routine is the same from the previous month and the only change is the workouts that I did. The reason behind this is that my body is already used to in this routine and adjustment is unnecessary to do so. For the next month, I’m pretty sure that there will be no routine since I will have different daily activities compare to this month. Nevertheless, like what I always mentioned in this blog, I will still do workouts and self-care routine like the usual. To give you an insight on how many times I successfully did my workout, here’s the summary of my schedule in this month of August:

For this month, I missed a total of three days for the reason that my body aches last August 6, and I’m preparing for my flight on August 30 & 31. The rest of the days went well because even on my free day, I still do 10-15 minutes workouts. One of my colleagues who I found on TikTok really inspired me to do arm workouts. I’d seen her glowing after consistently doing workout and I feel so inspired to do the same. I know that my body is mostly fats that’s why I wanted to develop more muscles this time. Unlike before wherein I really wanted to look thin, I prefer to have a stronger body now. That’s also the reason why I incorporate weights on my routine in order to target the muscles that I want to develop. I am happy that I did great in this month and I even surpass my required minutes of workout due to my determination to address my arms and belly concerns.

Honestly, there are times that I still feel not proud of my body. I still thriving to compose myself every time I feel fat and when someone say’s that I don’t lose weight anymore. I’m happy that during those situations, I have a partner whom I can rely on. Without him, I will probably be so insecure about myself. I can’t imagine how would I feel if I’ll be handling all of those negativities alone especially that nowadays it is common for anyone to say something negative about yourself first. It seems like it became a greeting used by everyone and little did they know is it negatively affect someone out there. For now, even though I still experienced it, I will just help myself to divert it on something positive. I always believe that efforts and patience reap achievements in the right time.

Going back to my workout progress in this month of August, the activities I did are Lower Body workout, arm workout using dumb bell, hula-hooping & yoga. I source some of the activities in YouTube and I did it alternately at least 5 times a week in the whole month of August. You can check these videos below:

This 20-minute hit workout literally makes me sweat. Every time I finished this workout, I feel so energized and motivated to do more routines. This workout actually pushed me to incorporate the activities which I shared earlier (Hulla-hoop & Dumb Bell Workout). The health coach who did the workout video also inspired me to stick on her routine. I feel like if I will continue it, I will gain a body just like her (in my dreams!). The routine is quite hard at first since it’s high intensity but the feeling that I felt during that time really made me drown to it. I really like this routine and I will probably do this also for the next month.

Like what the title shows, I literally feel so relax every time I do the whole routine. Although I am not that flexible enough, the stretching makes me feel so good especially that I’m sitting most of my work hours. Just imagine how I feel after a whole body stretch before the day ends. FANTASTIC. Sometimes when I felt like not in the mood to do high intensity workout, I will just settle in doing this yoga routine to complete my day. Since the day I started doing a yoga session from this YouTube channel, I became a fan of her instantly. Because of this, I ended up following his yoga routine only because it is quite easy to do so and I really feel so fulfilled every time I do her routines.

In the previous month, I only settled for 10-15 minutes hip dip workouts. Now I decided to made an advancement and use a resistance band in order to see better results. Thankfully, my flat mate allowed us to used her work out items. Since then, I’d been using her dumb bells and resistance bands for my routines. Once I will go for vacation, I will also invest some items for myself which I can use since I also feel shy in borrowing her things. Going back to this routine, I am hoping that I will achieve an additional inch on my hip area before I go for vacation. In order to achieve that, I need to double my effort and make it sure that I’ll be doing the routine properly.

This another yoga of Ms. Adrienne is a short yet relaxing routine for me before I end my day. During my period this month, this yoga routine and the first one I mentioned are what I usually do. Since I usually experience dysmenorrhea, both routines help me to feel at ease and relax. Although I’m still in doubt if I can make time for this on my vacation, I will see to it that I can still somehow practice yoga during my free time.tation routine.

“I know that if I set my mind to something, even if people are saying I can’t do it, I will achieve it.” – David Beckham

To summarized my workout journey from July to August, I’m happy that once again, I successfully achieved all the targets that I set for myself. I was able to develop a good habit right now which make me feel that my day is incomplete without doing any physical activities. The whole experience was really fun so even though it was really hard at first, I was able to enjoy it until the end.

AS of now, I can say that I’m still trying hard to build an ideal environment for me to work out. It is still challenging for me to be in a situation where I avoid people so I’m hoping that somehow, I will have the right place for me where I can really maximize my growth. Nevertheless, I will still do whatever I can today until I achieve that hope.

I will not let any of the circumstances I have right now to inhibit me on the things that I’m looking forward. Nothing and no one can stop me now and that’s for sure.

“I will beat her. I will train harder. I will eat cleaner. I know her strengths. I’ve lost to her before but not this time. She is going down. I have the advantage because I know her well. She is the old me.” – Anonymous