Spicing things up with circuits

Sometimes, I get bored with the same old, same old, so I'll start throwing strength and cardio workouts together in strange combinations. When I belonged to a real gym, I would do cardio circuits, too.

If you subscribe to Self or Fitness, they'll occasionally suggest doing one or two minute bursts of cardio in between the strength moves. It burns more calories, effectively turning your strength workout into a cardio workout, too. This time, I did 45 minutes of Taebo, but every 3 minutes I'd stop the tape and do a move from the Self Challenge strength workout for this month. It stretched my workout to a little over an hour, which meant that I kept my heart rate up for that long.

These are particularly fun to do outside with a friend or two. You can set up stations along a track: push-ups, crunches, lunges, etc. You run a 1/4, do an exercise, etc. Some people set them up as relays.

Incentives are important

Muffin top: 1) the tasty part of a muffin or 2) the extra bit of fat that rolls over the top of your pants, resembling the top of the muffin.

In the interest of getting myself back on track, I'm setting up a incentive structure.

For every week that I work out 5 times, I can treat myself to a latte.
If I stay within my calorie goals for 25 days of the month, I can buy a new CD or DVD.
For every 5 pounds I lose, I can purchase a new piece of workout clothing or equipment.
If I reach my goal weight, I can purchase this dress or something similar at Banana.

And the true incentive: a new swimsuit if I complete the Self Challenge in better shape than I started it!