THREE MONTHS LEFT

We're almost done with 2014! Only a countdown left of three months and I. AM. EXCITED.

Not because of the cliché, 'new year, new me' but because it means I'm getting closer to half way through my degree, I would've already done half of my first degree (early childhood) I'll be in YD Life (young adults ministry), my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, I get can my green Ps, maybe by then I'll already have a part time job. So much to look forward to!

However, it is still 2014 so #yolo. Jokes. Gotta make the most of it these last three months. So I've set a few goals that I want/need to reach by the end of this year. Here are my main goals:

- Get more than one Distinction for my subjects

- Get through a blogilates ab workout without stopping

- Meet the parents of the children I'm working with at prac

- Finish reading the Hobbit and A Million Little Ways

- Finish reading David

- Clean out my closet

- Finish my journal

It's not the end of the year yet and it is also not too late to do something new. We have three months to make the most of what is left for this year! Trust me, so much can happen in a matter of months. Imagine looking back on this whole year. Crazy how time flies but, my friend, you just better get your cape on and keep up with it too. 

Most don't know but both my parents were at health risk, both having high blood pressure due to stress, lack of exercise and eating habits so to reduce this we as a family changed our lifestyle to become healthy. No one was left behind on this, we were all in together on a journey to enhance our bodies to function better and to fight off sickness/disease. Our meals consisted of more vegetables and carbs, our snacking was substituted from cookies to nuts and fruit, we also developed individual daily exercise routines. However this winter season came and we fell back, #sozzybodies. But now we're coming back! So here are my reasons of 'why I want abs:'

1. To develop my bodily function for a greater purpose:

As great it is to be able to run for a certain amount of kilometres, to endure through that last set of reps .. that is just temporal value to exercise and good eating. I want to be able to wake up each morning feeling both physically and spiritually able to conquer the day. If my body functions well, I am physically more able to serve God better. Gotta do it for that eternal value bruh.

2. To enhance my immune system:

It's common sense, eat well and exercise daily. This will help to fight off sickness and disease, increases the strength of your immune system and helps you feel stronger! 

3. To inspire others with eternal motives rather than earthly:

If there's one way I'd like to inspire others besides my blog and ministry, it's through the way I look after myself. Although I'm focusing more on the physical aspect right now, I desire to be a living example of being healthy for eternal motives. To show that being healthy mustn't be initiated because of what the world finds appealing. Being healthy should be done as a means of allowing your body to function to its greatest potential (this one is similar to the first reason).

These are more of 'why I want to be healthy' reasons rather than 'why I want abs.' This redirection is an example of my motives. Your motives have an incredible impact on what you do and why you do it. You can workout and eat clean as best you can but if you do it for the reasons of #summerbody #ootd or whatever, you won't be truly satisfied. Look at it, people don't loose weight to look good, they loose weight to function better. When you shift your focus of 'being healthy' for the purpose of functioning better, you'll see that you won't be so caught up on how you look. Looking good is just a bonus, being able to physically serve to your full potential ..well that's even better! Let this sink in, 'why do you want abs?' Let's give true meaning to #HealthIsWealth

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

#sweatypic

You can't really see my 'sweat' but you can tell by the slight blurriness that I was shaking. My arms were shaky after doing a blogilates arms video. It was great! And I actually got through without stopping. Yay for strength! Realistically, I can't exercise every single day although I do aim to do it at least 3-4 times a week. I'm too broke to have a gym membership and I'm too self-concious to go outside and run. My routine consists of doing zumba, blogilates and a hula-hoop. This works for me because I'm only aiming to tone-up and strengthen my body, not necessarily to lose weight but to keep it off. 

Zumba

I use zumba as the cardio portion of my workout, usually doing the 20 minute express. Easy to do, heaps of fun plus you're guaranteed to sweat by the 10th minute! 

Blogilates
This is a youtube fitness channel by Cassey Ho, who is awesome I must say, and I do about 2-3 of her videos depending on their length. This is my strength portion of my workout- arms, legs, thighs, butt and abs. So much fun, she's super encouraging as well! 'Train like a beast, look like a beauty.'

Hula Hoop
Simple, just hula hooping to burn off those extra calories and to strengthen the core. Every minute you burn 7 calories so it's effective for sure. I spend about 10-15 minutes using a weighted  hula hoop. A weighted hula hoop is different from a regular one, it is much heavier and has small bumps on the inside. Hurts the first few go's but you feel a great burn afterwards.

This is how I 'workout' and exercise, it is different for everyone. Most people use the gym or run but what ever you do, as long as you feel good doing it, are having fun and it works for your body then do it! These days the 'fitness' expectations is that you go to the gym or do sets everyday to strengthen your core, all are effective however aren't for everyone. Take me for example. I love my routine and it works best for me, it's fun and not too 'serious' and it does what I want for my body. Explore different ways and outlets of how you can exercise, it's about keeping active and healthy.