Fitness Friday

I briefly mentioned in a post this week that one of my resolutions was to get back in the gym and take better care of my body.  I’m happy to say that I re-enstated my membership in December and have been going over the last couple of weeks.  I have been weight training with a friend, which is completely new to me.  I’ve learned that I have strong legs, but such a weak core.  My upper body strength is not too great either, but that’s what workouts are for.  I am slowly seeing some progress and I am excited to see more results over the next couple of months. I have also worked out with my sister too, who just started training again for her next big fitness competition this summer.  I think this will be her 5th one, which is amazing. She definitely inspires me to get back into shape especially when I see her incredible body transformations.  I thought it would be fun and different to do a fitness post with her and showcase a few of the workouts that she has me do.  This is actually something that I mentioned doing awhile back.  When H&M reached out to let me know about their newly expanded sports collection, I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity. 🙂

It’s crazy how getting new workout gear can motivate you more.  At least for me that’s the case.  I desperately needed to get new everything!  There are definitely so many stylish AND functional pieces too.  H&M’s new sports collection (available online and in select stores) includes pieces that are capsuled for specific activities, such as Athletics, Running, Outdoor and Bodymind.  They are all at a great price point too.  This really helped when picking out my pieces.  I got a couple of different pairs of leggings, but the ones that I am wearing are my favorite. They are extremely comfortable to work out in. These are meant more for running outdoors, but I will pretty much live in them at the gym.  As you can see they have reflective details and zipper elements.  My sister has on a fun printed pair, which are so soft and easy to move around in as well. I love the high waist band on those.  I got a sports bra and a couple of seamless running tops too, including this pink one.  I personally don’t like to workout in tops that are too tight fitted, so I usually go up a size to make them more comfortable to do exercises. I also just got these new kicks for the gym!  Seriously, feels like I am walking on clouds.

Cardio is my favorite!  It’s too cold for me to run outside now, so sometimes I go to the gym just to use the elliptical or treadmill.  When I go for weight training, I like to either start off with at least 15-20 minutes of cardio or I will end my workout with it.  As much as I like to just put on my headphones, turn up the music and get in my zone, it’s also really nice having a workout buddy.  Definitely makes the experience more fun and motivating.  I also learn so much more too.  We worked out at the gym in my sister’s condo. It’s small, but had everything that we needed.  The lighting was not the best, so I apologize!

This is a flat bench chest press, which is an upper body strength training exercise.  It helps to develop muscles primarily in your chest, arms and shoulders.   In this photo, I was in the process of bringing my arms back down.  I usually do only 5 or 8lbs.  As I do this more often, I will increase the weight a little bit.

 Using a medicine ball is a great way to do some exercises for your core.  This is something that I need to get better at!  First, Jessalyn did crunches with the ball and then push-ups. She did 4 sets of 15 for both.  I can do regular crunches just fine, but doing them with a medicine ball makes it way more difficult.

On Me: H&M Running Tights, Tank, Sports Bra / Nike Women’s Fitsole

On Jessalyn: H&M Sports Tights / Nike Women’s Sneakers

My sister and I are so different.  Of course, I am in pink and she is in black and grey.  Whenever she needs fashion advice she comes to me and whenever I need fitness advice I go to her.  It’s sort of like fashion meets fitness. 🙂  I’m really appreciative for her support and for helping me out with this post! I am no pro and doing something like this was very different for me, but I just wanted to share a little of what I have been doing at the gym.  Let me know if you would like to see more posts like this in the future.  As I get better, so will these fitness posts!Happy Weekend. <3