Planks, but no planks

Have I mentioned that I hate planks? I do. I would have never attempted planking if it wasn't for the mysterious power an older sister has over you your whole life. But like with my most things my sister has convinced me to try, in the end I have to say thank you! I have complained and whined through planks most workouts for only a few short months now. Every time I would attempt to hold a plank for a thirty seconds or a minute, and each time after a few seconds into it I would fall down and hear that familiar voice from the fitness guru next to me say "get back up!". Oh I hated it! But something amazing happened. Yesterday I started my plank and I was able to hold it! What?? I still have so much work to do towards my fitness goals, how am I already holding a plank for a good thirty seconds? It's for a couple reasons. First, I have a trainer (sister/fitness guru) who pushes me try things and keep going even when it's hard or I don't think I can do it. She has me try things that not only would I not try myself, but that many people would think I couldn't do at my fitness level and weight. When I try these things and can at least do them a little bit, it is a triumph for both of us. Secondly, my body wants to change and grow stronger. A lot of times I would almost blame my body for my weight struggles but I have come to realize that my body doesn't like it any more than I do. It's just been waiting for me to do the work. This new found ability to plank doesn't mean that I can stop planking though, if I don't use it I will loose it. Now I just have to go take the confidence this has built and conquer some other goals. 5k? Push ups? A pull up???? I guess the sky is the limit.

I have a Fergalicious tush and Michelle Obama arms

Okay, so the title of this blog is a complete lie. I do NOT really have a bottom like Fergie or arms like Michelle Obama. As much I would love to steal these particular body parts from these beautiful women I am not there yet. I have learned, though, that after a good work out I feel like I have a Fergie bottom and Michelle Obama arms. Today at the gym Loreli and I did a mostly lower body workout at the gym. I used a machine that I would have guessed is used as some kind of torture device but it really works the inner and outer thighs. Without someone there to tell me how to use this machine I probably would have never given it a try. We also walked backwards on the treadmill at a steep incline. Yes you read that correctly: BACKWARDS, STEEP INCLINE. This is the second time we have done this and the first time I have to admit I was a little petrified. Once I saw that the speed was slow and got up the nerve to turn around it was actually really fun. This time I had no reluctance to raise that incline and work on a Fergie booty. Because of the hard work I put in today I get to walk around feeling like I have a really nice tush and sometimes that is more important than actually having a nice tush. It is hard to keep up motivation when you have a long road to fitness. That is why for me working my muscles is really important. My body is probably not going to change in the mirror as fast as I would like it too, but I can feel like a goddess after an hour of work. And it is true, the journey is so much more important than the destination. It takes a lot of work to accomplish any goal but when the hard work you must put in begins to feel like it's own reward that's half the battle.