To gym or not to gym, that is the question!

To gym or not to gym, that is the question!

So far I am not having the best day. I had an epidural steroid injection today for my persisting annoying back pain that I have basically been dealing with throughout my whole life. I am in so much pain right now but I am trying to remain positive about the situation. As the doctor was jamming needles into my lower back she thought it was a good idea to inform me that I should start exercising in order to strengthen my back muscles. Ugghhh I absolutely hate the idea of exercise but I guess if it will help my pain out I might as well try it!

After a little over 6 months on Weight Watchers Flex plan I am 25 lbs lighter and wondering if my body is in need for some serious gym time. I am going to be completely honest with everyone; I never once set foot in a gym or participated in any sort of exercise while following Weight Watchers. I attended meetings on a weekly basis throughout my journey. Many experts claim that in order to lose weight successfully we must combine diet with exercise. I believe it depends on the person to how much weight one can lose on diet alone but the exercise will have your body looking nice and toned. I have got to the point where I want to now tighten my body and realized that this cannot be done with diet alone…I MUST exercise. I haven’t been in the gym for a long time basically due to my back but per doctors orders I must get my muscles moving. I’ve decided to get back into an exercise regimen and decided to share with you some must know info about getting tone in the gym or at home.

Melt fat with cardio

Aim to raise your heart rate for at least 30 minutes. Extra flab will come off; toned ab muscles will emerge. Heart-pumping activities such as brisk walking, jogging, Spinning or dancing torch 145 to 300 calories each. (These figures are based on a 135-pound woman.) Do intervals and you'll burn even more fat. If I force myself to get in the gym cardio is probably one of my favorite things to do. Who doesn’t like to blast music into their ears from their pink iPod headphones while running like a crazy woman on a weird looking machine?

Washboard Abs

Did you know that we all have a 6-pack? I know it sounds crazy but we really do! Six packs are not created by doing ab exercises they are our underlying stomach muscles that are covered by fat. Genetically some of us hoard extra fat around our stomachs which make our “6-packs” basically invisible. Follow this step to discover your inner 6-pack:

1. Reduce your body fat with cardio, strength training and a healthy low-calorie diet.

Sounds easy right? Yeah, I wish it were that easy. I always believed that 100 crunches a day would keep that belly fat away. I quickly learned that it wasn’t that simple. I noticed my stomach become flatter when I started eating healthier and bringing my body fat percentage down.