Monday, March 28, 2011

Working out in style

Sorry for the lack of posts this weekend. I was very busy watching 16 episodes of 30 Rock with my little sister doing important things. Haha, but really, I was kinda busy? I did lots of laundry and went to see Paul. Turned out to be pretty good. I recommend it, but not if you're stingy. If you are, I'd just wait until it comes out because it's not like cinematic brilliance or anything.
Paul
Anyway, if you didn't notice (because I'm sneaky and didn't really mention it), I didn't go to the gym in the morning at all last week because either knee stuff or laziness got in the way. So, I told myself I'd do better this week. But when my alarm went off this morning, I really didn't want to go. In fact, I got my butt out of bed and set my alarm back two hours. But then when I got back in bed and thought of how I would justify this decision to my thousands of readers few loyal followers, I couldn't think of one good excuse. So I got my butt out of bed and went to the gym.


Now, since you're probably wondering, I wanted to share with you what I wear to the gym because I always wonder what/why people wear what they wear to the gym.


When I first started being healthy again, I wore men's gym shorts and larger t-shirts to the gym. However, I sweat pretty profusely when I'm at the gym. So my shirts would typically be soaked through by the end of my workout. So, after reading some articles on SparkPeople about good gym clothes, I decided to look into finding "quick dry" clothes. However, being in plus sizes, this is kind of difficult (mostly because it is assumed that fat people don't work out and thus no one makes workout clothes for them). But as luck would have it, I found some great shirts at JCPenney - and they were on sale! So, I bought a lot of them.
My favorite one is the pink one. But, I also have purple and black. In addition to having quick dry shirts, I decided that I needed quick dry shorts. So, after asking people for advice on SparkPeople's message boards about good women's shorts, I went to Dick's and bought about 8 pair of Reebok shorts. I really like them because they don't bunch when I'm doing a lot of walking on the treadmill. And the XL fit just fine, so I don't have to worry about hunting through plus size fitness stuff elsewhere.


However, one of the things that you can't really see that I'm wearing is a heart rate monitor. This small albeit expensive accessory has made a huge difference in my workouts. I am able to track how many calories I've burned and how hard I'm working out. You can kind of see it on my wrist in the above picture, but here's a close-up.
It comes with a chest strap that you wear right underneath your heart. It has electrodes in it that communicate with the watch so you know when to increase your intensity and so on.


Also, I also always wear my hair up when I work out and I typically have a headband to keep my hair off my neck and face. However, it's not the most flattering look, so I didn't take my picture with it on.


Anyway, I have to go work on a presentation for my medical terminology class, but I wanted to give you guys a quick update. I also wanted to let you know that I'm going to a new gym every morning this week. I'll update you on this decision tomorrow. Yes, I know. You will be waiting with bated breath.


Any updates on your life that I've missed thanks to my laziness?

5 comments:

  1. YAY! A NEW BLOG!! I've seriously been checking all day. I'd like you to know that I've now replaced my "facebook hole" with your blog!! Yay! I know you update mostly at night though, so my productivity is still alright :) Anyway, congrats on the gym time this morning! I'm still not getting my butt up. *sigh* Anyway, it's waaaay past my bedtime!!! I LOVE YOU!! Keep up the awesomeness that is DANIKA FORGACH.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so freaking proud of you for having the willpower and strength to get up at the crack of dawn and work out!! You are definitely one step ahead of me on the being-healthy game (a sloth does more exercise than I probably do), but every time I read that you are out there hitting the gym, it makes me really motivated (slash, super super guilty for not exercising lol), and I am almost ready to make the change. Thanks for being a great role model! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Totally agree with Kate!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Must also agree with the previous posters (hey, sis!) and say that you are an amazing inspiration! Good for you that you didn't let laziness or pain keep you from getting back to the gym! I always end up giving up for months at a time if I miss a day or two... So, keep up the good work!!! And you look great, btw.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Lisa: Haha, thanks Lisa. It's such an honor to be your new facebook.

    @Kate: Thanks very much! Also, don't give the sloth too much credit. It hasn't gone to med school :-)

    @Regina: Thank you very much. But, I can't take all the credit - your comments totally keep me motivated!

    ReplyDelete