confidence builder

Sending so much love out to the east coast. To all my friends, my family, my boyfriend and everyone effected by Sandy please stay safe and strong. I can’t stop looking at the Facebook and twitter updates thinking how surreal it is that I am not with my family in Westchester or at my apartment in Manhattan.

I really do love you, new york

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This morning I was so not in the mood to work out. It was one of those days that I set the early morning alarm with hopes of taking a morning class… but come morning all I wanted to do was stay snuggled up in my bed. Since I missed the good morning classes I was at a bit of a loss for what to do. I wanted to workout before it got too late so I would have the afternoon to study, but I rarely have the motivation to workout alone and not in the group exercise setting. Sometimes ya gotta leave your comfort zone and go solo.

Even though I know a decent amount about working out I still get super nervous walking around the weight room alone. No one wants to look like a spazz or like they are clueless. I ended up going with what I know– lots of free weights.

It was actually really refreshing to workout on my own while listening to a Jillian Michaels Podcast. I could really challenge myself and focus on the exercise unlike in a group fit class when sometimes I let myself off the hook (oh she’s only using the 5 pounders, I’m only gonna use the 5 pounders….)

Of course I still looked like a spazz. Many of the machines overwhelm me so I tend to try them out before I commit to them. This means I go to like 5 machines before I actually sit at one for more than a second…..But hey I wanted to find a machine I liked! (and one that wouldn’t tweak my bad shoulder)

Back home I was excited to make another batch of almond-pumpkin pancakes

Clearly my pumpkin addiction continues…

After feeling a bit overwhelmed by my NASM studying yesterday I knew it was time to gain back my confidence today. It was too beautiful outside to resist studying on the porch

I think the change of scenery and fresh air helped big time because I felt much better today.

A similar thing happened to me at the end of senior year when I had to memorize a daunting Shakespeare monologue for class. At first I was just so overwhelmed I couldn’t even fathom memorizing it, but then I broke it up into smaller pieces and gave myself enough time to really prepare.

That’s what I gotta do with NASM. Today I broke it all up into smaller pieces. To memorize the infamous “overhead squat assessment” I’m going to do it bit my bit instead of trying to get it all at once.

I also decided to start making index cards today. At first I was going to wait until I covered all the material but this way I can always bring a little bit of studying with me everywhere I go (like when I have to bring my car in to get serviced this week….)

It’s amazing what a good study session can do to your confidence.

how do you conquer a huge project?

sadly for me and shakespeare the first step to conquering that monologue was whining and crying every time I tried to sit down and memorize it. Once I got the “meltdown” outta my system I was able to focus and make Willy Shakespeare my bitch….