12 Weeks to Weight Loss - Day 4

More Strength Training

Cardio Focus: Active Rest

While today is a rest day from cardio, it doesn't mean you get to lay around and do nothing. Make an effort to inject extra movement all day long. Try some of these ideas:

• Set an alarm to go off every hour. Walk or stretch for 5 minutes
• When it's break time, take a 10 minute walk up and down the stairs or around the building.
• Use 15 minutes of your lunch hour for a quick walk
• When you get home from work, try a few yoga poses using an exercise ball
• If you're watching TV, do crunches or pushups during commercials

Strength and Flexibility Focus: Total Body Strength

Today you'll be doing the same workout you did on Day 2. If you're sore from that workout (or any of the other workouts), you might take an extra rest day or lighten up on the reps and/or the weight. It's normal to feel sore for a couple of days after a new workout, but if you can't get out of bed, you know you've done too much.

Beginners: Option 1 - Total Body Beginner Workout, Beginner Abs
Option 2 - Total Body Beginner Strength, Level 2
Intermediate/Advanced:Total Body Home Workout and Dynamic Abs or visit my Workout Center for more ideas.

Nutrition Focus: Make A List

Go through your food diary and make a list of the unhealthy foods you eat on a regular basis and their calorie content. Add to the list over the coming days so that you get a sense of the foods most tempting to you. Do you tend to crave sugary snacks? Or are you tempted more by salty, fatty snacks? Try to be objective as you go through your list--you aren't doing this to kick yourself, but to learn more about the choices you make each day.

Motivation

A big part of motivation is discipline. If you schedule your workouts and plan for them, that helps get rid of some of the obstacles that stand in your way as your workout approaches. Take some time to figure out why you tend to skip your workouts and come up with a plan beforehand to deal with your excuses.

Paige Waehner