Coming to an end

I really hope my videos, examples from other workout professionals, website references and motivational progress pictures helped you during your journey. Working out has been one of the most important aspects in my life ever since my weight took a turn. I understand how frustrating it is to feel like you aren’t getting anywhere with weight loss. I felt like that for months and it was the worst feeling. I just wanted to feel healthy and feel like how I felt before my weight gain. Being physically active has always been such a huge aspect throughout the years of me growing up but it was always forced upon me because of being in a sport. Now since I am on my own and not being in a sport fitness has become even more important to me because its on my own.

Overall review of progress

Below are progress pictures. I put the same outfit?swim suit on to see the difference. Overall I feel like I accomplished my goal of looking slimmer and less wide. I did that by working my obliques. You can tell in the swim suit picture that I definitely toned up and tummy and developed some abs. I am proud of myself but I am not done just yet. I still need to continue so I don’t gain this weight back and I need to work on the foods I chose to eat, that will benefit me a whole lot.

I figured out..

Three big questions I have always wanted the answer to are: is it better to switch up workouts or keep them the same and what are some signs you know you actually are losing weight besides the scale and how do you get a smaller waist. Something I learned was that working chest and shoulders to get a smaller waist. You would think that wouldn’t make sense because your waist is lower body and your shoulders and chest are upper. Very interesting. These are three things I have always wondered and I would think about a lot on my weight loss journey.

My evaluation

I think that one thing I could’ve done better with my website review is add more design. I think if I would’ve played with wordpress a little more I could’ve figured things out and got more comfortable with it.

I could’ve promoted my content better with more explanation videos explaining the exercises. Or maybe even someone else’s progress other than mine to motivate people more.

My best experience was actually seeing results. I lost weight and i am proud of myself. This blog not only was a project for this class but it also was holding me accountable to work for myself and get my body right.

In the future this could benefit me to being determined to keep my weight the way it is or even lose or tone more. I might get lazy in the future but if I keep up this pace I will be fine.

This blog is all about explaining a topic through a blog. Later in life I might have to advertise or promote something within my job and this will help me. Now I know images, videos, headers, spelling and a focus is important.

Thank you

Thank you for coming along with me on this journey. I hope you not only learned things but you feel more motivated and accomplished in whatever fitness goal you were attempting to reach. Reach for the stars.

Switchin it up

So my main focus for this blog has been weight loss legs arms glutes obliques and toning up my body. But I wanted to post about working your arms because even though it’s not my main focus I still do them for fitness purposes. When I was in dance, my arms were very tone and muscular because of all of the exercises we would do and simply moving your arms when you dance. I noticed my arm started to look bigger when I started to gain weight now that I’ve lost the weight I’ve gained I’m trying to tone them up more. 

The details

More specifically I am working my arms for the annoying armpit fat that girls hate. I get most of my workout ideas from Instagram and TikTok. I never see any workout videos or guides on Twitter sometimes the subscriptions I follow on Snapchat help me but I don’t really watch do those much. The link that I provided is from TikTok and I have been doing these exercises every day along with running the mile and doing my lower body and core work. I have seen a lot more progress in my body since I came home from college because of corona and I think it’s because of my eating habits in college. I was able to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted with the meal plan so that really was setting me back from losing the same amount of weight as I am now. Even though I’m not on a diet or anything and I still don’t eat perfectly healthy I am eating less and my portion sizes or more precise for weight loss.  I was researching how to reduce the amount of fat by my armpit and came across this helpful website. It explains exercises that are helpful and a lot of them were similar to the TikTok video that I have been using as a resource.

Overall arm weight loss

Beyond the armpit fat, overall weight loss in my arms is a goal for me as well. This website was very helpful. I gained knowledge on how you really need to focus on overall weight loss throughout your whole body in order to see results. I enjoyed this website a lot. It was probably one of my favorites that I have read while researching.

My goal

I want to try to lose the fat on the back part of my arm and start to work on training my upper back to make it curve in even more, as you can see in this picture.

You guys.

I hope ya’ll are doing well and are seeing the results you want. Most importantly I hope you are feeling good about yourself and feeling accomplished and happy.

My stats

My most popular week was Febuaray 24th-March 1st. I got 20 views and 6 visitors.

My most popular post was “how and why it all started” with 15 views. I think the reason it was the most popular was because it was my point of view of how I gained weight which is always interesting to people. Like how I went from this to this and what caused it is very intriguing.

I wasn’t too surprised by my stats. I didn’t really get a lot of followers so I didn’t get much activity. I guess I was most surprised that I actually got more than just 1 view, being my professor.

My twitter analytics consisted of my tweets earned 410 impressions over this 28 day period.

What’s Up

My last post was about at home workouts due to Corona. Since this is a workout blog I wanted to share more with ya’ll. My last post was directed towards core/abs, glutes, obliques and legs and since that is personally what I strive to work most for my body, this post is also directed towards those body parts but these are different workouts. Since my ultimate goal is to lose weight, tone up my stomach area, and build muscle in my legs, these workouts are beneficial. My next post will be focused on arm workouts since I haven’t covered that yet.

The Details

These workouts are definitely more challenging than ones I’ve posted before, but they are still directed towards the same areas of the body.

This first workout is for abs, obliques and somewhat legs. The key to working the obliques is that whatever side you are working make sure your weight is on the side. To make sure you are doing this feel all the weight on that glute on the floor, whether it is left or right. Keeping your legs straight and pointing your toes helps with balance for this workout.

This next workout works the same as the last one, abs, obliques and somewhat legs. This one is also not a cantered weight workout and is directed towards each side, for obliques. It another balance one as well which is a lot more challenging and works your core more. If you are struggling to keep balance rest your foot on a wall like I did in the video, it will help.

For this next workout, your legs are being worked. I have noticed since the gyms closed that my leg muscle in my calf and quad area have lessened. It hard to keep muscle there when you don’t have a leg press or any other leg directed machine at your house, sadly. Even though my legs are losing muscle I still work them to try to maintain what I still have. It important to have socks on for this workout because you need to be able to slide. It is pretty self explanatory, just like squats and lunges.

Workout number 4 is for your legs! This one is very simple. It is just squats but after you squat you go into a calf raise. It is juts more beneficial for toning your muscle in your legs when you press into a calf raise.

This workout is pretty tough. Not only is it working core/abs but it is a little mini HIIT workout like I’ve explained in past posts. It challenging but once you push through you feel great.

For this workout, balance is key so many rest your foot against a wall again if needed. In this workout you are toning your obliques and abs. I love this workout because you really feel the burn.

In this exercise you are working full body. It is the hardest one out of all of them but it is 100% my favorite. Your arms are being worked and you WILL feel the burn. You need to make sure that your hands are positioned to where your fingers are facing your body. That is key for this workout. Straightening your legs helps with this workout. Besides arms, your legs are slightly being worked and your core is indefinitely.

Challenge

Now that we have looked at some of my exercises I want to show you where I get a lot of my inspiration for home workouts. I haven’t done any of these but they are so incredible to watch and feel motivated by. These show ways to use your at home furniture.

arms

HIIT

legs

Progress

I have realized that I have only posted progress pics focusing on weight loss so I wanted to share a picture I took specifically of my leg muscle that I have built. I noticed my legs have became more tone since I stopped going to gym because of corona and have been running outside verses a treadmill!

A big change

Now that Corona has taken over our lives…gyms are closed so working out is sort of a struggle. This article explains the reasons gyms are closed, how dangerous corona is and the fact that the gym is one of the most unsafe places to be with corona going around. This blog is specifically for working out at home. My goal even though I can’t be at the gym, is still to lose weight. Cardio, abs, obliques, glutes and legs are still all my main focus. My goals and wants for my body still are the same even though I am at a disadvantage without the gym. Since I don’t have specific equipment like certain heavy weights and a bar, squatting with weight is out of my reach. Because of this, I use ankle weights for certain workouts. I also use the ankle weights for abs just because I feel like a lot of workouts I do at the gym help with my core and I am missing out on that. I did some research about the difference between at home workouts and working out at the gym. This website is a very good read.

My share of workouts

These are some of my ab, legs, glutes workouts for at home

abs

legs/glutes

glutes

abs/glutes

legs/glutes

abs/glutes

glutes/abs

glutes/abs

Something special

While doing some more research I wanted to find the reason why strengthening your core specifically is so beneficial, since a lot of the workouts I posted in this blog were directed towards abs or core. This website contains a quote about the significance to working abs that I already knew but I connected to a hobby I was in. Really any sport you play except maybe golf and I few others requires you have a strong core. But from my experience this quote automatically made me think of being a dancer. Dancing is all about moving your body. the quote reads, “A STRONG CORE KEEPS YOUR STOMACH TIGHT, AND ENHANCES YOUR ABILITY TO BALANCE, TURN, AND MOVE SMOOTHLY.” Balance, turn and move. That is dancing in a nutshell. Even though you have to balance, turn and move in any sport or activity but dance was what I can connect with the most.

These are some transformation pictures for some motivation. I first noticed weight gain about 2 months after I quit varsity dance team, got on birth control and got on accutane. Accutane and birth control are known for making you gain weight. After I quit dance team I got a job that I usually got off around 11, so I would get home late and eat late. I would usually eat fast food also because by the time I got home my parents would be asleep and I wouldn’t want to make food that late. The fast food LATE at night (its bad to eat late) caught up to me.

I had no idea how to do anything at the gym…the machines were a puzzle to me. I finally started to run at my high school track and doing abs after and then ended up figuring out that running and abs wasn’t enough to make me lose weight so I started going to the gym. Losing weight on birth control and accutane is so difficult. I think the way I started to understand the gym and the machines more was by going to the gym with my best friends. We were all determined together and tried stuff out together.

The more I started going, I realized I was learning more. I finally started going on my own and started to realize a change after I got off birth control and accutane. That really effected my weight so much. Ever since I quit dance and noticed weight gain I have been going to the gym lately. Now because of Corona I have been doing “at home” workouts. Ever since I stopped taking birth control and accutane I have realized a a huge difference in my weight and how slim I feel and look. Its been a long time I have felt overweight. I have noticed besides working out I have become so interested and invested in the gym and now I am building my body the way I want and learning more and more as I go.

Let’s get started..

Now that we have discussed in my recent blogs, who I am, why I started my fitness journey, how to start yours mentally and physically and how to progress through it, lets get to some explanations and videos for working out!

What type of workout for this blog?

What does the video contain?

This blog is going to be focusing on weight loss, abs, obliques, gluteus and legs. The video you will watch are partially what I do on a daily workout basis. In the video I will explain what part of your body each exercise works. My over all goal for “working my body” is weight loss, toning and my legs. I rarely do arms..sometimes I do but that has never been my main focus. Every person has their own preference and wants for their body and that is okay.

Lets get started.

The first thing I do is run a mile, which isn’t shown on video. The mile is something that I’ve noticed helps me the most with weight loss. I have noticed numerous times that if I run less than a mile I don’t feel or look as slim the next day. Running is a type of cardio and that is exactly the key to weight loss. After running, the next day I really do see a change in my image. Running is really known as cardio, which is THE way to lose weight.

After the mile is done I continue with my weigh loss workout by squatting with weight. With this, heavy weight (what you can handle) and small number of reps is what is best for weight loss. I squat with my legs shoulder width apart. I squat 15 times and then pulse in a low squat for 5 reps. This is tough but its worth it. Right after my regular squat, I do lunge squats. Right the left and I still do the pulse at the end, but this time its with my feet pressed together, not in the lunge position.

After that I let my legs rest and I do abs. I prefer to do my ab combination with ankle weights around my ankles because it adds to the intensity but in these videos I didn’t have them…sadly I left them in San Marcos and I was in San Antonio. The ankle weights definitely add difficulty but I feel my abs contracting more when I use them. they are 5 lbs. With abs I tend to do 15-30 reps of each exercise depending on difficulty and I do it for 3 sets. Abs help with toning up your tummy.

In this video I only do two exercises for obliques which is one of my favorites and I tend to always see good results with these types of workouts. One of them is for abs as well as obliques and one is with weight specifically for obliques. Working your obliques shapes your torso and creates that hour glass look most people would like to have. Its all preference though!

Glutes goes with abs a lot… I do two glute exercises in this blog. Working your glute muscles, again is a preference. Working your glutes has nothing to do with weight loss and the most muscle you build, the more you will weigh. What I mean by this is, yes you are trying to lose weight but you are also trying to work other parts pf your body so you don”t look like a stick. In this case, don’t focus on the number on the scale as much as the way you look and feel for weight loss.

After abs, glutes and obliques, I work my legs again after running and squatting with weight. Obliques help with an hour class look and toning. I love to do leg press and that is one of the many leg workouts that I will show you. This is my daily workout routine but not all is shown in the videos. I love doing cardio for weight loss, abs for toning my stomach obliques for hour glass look and legs to make my legs look muscular. I tend to take 2 minute breaks in between my sets…remember you NEED breaks. overworking your body is very unhealthy. I have a bad habit of not drinking water when I workout, so while you work, DRINK. This will help your energy. Remember to push yourself but also take into account your strength level and pace yourself. Also don’t forget to stretch! Good luck and enjoy!

Willpower

Before you can start to physically make progress you have to understand commitment. In order to reach your fitness goal you have to be able to push yourself. Yes, you can have family, friends, coaches or even personal trainers to help you but they are not in your body so they can’t control how much effort you put in. A big thing about willpower is “getting up, getting out, and getting it done.” What I mean by that is everyday you have to make the decision to get up and plan to workout. Speaking for myself, finding time to workout is difficult if you have busy days. When I workout I spend at least 2 hours at the gym, so finding a certain amount of time out of my day that I can spend working out can be tough. YOU as a person make your OWN decisions. Ultimately no one can make you choose to do anything. You are the only person who can make yourself workout weekly and become consistent.But it’s not easy to keep up what you’ve started.

Consistency

When you start you shouldn’t really stop until you reach your goal. Also, if you want to progress beyond your goal don’t allow yourself to settle for less. Don’t stop. For example if you start by working out 2 times a week, then be consistent and go for at least a month twice a week. After you have committed to going twice a week, push for three times a week and progress from there. I personally go everyday a week and take a break on weekends. I have committed to that, even though it’s difficult I have built a willpower and consistency that has made me actually want to go. Your body needs to rest so don’t push too hard, that’s why weekends can you be your time to rest.The hardest part is once you have allowed yourself to rest…its hard to get back into the same routine or pace you had before you took the break. I base my self control and determination on how I feel. What I mean by this is, I genuinely feel better when I go to the gym so when I start to slack off on going I start to not to feel my best.

Mind over matter

Reaching your fitness goal is really based on your mindset. Working out is all a mental game. Yes of course working out is physical…duh, but its more mental than anything. You have to mentally prepare yourself to 1. take time out of your day to make yourself work for what you want, 2. make sure once you start you don’t let yourself slow down and work less and less once you start to get lazy, 3. when you workout, push yourself…one more rep, little more burn and feel a little more sweaty.

It feels good

When you take time out of your day to better yourself; IT FEELS GOOD. Making sure you work on yourself is super important. Personally I thrive mentally when I feel at my best, so that is what I aim for and I use the gym to help me with that.

I am…

Hello people! My name is Bailey Hubbard and I am a freshman at Texas State University. I grew up in San Antonio and lived there all my life until leaving for college and ended up in San Mo.

Why Mass Comm?

I chose Mass Communications because I love the idea of sharing ideas and speaking to people. This world is all about communication and even more so now, communicating through media, technology and the internet, so I know a job in Mass Communications will be out there for me to find, even years beyond where we are now in 2020. Technology and media will only continue to grow.

Why “healthy lifestyle through fitness”?

The idea of just “feeling my best” is a great feeling to me. I am a very particular person when it comes to how certain things that make me feel “at my best”. For example I hate being on bad terms with someone…and I love the feeling when I do something for someone. I love feeling at my best with my skin, my cleanliness, my hair, my BODY. Sounds silly…but I like to just feel at my prime most of the time 😉 Because of this my body is something I like to feel “right” and its something that I have complete control over. Whether its my routine of going to the gym or the food I consume..I’m constantly thinking about it.

I’m no expert!

Even though I’m at the gym all week except maybe 1 or 2 days for at least 2 hours each workout…I’m not a gym rat. I’m still the type of person who is nervous to approach a machine I’ve never attempted to use and make a fool out of myself and walk away. BUT I do have a routine and am confident with what I know I can, want and need to do daily to make my body the way I want it.

Don’t Misunderstand

in no way shape or form am I saying that physical appearance is something everyone should master and obsess over…no. I am just saying that it feels good internally to feel put together and to favor and appreciate your appearance especially when you have worked to get there. Your physical appearance effects you in a negative or positive way and that is just how it is. This article explains the importance of keeping up with your physical image.

• WordPress
• Twitter
• Instagram