Workin' on My Fitness: Exercise

Image via  FitBottomGirls.com

I’ve luckily never had serious struggles with my weight.  Growing up, my parents put me in all kinds of activities from swimming and track & field to numerous dance classes like ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and even gymnastics, which kept me in serious shape for the majority of my life.  But now that I'm over 25, that metabolism that was SO good to me all those years has started to slow down and all of a sudden, I can no longer eat cupcakes, sour powers and Doritos whenever I want (if only I had a time machine....)  

So with the wedding coming up, I suddenly had a tangible goal to strive towards--I’m not necessarily trying to lose a ton of weight BUT I do want to look and feel amazing on my wedding day.  Oh and I want Michelle Obama arms in my pictures.  So here are the workouts I’m currently doing to get myself in shape;

Zumba
I LOVE to dance so naturally when Zumba came on the scene, I was all about it.  It’s a fantastic workout and according to my Fitbit, I burn anywhere from 350-500 calories per hour long class.  The key is to find a really good instructor who 1) can actually dance and 2) keeps the energy level up and the music fresh.  

Image via Zumba.com

Jogging/Running
I can’t say I love to run but there is something so incredibly stamina-building about running that it’s hard to not make part of any serious workout regime.  I just make sure that I blast some motivating tunes while I run (for me, Girl Talk is my artist of choice.  His amazing mash-ups keep me pumped and running FAR longer than I normally can.)  Oh and when I really have no energy, I just pretend I’m in an episode of The Walking Dead getting chased by zombies.  It sounds crazy but you wouldn’t believe how motivating this can actually be!

She's totally wearing the wrong shoes.  Movie Zombieland / Image via Reelz.com

 P90X
I haven’t started the official 90 day program of P90X yet as it calls for a six days a week workout schedule, but I do try to pop in the DVDs a few times a week.  All the workouts are intense but I particularly like the strength training workouts (since I’ve got cardio covered with Zumba and running).  I do plan on doing the full program soon--it’s a 3 month commitment so I’m thinking I will start this 3 months before the wedding.  It’s tough as hell but the results are undeniable.  I know a number of people who have done this program and they looked incredible afterwards (FH did it for 60 days a few years ago and he got buff!)  

Image via P90X.com

What are you doing to get in shape for the big day?