Pre-Workout Ritual

I've realized that I have this weird 10-15 minute ritual before any workout. Hahaha...

So, first...I get to the gym on time. You know, to start working out within like, 5 minutes or so. (I time it so that I start my workout exactly 1 hour after I finish eating my pre-workout meal.) BUT I never start on time because I have to do the following:

1. Put my stuff away in my gym bag and take everything out of my bag that I am going to need for my workout. (Book, gloves, water, pen, & phone (for my stopwatch))
2. Get on Facebook. I have to make sure that I have no notifications or else I'll just sit there and think about it during my workout. Seriously. And if I have something, it just takes forever because I have to tend to it before anything else.
3. Take pre-workout pictures. You know, so I can compare to my post-workout pictures. (This is optional...I only do it on days when I feel really motivated that I'm going to do well or on days that I feel really really skinny.)
4. Go to the bathroom. Its the worst feeling in the world to be in the middle of an exercise and all of a sudden you have to pee. (I mean seriously, it just takes extra long between sets, pulls your heart rate down, etc. blegh)
5. Make sure I look okay. I mean, I don't want to go out in the gym with toilet paper on my shoe or have my boob hanging out of my top.
6. Make sure my hair is okay...I hate having my hair flopping around during cardio, and I hate wearing a low pony on days when I have to lay down on the bench or something because it just hurts and distracts me from my exercise.
7. Write everything down in my book for the day. (Date, day of the week, muscle group, exercises with reps/sets, and last but not least, my starting info on my fitbit. That includes steps, miles, and calories burned before my workout. Oh, and the time I start lifting.)
8. Check myself in the full length mirror one last time, and then focus on the task at hand...showing them guys that I know what I'm doing in there. LOL

So then, I end up starting about 10 minutes later than I originally expected. You'd think I would just get to the gym earlier...but if I did, I'd probably just end up taking twice as long and starting at the same time anyways...so I don't even attempt.

I don't know if you're wondering...but if you are, I'll explain a couple things. If you're not...just skip this part :)

I guess the only thing to wonder about is my fitbit. I posted on FB a little while back when I got it...but it is this little device that I wear all day, every day. It tells me how many steps I've taken, how many miles I've traveled, how many calories I've burned, how many flights of stairs [or floors] I've climbed, how 'active' I am, and what time it is. (It also calculates things like my sleep patterns, calories in vs out, lots of other cool stuff!) BUT, the point of that being...I record my starting and ending steps/miles/cals so I can see at the end of my workout how well I'm doing. It is very helpful to go back a month or so ago and see how far I've come, or if I've gotten any worse. Also, I record what time I begin lifting weights and what time I stop because I have to go onto the fitbit app (or website) and add 'weightlifting' as an activity. It can't really tell me how many calories I've burned like it would if I was running because I am standing still and it can't tell when I just move my arms or whatever. Anyways though, I have to choose my activity and then say how long I did it for. It already knows my weight and height and all because I have a profile...obviously. Lol :)


Soooooo....I know you just THOROUGHLY enjoyed that amazing little bit of my life. ;) I have to go to bed because I'm working lunch tomorrow. :(/:) I hope I can go to the doctor soon. I think I have tonsillitis or something...and I need some antibiotics. Blegh.

- Katie