What a long, strange absence it's been!
 

Hello strangers!

I see by my log in stats that the last time I logged in here was in January. I vaguely remember that!

So in January, I had just been unwilling promoted while vacationing in Australia and was starting penultimate quarter at the university. Work was making me pretty miserable -- I put work first and that's never made me happy. I didn't exercise because I was in the office constantly and between work and school, I had no free time. Since I love exercise, this just made me more irritable.

Me now: I graduated from UCSD and was accepted to a 6-week intensive writing workshop program. This was pretty big deal since 180 people applied and they only accept 18 students. My employer decided not to give me the leave of absence for that so I quit. I just returned from the workshop program and I'm writing at home while I look for a part-time job. The Cute Boyfriend is being very supportive and we're both being frugal since we don't have my income anymore.

I'm about 25 pounds up from where I was before quitting my weightloss journey. That's a lot of weight to lose all over again! Boo!

I'm back on WeightWatchers and I am working on adding exercise back into my life. I figured that 3FC has been a huge part of success so I'm back here to get my support group back!

I'm also not used to having such a flexible schedule! Maybe if you have a flexible schedule, how do you make sure you accomplish what you want in a day?

Any advice on some free strength training exercises?

Planning. Planning. Planning. And than more planning. Plan it out. Each and every thing you need to accomplish. Get yourself an appointment book or set it up on the computer or whatever.. Just make sure to do it. Map out your day ahead of time. 9:00 this, 10:00 that. Take it very seriously. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

Not free, but almost. Get yourself a resistance band - it's around 15 bucks - and FABULOUS and effective!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/...les.asp?id=720

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com...exercises.html

Welcome back!!!

Welcome back, Jessica! And, congratulations on getting into the writing workshop!

I have somewhat of a flexible schedule as I work from home for my employer. I agree with Robin...plan, plan, plan. Get up each morning and act as if you are going into the office. Keep a schedule. Regarding workouts, do you have any free weights? I plan on starting this workout this week.http://www.stumptuous.com/workout-6 I've also heard that Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred is wonderful.

It's good to have you back around here!

hey, welcome back! VERY COOL re the writing program, must have been a blast!

yes, it can be tough to stay structured when you have more free time. I miss my old schedule! for me it was finding a good pattern and sticking to it.

I agree re the free weights. if you don't have any, ask around (people --ie guys! -- have a tendency to have sets they never use and will probably give you them), check around garage sales, or those fliers where people are trying to get rid of stuff.

I plan ahead very heavily too, and keep a tight schedule on anything I can, even if it is only my waking and sleeping times :lol:


Resistence bands are GREAT! They're inexpensive and highly useful, and the workouts are very customizable. Those, plus an eye on low rep/high weight work, will really help build strength and muscular endurance, as well as positively benefitting your metabolism by increasing your lean muscle mass.

Although I do not have a lot of free time, have you tried lists? You can make a list of what you need to accomplish the next day before bedtime. Then you can see what you need to do the next day, and check off your tasks as you complete them!

Free resistance exercises: Push ups on the floor or use a wall for support, chair dips, squats, lunges, bicycles, kickups, situps, crunches, many Pilates exercises, etc.