Image via Harvard Health

In my last post I talked about how last year I tried to regain the weight loss magic I had years ago, however life got in the way and now I'm trying again a yr later.   This is the first of my monthly updates I plan to do at the start of every month until I reach my goal of gaining muscle and losing 25 lbs.  I will share what I have been doing with my diet and exercise plan, if it seems to be working or not, and what I have learned.

Tamilee Webb Of Buns, Abs, and Arms of Steel fame

A couple of years ago I wrote about how I was at my highest weight ever and in danger of having to buy new clothes. I started trying to go from not working out at all to do crazy intense cardio for hours most days and nothing happened, then I made slight changes in my work outs and diet and the weight started to melt off effortlessly until I reached my ideal range.

Check out Celebrity Trainer Valerie Walters workout for Women's Health Magazine

I'll admit it, I've fallen off the exercise wagon.  I've never been an excited to go to the gym kind of girl.  I even use to dread PE in school.  But last year my number one goal was to find a realistic routine I would actually do that would get real results (meaning better overall health by increasing activity and building more muscle).

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I am trying to develop a workout routine for myself that I will actually follow (I'm not one of those wake up and go to the gym people).  I need it to be something I can do inside mostly with little to no equipment.  I am a newbie to exercise outside of getting out and trying to bike and walk a lot I do not exercise.  My strategy is to follow the advice of trainers to people who really know fitness.  Since I'm new to exercising I wondered "What is the proper exercise routine I should be doing?" According to personal trainer,  Darin Steen, (You can watch him explain in detail in the video below) and Web MD you should:

• 10 min areobic warm up (jump rope, jumping jacks, power walking) 
• 5 min stretching (arm circles, stretches like in gym class)
• 45-60 min intense work out (resistance training, yoga, interval cardio, etc)
•  Intense stretching  4 or 5 streatches  for each muscle group you worked on (4 to 5 seconds taking each one further) 
• Cool down (light power walk)

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I didn't watch the Super Bowl last night (I'm not into sports), but I did catch the half time show.  Madonna has inspired me to work out more.  My new goal is to look and move like Madonna when I'm in my 50's (she is 54).