I have always had a difficult time sticking to a fitness plan. I have tried several workout programs and some of them I have completed and others didn’t keep my interest peaked enough for me to finish. In the past I have gotten into habits of doing the same types of workouts day after day and would ultimately get discouraged and bored which would then lead me to quit my “plan.” After quitting (again) it would be anywhere from days to weeks until my next workout. If there’s one thing I have learned after starting and stopping so much, it’s that starting up again after not moving your body for a while is hard. Everything hurts and sometimes it makes it difficult to stay motivated to continue. I’ve also learned that doing the same workouts every day is not sustainable…I’ve tried and failed many times. For me, variety is essential to keeping me interested and motivated to get my body moving.

Over the last year or so I have purchased many workout programs and fitness books and books written my health and fitness bloggers that I follow on social media. A few weeks ago I was going through another workout slump. The only workouts I was really committing myself to were my Wednesday night spin classes, a few runs around my neighborhood, and walking with my dad every Saturday. I was getting bored and could see the discouragement begin to affect me and how I was feeling. Suddenly it dawned on me that I had a small library full of a variety of different workouts. I decided to start incorporating different workouts from various books and guides into my weekly routine and focusing a lot on adding more weighted workouts as well. I have really been enjoying what I have been doing and I can’t believe it took me so long to use these tools to shift my outlook on working out! I have spoken before about keeping the variety in your routine and I am so glad I have finally incorporated more of these workouts into mine. Here are the guides, books, and programs I have currently been using as inspiration for my weekly exercise plans!