Workout Perfectionist

I'm a workout perfectionist. That doesn't mean that I do all of my workouts perfectly with 300% effort. That also doesn't mean that I never miss a single day of exercise. I'm not perfect by any definition of the word. It means that all of the conditions around me must be perfect, or I'll simply give up, or stop and change said conditions until I feel that things are perfect again. This is quite annoying to anyone who doesn't understand it, but I think it's quite reasonable.

My shorts can't be too short, or ride up to high on my waist. Workout fail.

My ponytail can't bounce too much, or feel like it's going to fall out. Workout fail.

My bangs can't fall in my face while I'm trying to get my sweat on. Workout fail.

See where this is going?

Shirt can't be too tight, or too loose. Shoes can't be tied too tight. Headphones can't be falling out of my ears. Hands can't be cold. Underwear can't bunch up. Can't need to pee!

There are a MILLION conditions that must be met before I'm going to go through with a workout. I can't remember not struggling with this. Oh, wait. Yes I can. When I was a high school athlete, we had no choice but to wear these ridiculously short shorts - part of our required uniform - that were terrible. I made it through that time, but just barely.

Today, I'm super particular about what I wear and how I'm dressed. I know what I like, and what I don't, and when I find a brand of shorts that fit me well, I buy several pair of them. I have favorites and I wouldn't dream of deviating from them. I can say that things have improved three thousand percent since I started doing my workouts from my home gym. I LOVE WORKING OUT AT HOME. No one judges me. No one watches me. No one knows how ridiculous I look. It is FANTASTIC! We've invested in some great equipment. I love the BowFlex SelectTech adjustable weights. They are so great!

I'm pretty sure we all have to find our favorite things that make our workouts feel the best. I have a certain type of sports bra that I like - if it's too loose or too tight, again, I won't be finishing without changing that. I use Under Armour ones. I like my Brooks athletic shoes, but I also found a pair of Nike that are pretty good too.

Do you have things that must feel right before you do your workouts?

Meal Planning

I have a love/hate relationship with meal planning. I know I need to do it, but I stress out about it. I'm not a fan of cooking - never have been. I'm a quick fix kind of gal. I have been studying meal planning and trying to find the best way to make the process easier for me. Today I created a template to use. I've meal planned on a tiny hotel room note pad before. I used notebooks. I bought a tracking book. I didn't find anything I loved. So I made one. What do you use to keep your meals straight and your grocery lists easier?

I'm posting my meal planning template on the blog today for everyone to download. I couldn't find a template that I liked, so I made one! I'm happy to share it with you. Here's another meal planning template version that I made too.