Party it up.

It's not always the easiest thing in the world to eat exactly what someone is telling you to eat everyday, to have to measure all your food, carry it with you in Tupperware everywhere you go, or make sure you find time to get to the gym at least 5/7 days a week BUT there are several things that CAN make it a little more fun and exciting.

1.  Big Tex.  I'm from Texas and those of you who are also from this great state might know a little something about the State Fair of Texas!!  Yee-HAW!  If you haven't been privileged to visit this little gem of a fair, well then let me give you some background on it.  Actually no, I won't, because I just googled it to get some basic information and there is just WAY too much awesome to share in one tiny blog post.  So, go do some homework and read about it yourself HERE and HERE.  And then come back and feel really sad that you've never been there.  OR, make plans to go with me next year.  Anyway, the mascot of the fair is a guy named Big Tex.  

And yes, that is a hyperlink because he even has his own Wikipedia.

#ballerstatus

Big Tex is a 55 foot statue of a cowboy that was erected (*snort*) back in 1949 and has been there ever since.  Eeeeeeeexcept for a small chunk of 2012 when he caught on fire and burnt to a skeleton of metal beams buuuuuut I don't like to talk about that awful moment so let's move on.  

He welcomes everyone to the fair in his grand Texas cowboy voice saying, "HOWDY FOLKS.  THIS IS BIG TEX.  WELCOME TO THE STATE FAIR OF TEXAS."  I just said that in his voice and it was UHmazing.

I'm sure you're wondering, "How does Big Tex make your workouts more fun?"  Oh.  Well let me just tell you.  NO.  I'll show you.

I have my very own Big Tex water bottle that comes with me to the gym almost every day, full of my intra-workout and HAPPINESS.  How can you not have fun at the gym with this guy looking at you? "ONE MORE REP, JESSICA.  YOU CAN DO IT!"  <--- Big Tex voice.  I'm sure you can only imagine the eyeballing I get as I sip out of him.  Haters gonna hate but really they're just jealous.  

2.  Music.  My music is SO important to have at EVERY workout.  CRUCIAL.  And I'm a singer and a dancer.  I can't help myself.  I love to sing along and dance to every word and being in a gym with a bunch of people (because it's ALWAYS crowded) it isn't always accepted by all to listen to some chick with her Big Tex water bottle blasting out to Taylor Swift and shaking her buns all over the place.  So NO.  I don't sing out loud or twerk against the equipment.  But I DO mouth every word of every song.  I'm pretty sure I look like an idiot, but in my head I'm like the coolest person EVER.  That's all that matters, right?  The perfect song is the difference between a squat and a SQUAT if you know what I mean.  Destiny's Child's Bootylicious and Katy Perry's Dark Horse are my go to PR makers.  In case you wanted to know.  And yes.  I know.  I'm like 16.  

Shutup you know you love it.

You're adding them to your mix right now.

3.  Smiling.  Okay this one was hard for me.  I may seem very outgoing and energetically annoying online, but I'm going to be quite honest with you, I am SO SHY in real life.  Not kidding.  No for real, if I don't know you or have never met you in real life?  SO.  SHY.  Like, my face turns red on an average of about 28 times a day because I'm so shy and I get embarrassed so easily.  So having to work out in a gym that is always packed like sardines with a bunch of  military guys and gals is EXTREMELY intimidating to me.  And when I first started going back, when I began my 12 weeks in August, it was HARD to say the least.  Thankfully I had a partner go with me every day which buffers the intimidation.  But now I'm alone.  And I decided one day that instead of being all 

serious-face, walking around with my hat down and earbuds in like I'm too Bad A to talk to anyone when really I'm FREAKING OUT EMBARRASSED inside because I'm not exactly sure how to do this or that or can't find a certain machine so I'm just going to walk around like I know where I'm going but really I don't, that MaaaaaaaaYBE I should try a different approach.  Yes I know that was a long run-on sentence.  I did that on purpose.  Stop judging me.  #homeschool

 SMILING!

And wouldn't you know, it works!  I try to smile at all the people who make eye contact with me and it totally makes the whole atmosphere less intimidating!  I've always wondered why everyone at gyms are all so serious and angry looking.  If they all just smiled it would be so much more fun to go.  And we could all hold hands between sets, and share snow cones, and play red rover while we waited for people to finish the machine we needed :)  

But then of course there's always that creep that you smile at and next thing you know they're following you around the entire gym using every machine or bench that is DIRECTLY next to you.  And THEN they follow you into the gym and set up a mat RIGHT NEXT TO YOU  (I'm talking like 3 feet away)  even though the ENTIRE gym is available space, and they synchronize their planks with yours.

Yes.  That happened. 

4.  Last but not least, is keeping track of my workouts.  If you aren't already doing this, START NOW.  No matter what kind of workout you're doing.  Start writing it all down, write all the weights you use next to each exercise.  Write down how you felt on each lift.  Was it easy?  Too difficult?  Did you finish?  Did you change weights halfway through the set?  Do you think you should go higher next time?  Lower?  WRITE. IT. ALL. DOWN.  It makes it so much easier next week when you're doing the same exercises to know what you should do!  AND, it motivates because you get to SEE yourself getting stronger and making gains.  ON PAPER.  Actually SEE it with your eyeballs!  Yes, I'm totally that nerd at the gym with her workout printed out, and my pen stuck in my ratty bun making notes after each set of everything. 

 Own that nerdiness.  

Own it.

OKAY.  Fine.  Maybe all my posts WILL be long.

Hush your mouth, Brenda.

Until next time, PEACE ya poots!