My abs are starting to show and it is very confusing.

Some crazy things have been happening in my life recently. Well, one crazy thing really. Over the last few days, while staring at myself during Bikram class (that's what you're supposed to do, I'm not narcissistic, I promise), I have begun to notice something strange going on in the general area of my abs. Something resembling the outline of a six pack? Like real athletes have? It's all very confusing.

You see, I've never had toned abs, and I've certainly never had a six pack.Not in high school when I was cheering and playing softball, not during the last time I was competing in swimsuit pageants, never. It is almost surreal, and probably the second greatest thing to happen since I started this whole yoga-boxing-running-lifting journey (number one is that my arms are getting toned. I really used to hate my arms, but that's a different story for a different time).

At first I thought I was imagining it (hence why this is the first time I've mentioned it), but sure enough, over the last week, I keep seeing the beginnings of six pack showing up.

I had a trainer once (hi Kyle!) who told me that it's 70% nutrition. Now, I've had some pretty awesome results, especially in the fitness/strength department, with exercising alone, but I really haven't been serious about my nutrition. But now that I'm starting to see results from my workouts, I really think trying to clean up my diet (not diet, clean up what I'm eating, period) might be what I need.

My boxing gym is pretty great, and I have a free appointment scheduled with a nutritionist on Tuesday. I'm really excited to discuss my goals with her and see what guidance she has for me. I think it's going to be tricky, because I really need to be sure I'm eating enough calories, especially with marathon training starting.

Sidenote: by the end of tonight, I'll have another tab on the top that's a daily log of my workouts. I typically record them on a paper calendar, but I figure I'll share them with you too!

Weekly Workouts

I've alluded to this before but: over the last two months, I've worked out A LOT. I've been lucky in that my part time job affords me the time to be able to be active as much as possible. It's the reason I've shaped up so quickly.

The bottom line is, if you want results quickly, you have to work hard. A lot. And you have to eat enough to fuel all of the exercise you're doing -- this part is the most important.

Anyways, the real point of this post is this: I really need to start planning out my workouts in order to balance all of the activities I like to do. Earlier today, I went to my gym to do an upper body workout and realized I hadn't been there in two weeks! Plus, with marathon training starting, I have to plan all that in as well. I currently have three different memberships (whoops): One to my regular gym where I run and lift weights, one to my Bikram yoga studio, and one to my boxing gym. Sidenote: I joined a boxing gym. Yes, I love it, and yes, it kicks my butt every time I go. I justify all three because they're all for different activities, so dropping one would mean I lost one area of my training.

So Wednesdays are now for planning. And I'm sharing it here so that I can hold myself to following through on each part, and so that you can get an idea of what I'm doing to kick myself into shape. So here's this week:

Thursday:

Morning: Bikram yoga

Afternoon: Kickboxing, Lower body, 3 mile run

Friday:

Morning: Boxing

Saturday:

Morning: Boxing

Afternoon: Bikram Yoga, Upper body, 3 mile run

Sunday:

Morning: Boxing

Afternoon: Bikram Yoga, Lower body, 5 mile run

Monday:

Morning: Bikram yoga

Afternoon: Kickboxing

Tuesday:

Morning: Bikram yoga

Afternoon: Kickboxing, Upper body, 3 mile run

Wednesday:

Morning: Bikram yoga, Boxing

Afternoon: I fly to San Antonio for ANTSO National Miss Nationals!!

Leave a legacy, not a history

It's official -- the 2011-2012 CDCs have hit Columbus! We got in yesterday, and have spent the last 24 hours unpacking, trying fried pickles, laughing, and learning. The Martin Center is just as beautiful as I remember it being when we interviewed back in February, and it is still surreal that I'll be living here with 10 other girls for the next 3.5 weeks.

Today we talked about financial budgeting (definitely going to be trying to save a lot this year) and about our expectations for the upcoming year. It's finally starting to sink in that I'm going to be visiting all of these different chapters and meeting an incredible group of women each place I travel all over the country.

Speaking of traveling all over the country, have you checked out the latest addition to the sidebar of my blog? After OTS, I posted my tentative schedule. Tentative being the key word, as I'll probably have a chapter visit added and there's definitely a chance that my visits will change.

So where am I going? All over!

Alabama, Penn State, Michigan

Break in Athens

UC San Diego, Arizona, Texas Tech

Break in Athens

South Florida, Tampa, and the U (Miami)

How exciting is that? I can't wait to see places I've never seen and meet people who will most certainly teach me a whole lot. And this is only a half year!

If you haven't already, check the sidebar and read blogs from some of the other CDCs from this year. All of them are wonderful, and I know it will be so fun to read about where they are going!