What are These Strange Bulges??

As I have mentioned, there has never before been a point in my life where I stuck with a consistent exercise routine for longer than a couple of weeks. Now that I'm coming up on 7 straight weeks of daily exercise, I am seeing changes to my body that are completely foreign yet wonderful. First: ab definition! Holy crap! When I'm standing up straight I can see the outline of my abdominal muscles...not an actual 6-pack, but it still looks awesome! (Can you tell I'm excited by the number of exclamation points?) Second: my thighs....ah yes....always the weak point. They have some serious muscle tone now. It thrills me to be sitting down and idly realize that the muscles are hard even without flexing. Who is this woman that can do all forms of lunges and squats with ease and expert form? Yup, that's me!

I am still getting used to these changes and figuring out the differences. I had a laughable moment today sitting at work. I had my legs crossed with one hand resting just above my knee, when I noticed that there seemed to be a bump/ ridge there. What the heck? I wondered if there was swelling that I somehow hadn't noticed before. I switched legs and felt above the other knee...same thing. Then I suddenly realized that what I was feeling was my now well-defined quadriceps. Well then. I'm quite alright with that! I've got to say it feels pretty damn good to be in my mid-30's and more comfortable in my skin than I was in my 20's.

Yes- all those painful workouts are worth it (and they ARE painful, no doubt about it). Hello thighs- I hardly recognize you!

30 Day Shred Update...Still at it!

Just a quick note today as I find myself short on time with various tasks. I did my third session of level two on the 30 Day Shred workout yesterday evening. Luckily by that time my muscles had mostly recovered from the two sessions I had done close together. I am pleased to note that this workout really targets the glutes and quads in addition to the arms. I feel like I am accomplishing something significant by doing it daily. (Also I feel like I'm completely awesome and unstoppable!) So far I have done 10 straight days, and my endurance is WAY better than when I started. I can also feel an increased firmness in my glutes, quads and abs, which is gratifying. My arms were already in decent shape, so I don't notice a big difference there, but judging by their soreness they are definitely getting a workout as well. Visually, there is a difference in my midsection and back already (of course- the places where there wasn't a lot of extra padding would show the progress first.) Next step- thighs and rear end...that's where I'd REALLY like to see a difference. Fingers crossed!!