2011 January 03

Any guesses on the “O” word?

No, not “operates.”

Not “optimism.”

Definitely not “octopus.” (Partly because it’s only 7 letters.)

“Organize.”

Ugh.

Now let me make it clear that I am NOT saying it is my New Year’s Resolution to “Get Organized!”

In fact, I’ve decided not to make any resolutions at all. Because even though I dream of having it all together before 2012, I know that a resolution is not what will get me there.

The word organization scares me, because in my experience it means that I get a formerly chaotic area looking really pretty, ooh and aah over it, swear to change my slobbish ways forever . . . and then fail.

Miserably.

And I’ve learned that waiting to change until I’m organized is pointless. It’s the little changes, the new habits, the routines-established-and-then-figured-out that make the difference.

So, instead of making an ambiguous resolution, I’m making a decision to do a specific, tangible project that will help 2011 go more smoothly.

I’m going to organize my laundry room. Hopefully in the next two weeks.

It’s the first project on my list after getting Christmas decor put completely away.

I have my laundry routine down. Finally. And because of that, I’ve figured out what my laundry room does and doesn’t need to have in it.

So it’s time to organize it . . . for my brain.

And just think, once that’s done, my goal is reached. No looking back in November to the date when I failed to keep the life-changing resolution for the year.

Because I’m not saying I’m going to keep it perfect from now until forever, just that I’m going to set it up to best meet my needs.

Make sense?

OK, this is officially a Top Ten Post.

I started jotting down a list of ten workout DVDs I’ve purchased and tried. I thought I might have to think pretty hard to come up with ten.

Ummm, not so much.

I came up with more than ten and had to take a few out.

This might give another dimension of explanation to my personality. You know, not really a shocker that a slob keeps thinking that the perfect workout DVD will change her life. When, as I’ve learned in my quest for home order, it’s not the DVD/gadget that gets the work done, it’s me who gets the work done.

Or doesn’t get it done.

Anyway, when I work out consistently, I do it at home. I’ve had gym memberships, and NEVER used them. And once I had kids, it was not an option for me. In my small town, going to the only gym available meant that I would have had to pay for childcare each time. And leaving my family at night to go workout . . . I knew I’d never do that.

I’ve tried all of these DVDs, and some have worked very well for me. Some I truly didn’t like, and others I liked . . . but just quit doing.

1. Tae-Bo Basic is my absolute favorite. I did this after my first child was born, knowing that I wanted another child soon and needed to lose the weight before another pregnancy. It’s 27 minutes long, and gives you intense workouts on different areas such as arms and legs, but you never get on the floor.

I ~~hate~~ intensely dislike getting on the floor.

I’ve tried to get back into this one, but I did it so consistently that I still have it memorized. Somehow, that keeps me from enjoying it so much. Yes, that’s an excuse, but you might as well know that there will be plenty of excuses in this post.

I’m also putting these other tae-bo DVDs under #1.

Billy Blanks: Ultimate Bootcamp

This was harder than the basic, and required resistance bands (Billy Bands), which I didn’t have because I got the DVD at a garage sale. It also had you do an exercise where you go down in a push-up and then jump right back up and then go back down into another push up, etc.

Ummm. No.

Tae Bo 8-Minute Workout

I like this one, and do it when I’m feeling guilty about not working out, but really have no motivation. It’s quite intense for those 8 minutes, and might be okay for every once in a while if you were maintaining. Currently, I need to do a little more than maintain.

2. Yoga Booty Ballet

I’m not sure what possessed me to order the complete system of this. Of course, it’s way harder than it looks on the infomercial, requires excessive amounts of on-the-ground-getting, and honestly . . . I felt it was completely inappropriate to do with two little boys in the house. The angles that they show of the people working out is unlike any other workout video I’ve seen, and was a little much for this modest mama.

3. Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred

Hate this one with a passion. But it’s a solid workout and is only 20 minutes.

4. The Biggest Loser Workout, Vol. 1

I honestly don’t remember much about this one, except that there was quite a bit of side to side stuff . . . and it wasn’t fun. I did it once.

5. 10 Minute Solution: Fat Blasting Dance Mix

This just wasn’t my style of dance. I liked that you could build your own workout with different 10 minute sections, but I felt like a dork doing the hip-hop.

6. Kathy Smith – March to Fitness [VHS]

Boring.

7. Marilu Henner’s Dancerobics

My roommate in college bought this one, and we did it quite a bit. It’s fun. Lots of on-the-floor stuff.

8. I Hate to Exercise, I Love to Tap

I’ve shared before that I absolutely looooovvvvve this one. It’s a blast, and she does a great job of teaching steps from the absolute basics. I feel like this would be a good thing to do for maintenance, but as I shared above, I’ve let myself get to the point where maintenance exercise isn’t enough. This one just doesn’t provide the huge heart-pumping, trouble area focused workout I need right now.

9. MaDonna Grimes Dance Street Workout Collection I loved this one. It made me sweat like a pig, and I was very sore. It truly does just teach you a dance. I injured myself on this one, though, and never got back into it. The other thing that was hard about it was that once I learned a section of the routine, it was difficult to find the right place to go back over that part quickly and then move on to the next section.

10. Turbo Jam This is a solid workout system that, like Tae-bo, is a good, high-energy, overall workout. It has a 20 minute workout, a 45 one, a weights workout, etc. I liked this one, and am not sure why I quit.

But I did.

And not on the list, because I’ve only done it once (this morning) is Zumba Fitness for Wii. Zumba classes are the rage with everyone I know right now. I asked for it for Christmas. After doing one 20 minute, beginner’s, Level: Easy workout this morning, I think I may like it. It’s the first wii workout I’ve done, and I like the feedback aspect of it. You earn points by doing well. And I think . . . I think that if you’re doing it right the instructor turns green. If her turning green means you’re doing it wrong, then I stink.

Go check out more Top Ten Lists over at ohamanda!

Disclosure: The links in this post are my Amazon affiliate links.