Back on the Wagon

October 1st

 The short excuse is that I lost focus, shifted priorities, and got "too busy" to adhere to my workout regimine.
The longer story is that I fell in love, I started a new, emotionally demanding but physically rewarding position at my non-profit, my fiance passed away before the wedding, in grief I hungered for nothing but lucky charms, and even though I cried through a few workouts in the following months, I couldn't maintain a routine. I started a new relationship that required some navigating of personal space and two years later still find myself moving, searching for and creating my own space, and chasing routine (a subject I have ironically neglected to succeed in blogging about). I am thankful that I made toning, training, and exercising such a regular part of my life when I had routine, because when things got crazy I had the knowledge (and desire) to drop in workouts when I could.

Ocotber 5th

Side Note: At my peak stress, I lost about 25 lbs in a year. This would be awesome if it were intentional, but I'm sure it was mostly muscle weight loss that came from appetite loss. During this time I received some comments about how great I looked. I did feel good in some ways to be 25 lbs lighter. Pull-ups were easier even with my missing muscle. But I wasn't as healthy as I had been. Just remember that skinny isn't healthy. Everyone has something going on, and if you see someone that looks like "Damn!" try something like, "you're glowing", "you look really happy", "you seem to be engaging in healthy routines" or just ask them how they feel.
*steps off soap box*
This year, despite earning my Personal Training Certification which gives me the authority to tell other people how to live healthily, I have still found it difficult to get back into a regular workout routine. Granted, though my journey in the last few years I have reconsidered what a healthy workout regimen is. Every month this year, I swore "this will be the month I get back into it" but traveling, moving, new jobs, etc. kept that pushing to the next month until finally, this October I had nothing else to do but focus!

October 14th

Here's what I did:

1) Plan
Arguably, this is the most fun part. You have nothing to lose in your planning phase, just ambitions. Obviously planning is like goal-setting: you want to make your plan achievable. Since I had been plotting my big return-to-workouts for months, as well as studying some beefy training-focused manuals, I didn't have to put too much work into my plan this time.
Here's what my plan looked like:

Every week of the month, follow this format.
Monday- Hill Runs
Tuesday- 12 minute athlete + thenics workouts
Wednesday- Sprints and/or aerials class
Thursday- Full body weights and/or fitness class at The Body Shop
Friday- Rest day
Saturday- "distance" run
Sunday- Active rest, stretch session(s)

2) Commit

October 31st

I have read a lot about training principles in the last few months. I've watched a few movies about crossfit and body building. I've started attending an Aerials class and a couple fitness classes per month. I believe that all of these forms of fitness have their place. My goal this month was SUPER simple, because I knew that's what would make me successful. My goal was just to stick to my plan. As you can see, I didn't set out any strong goals in my plan. Since I've been off the wagon for so long, my goal was just to DO something. Even if my hill run was just one or two of the driveways across the road, or my distance run was just to the mailbox and back (2.5 miles). At least I did something, every day, and followed my plan.

This month I didn't worry about nutrition, though that's something I really need to refocus on again.

The results?
I feel awesome. Granted, I am very blessed to have a body that (at least for now) is very responsive. I bought my first pair of jeggings a few days ago and it's all I want to wear. There were days that things came up and I had to shift my schedule around, but I at least tried to do some sort of 'work out' those days or doubled up the next day if I had to.
These weren't hard work outs. Some days I didn't even put on work out clothes. I just moved. That's what I want to encourage future clients to do-- just move. Be in your body, make it do stuff. Challenge yourself little bits at a time. And hopefully now that I'm getting back into my body, I can inspire future clients.

Jeggings!

What's next?
My aerials class has been very humbling. I hadn't been on the rope since college (almost a decade ago), so remembering the grip strength, foot locks and core strength has been challenging. For November, I plan to stay committed to my schedule, work on eating enough (some...any?!) protein each day, and focus on an aerials-based workout plan that I wrote while waiting for my oil change this morning. woo!