Working Out: A brain dump

History/Body Image:

Working out has been a huge part of my life for as long as I remember but as I have gotten older it hasn’t been regulated in recreational sports so I have had to take the journey of figuring out what works for me. That journey has been very long with lots of ups and downs. 

I am not the girl that just doesn’t gain weight or looks amazing in a bikini after eating fried food. Sometimes when I watch people’s stories and they are eating Chick-fil-a every single day and don’t gain weight I wonder what the heck is wrong with me? Then I remind myself over and over again that I cannot judge and compare myself to people that have completely different body types than me. I have to watch what and how much I eat as well as exercise regularly to maintain my ideal body weight especially as I have gotten older! 

I have had to create a healthy lifestyle for myself to get to a point where I feel confident in how I look. {side note: when I share bathing suits on my Instagram or stories I am pushing myself outside of my comfort zone. It makes me nervous but then I remember that there are so many other women out there that look like me and I want to make sure that the women in the middle get represented as well} I try to eat healthily and work out 4-6x a week as well as speak kindly to myself and love the body I am in (I am NOT perfect and have to remind myself to do this often) because it is the only one I have. It takes a lot of work (physically & mentally), time/preparation, and dedication which all have become a part of my lifestyle. 

Besides having moments of feeling insecure I feel like I have a very healthy and realistic body image but at the same time, I also have high standards to how I want to look. I will not ever have the body I once did but I have come to terms with that and make sure to really just do everything I can to look and FEEL the best I can at all times. If I can lay my head down on the pillow at the end of the day and know I did everything I could to nourish and take care of my body (whatever that means to me on that day) to be the best that I can then I am happy. If I skip a workout or eat unhealthily I DO NOT beat myself up about it, I just make a plan to do better the next day and follow thru with it. But a keyword I repeat to myself is balance, life is short and I never want to be so uptight that I miss out on getting ice cream with my nephews on a summer night. Those are the memories that I cherish so I am always very aware of that, those are always the best moments to look back on! My husband and I also love to try new food so we are always doing date nights at new restaurants so I really try to enjoy those experience with him.

Mindset:

I think it’s important to keep in mind why you are doing something and just be very intentional about it (with anything in life – not just workouts). Time and energy are precious so understanding motives behind what you are doing is something that stands stronger and means more than one day wanting to be skinnier so you run a few miles then don’t work out again for a month. This is something to dedicate a portion of your life to because the long term results are so much sweeter! There are no quick fixes and I continue to remind myself that.

My why’s:

-Maintain a healthy body weight to feel confident in the skin I am in.

-Help myself to mentally be able to process my day and take some time to myself.

-Push myself physically to reach my goals. 

Motivation to get myself to the gym:

1. Podcasts! I save my favorite listens for when I am at the gym so I have something to look forward to and not dread it. I wear my wireless headphones and just zone out while I workout! If podcasts are not your thing I would suggest listening to a book on tape, put together a music playlist that pumps you up or whatever else you can use to distract yourself. CLICK HERE to check out the list of my favorites!
2. Progress! When I see my body changing for the better or I feel significantly better I am so motivated to keep going because I know it is working! 
3. The feeling after I am done! There is nothing like the feeling after a good workout, I crave it and chase it. Not only do I feel accomplished but the serotonin boosts my mood and overall sense of well being which is very needed some days! 

Mental Benefits:

I usually need some time to think things fully thru — whether it is a business decision, personal issue or anything in between, when I have an internal emotional response to something I stop myself from responding right away and take the time to figure out exactly how I feel. I have learned that my initial response, most of the time, is not actually how I feel. So, working out gives me that time to really think things thru and do the processing that I need before making any decisions. I am able to break down my thoughts, look at the situation from every side and not make a rash decision that I am going to regret later. 

Preparation:

I try to plan out my general workout schedule each week depending on what I have going on so I can prepare myself. If I mentally tell myself that I will workout in the morning on Monday then take a run outside Tuesday night and then the only time I can workout on Wednesday is in the afternoon…I usually stick to that and hold myself accountable. Some weeks I work out less but then the others I work out more, that way no matter what I know it all evens out in the end and I am doing the best that  I can.

Before I go to the gym I take pre-workout, I find that it gives me an extra boost to really maximize my workout! I did some research about what brand to go with, I wanted to make sure that it was as clean as possible. CLICK HERE to check it out, it tastes amazing! I also try to hype myself up and get excited to sweat and feel the benefits of that. I might not be excited to go but I am damn proud and accomplished when I am done! I have never regretted working out!

One thing I like to do is if I just do not feel like going to the gym (if I go too late in the afternoon it is so crowded and I don’t love the atmosphere) I will wait until later in the day and go for a run outside. I really try to just listen to how I am feeling and do whatever workout excites me the most that day.

In my gym bag:

• A lock– if you are going to a gym and you put your bag in a locker!
• A little pouch – for parking stubs or any other miscellaneous items!
• Headphones – CLICK HERE to check mine out! They are amazing and super affordable! 
• Pre-workout – just mix with some water! I usually drink it 20 minutes before my workout!
• Flip flops for the sauna – highly recommend getting in for 10 minutes after your workout! It helps eliminate metabolic waste, cleanses the skin, burns calories and relieves muscle pain just to name a few!

Hair:

Since being on a workout schedule that is multiple days a week I have had to change my mindset on washing my hair! I used to feel the need to wash my hair after every time I sweat but that quickly became too much work and too damaging to my hair. So, I started to train hair to wash it less and figured out a way to be able to work out whenever I want but still be able to do my hair every day! CLICK HERE for the full blog post that I did on this but I will also share a few tips below:

1. Use THESE hair ties…they do not leave a crease in hair and are the #1 reason why I can pull it back when I workout and save it for the next day! 
2. When I put my hair up I simply do a low ponytail. It keeps my part intact and does the trick when I am sweating.
3. Once I am home and take my hair down I make sure to brush it out and I will spray a little dry shampoo in spots that need it. Then I put on a turbie twist to take a body shower and wash my face! 

Keep in Mind:

Having a healthy workout routine is a marathon, not a sprint so I always try to have the mindset that I do not have to have the most intense workout every day or do the most every time I am at the gym to succeed. Some days I do not feel like working out so I tell myself that I need to do 30 minutes of something that will make me sweat, no matter what that is. Then, once I start getting into it I feel more motivated and do more because I am there anyway! I also don’t force myself to do certain workouts if I do don’t feel like it. If I am not in the mood to run that day I make sure to spend some time on the stair stepper to get some cardio in, if I am not in the mood to lift that day I go heavier on the cardio, if I am sore I make sure to do a long walk and a really good stretch. Letting myself be okay with the fact that every day isn’t going to be the best sweat of my life has been so amazing because with that perspective I find myself working out 4-6x a week instead of doing two crazy workouts a week and being too burnt out to do anything else the other days. 

My advice:

Find what works for you!! Try different workouts and put yourself out there to learn what schedule leads to this becoming a lifestyle change. We all have different jobs, with different hours so it is going to be different for everyone but really taking the time to understand what time of day you like to work out, what motivates you to workout, what workouts you like to do is huge! 

This is something that you have to do over and over again for it to become a habit, to see results and to really see the benefits of your hard work! Eat healthy 80% of the time (non-processed foods that nurture your body) to see even more results faster and 20% of the time go out and indulge – then get right back at it the next day with no guilt! If you don’t get right back at it because life gets in the way…that’s okay too! Do what you can when you can and don’t feel bad about it, no shame in doing what you have to do.

xo,