Making Fitness a Priority

I am happy to report after a considerable amount of time not working out (I would do maybe 1 class a week and take the dog for a 30 minute walk) I am back at it! Everyone is different, but for me I feel my best when I am making fitness a priority. I prioritize 5-6 workouts a week and I find it helps with my sleep, mood, anxiety, and food cravings; therefor it is a nonnegotiable.

When the Non-negotiable Becomes Nonexistent

For years and years I have loved exercise. It has always been part of my routine, something that I always made time for. Once I had my kids I started letting it go. Skipping a day here and there turned into working out once a week, if that. During my 12 week leave from work my season of life was walks instead of my typical workouts. This was necessary for that time in my life. I was (and still am) dealing with chronic fatigue, nausea, headaches, dizziness, etc.. and I wanted to experiment with more rest. More rest resulted in going the opposite direction of my typical fitness routine, and becoming quite sedentary.

Now that I have been back to work for 3 weeks, (and feeling more settled) I decided it is time to get back at it. While some of my symptoms have improved, some have not-regardless of my diet and exercise level. The benefits I feel from exercise far outway the “relaxation” of not exercising (and lets be real, I wasn’t relaxing, I was filling that time with other things that “needed to get done”). With the encouragement of my husband and Sara from The Momentum Mastermind I am in, I enrolled in Orangetheory and I am happy to say I’ve done 3 workouts in a row and I found myself asking why didn’t I do this sooner?!

Pick an Exercise that Makes You Happy

Prior to my Orangetheory membership I went to my local YMCA and had two favorite instructors there. It worked out perfectly and was very affordable. Now with my new work schedule, I was unable to attend those classes and felt in limbo of what to do. I have an hour commute to work, so I decided to get a membership at an Orangetheory that is close to my job. By signing up for Orangetheory I am now able to get my workout in, shower, work on my blog, and get to work all by 8am, almost the same amount of time it would have taken me to sit in traffic if I slept in at home.

Set Yourself Up for Success

Working out before going to work took some serious prep. Since I wake up at 5am now, the night before I leave out my workout clothes, hr monitor, filled water bottle, and have the next days work clothes packed in my bag, along with some blogging supplies I need while I work at the gym. In pure mom fashion I am using a diaper bag, my daughters bag for my blogging binder, and the kids wash cloths for the shower. I guess you can say I’m all about multi-use products, ha!

I’ll report back to let you know how my new routine is going. I am pretty cheap and since Orangetheory is not and charges a fee if you don’t cancel a class within 8 hours, I am pretty certain I will be maintaining my M-F workout schedule 😉

Questions for you!

What are your favorite workout classes to take?

How do you get out of an exercise funk?