work out
Let’s face it, I’ve gotten lazy. Lazy isn’t even the right word, as I’m often busy, often working on projects, often accomplishing things. The real word is sedentary. I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer as I think the majority of us do. While previously I’ve had activity built into my life, bike rides and occasional hikes (see the above slightly dorky photo), all of that seems to have evaporated and I find myself just sitting almost all the time. It’s partially unavoidable in terms of getting work done but I am really starting to feel the toll on my body and know it’s time to take action.
The problem is that I am the worst at exercising. It’s not that I hate it or can’t commit, it’s just that I need clear routine and I can’t seem to figure one out. I might go for a jog for a few days in a row but without a plan I just stop. This might have some broader implications on my ability to focus on nonspecific goals, but let’s put that aside for a moment. For example, the circus classes I took last summer were awesome because they were for a set amount of time and had a goal of a performance at the end. Sadly, they are a little too spendy for me to take up again at the moment.
I wish I could say that I’m just going to incorporate more active stuff into my every day life, much like I have in the past, but I can see that I need to do something a little more proactive. A jump start if you will. I’m not looking to morph into an Olympic athlete but I wouldn’t mind having a few muscles again instead of feeling like jiggly-puff. I like yoga and cycling and most anything that doesn’t involve going to a gym. Also, jogging or running are great but I’m not gonna run any kind of race. I know there is something out there that is free (or cheap) that I will enjoy but I just haven’t been able to put my finger on it.
What works for you to keep active? Is there a yoga routine you do every day or a set number of days your run every week? How do you commit to including activity in your schedule? What do you do to keep it interesting?
I’ve fallen off the workout wagon recently too but I’ve found that what keeps me consistently doing it is half-hour workout videos I can do at home. I have the 30 Day Shred (more of a cardio/strength, get sweaty video) and Core Fusion Body Sculpt (dance-based strength moves) and I love them both. I have to commit to doing one of them every day right after work in order to stick with it. Last time I did a 30 day challenge with myself to do it every day and I ended up doing something 3-4 times a week every week for 3 months. Once I made it a habit it was a lot easier.
Awesome. I’ll definitely check these out. I am a fan of anything I can do at home.
Hi Alix!
I’m the girl you met at the ice cream parlor in boston! When I am not eating delicious delicious vegan treats I focus a lot of my time on exercise. I have been into every single fitness thing under the sun at this point and have a lot of favorites for at home stuff! I used to religiously go to the gym and then i noticed that every woman in fitness facility just seems super bummed out and body hating so I decided to quit and just work out by myself/with friends. Here’s what I do:
1) the insanity work out. I torrented this and it is my most often used workout. I have finished the 60 day cycle twice and when I was in the midst of it , it was probably the strongest I’ve ever felt. It is five days of intense workouts a week + one yoga type day and one day off. A seriously awesome program, but not for the faint of heart.
2) yoga to the people podcasts! If you have some yoga background you’ll know the names of the poses and you can just do it via podcast. I found these to be an excellent balance between challenging and relaxing.
3) a bike ride. I make myself ride my bike for no reason sometimes. Like, if i have been sedentary all day it is really easy to just make up an excuse to go for a forty minute to an hour bike ride. When I was dating someone in LA I would just bike from silverlake to downtown and back and then would totally get my exercise in. plus, if you go during sunset its beautiful and i would often use it as an excuse to hit up a library or movie or whatever. that trick actually made me more fit and more social.
4) walking! griffith park is the best and it is super fun to go to trails and grab some of their granola and soymilk for breakfast and then just hike. another super beautiful LA thing.
now I am doing cross fit at home workouts, which is again really awesome. Each day i do a 15-20 minute travel workout (here are a bunch of them: http://crossfitcc.com/about-2/travel-workouts/ ) and pair it with some stretching and a warm up (i usually just use the insanity warm ups.) if i don’t know what the move is there are tons of crossfit demos online.
the absolute best way for me to workout is to make myself do it when i wake up. then i start my day feeling super accomplished and don’t make excuses to weasel out of it. also at least one rest day a week is important! without those exercise feels terrible.
Man. thats a lot of info! sorry to barrage you! Also, I am kind of shy so i dunno if it showed but i am so excited i got to meet you in person. i love this blog!
Hi Lacy!
First of all, it was super fun to meet you, although briefly, in Boston. It was a nice way to end our trip.
Also, thanks for all the recommendations! I will definitely try these. Very excited to check out the yoga for the people podcasts. I should really make myself ride my bike more. I get really caught up in working on things and then I don’t run errands or go places so this is a place where I need a total mindset readjustment.
I love Trails, and could definitely see myself going there in the mornings. Good ideas!
Alix
Agree on the morning thing. Gotta do it first thing in the morning – once I turn the computer on, it’s much harder to get myself out of the door for a run!
I know you said that you won’t be doing any races, but have you considered a sprint distance triathlon? They’re totally intimidating, but definitely do-able and a little addicting. I did two before I developed plantar fasciitis a few years ago and then had a kid. I’m hoping to do them again. The sprint distance is much more reasonable as it’s only a 0.25-0.5 mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and then a 5k run (3.1 mi). The best part about doing this was the training. I had to have a specific plan for each day, even if it was just doing some weight lifting for 30 minutes. Training for them was the strongest I ever felt. Plus, if you only have 30 minutes a day, it’s easy to get a bike ride or run in. The swimming part…well, that’s the toughest thing to figure out.
Good luck deciding!
I am the sort of person that needs to do things regularly all the time in order for them to happen – if I skip too many days of running, I end up not running for months.
Some days it’s difficult to fit exercise in, but what has helped me is to combine it with something else I have to do anyhow. For examples, I often have to go to the bank to deposit money so I will run to the bank. It’s not my favourite route at all, it’s a fairly short run (probably no more than 3 o 4 miles there and back, and sometimes with quite a bit of a break in between) but it helps me stay on track with running in general. I’ve done the same for trips to the post office, or even the supermarket (although in that case I might walk/take some transportation back). I suppose it’s not great for other people to have someone sweaty show up in a shop, but I don’t really care. (Possibly a bit rude of me.)
I also cycle everywhere. That’s my main form of transport. I’m not in the bike-friendliest city (London), but it’s doable and it means I end up doing some 75-100 km on the bike each week. I will cycle to places that are 15km away (20km one way would probably be my cut off point). Some people think it’s crazy but once I’m on the bike the distance doesn’t matter much, the weather doesn’t matter much, it’s still enjoyable to me. Of course, because I’m cycling in a city it doesn’t actually feel like exercise always (you go slower, you have to stop a lot, etc.), but still, better than doing nothing at all!
I prefer to exercise by myself but now that I’m visiting my Dad, I find going for a run together keeps us both more on track. You might feel lazy by yourself, but the other person can keep you in check – or vice versa.
Hi! What works for me is looking at a rundown of what my schedule will be like the following week. I look for free time and tell myself that that will be when I will work out and I make sure to write it down and fit it into my schedule. Even if it’s just three days a week for thirty minutes each session, it helps!
I used to be in a major workout rut (jogging or elliptical…. and it bored me to tears!) until I took one group fitness class at my gym. Now I’m in love! I’ve made lots of friends, met some really awesome people, and it’s opened up my workout routine immensely. It also keeps me on track since the schedule is the same each week. I started with TurboKick, a really fun cardio class, and now I also do BodyPump (weights) and HIIT classes.
When I’m looking to change things up, I hit up Runyon Canyon (DOGS!!!) or do a BodyRock workout at home for more HIIT.
I’m totally addicted, and not ashamed to admit it 🙂
Hey girl! I certainly know what you mean! Running and cycling are my favorites but I also really enjoy HIIT -high intensity interval training- you push really hard for 12-16 min and you’re done. I do it in the comfort of my living room and it’s made such a difference. I also do yoga at home as well. Let me know if you’d like some links! I’m on my phone atm so it’s hard to do that!
links please!!!!
As someone who works out 90 minutes a day, 5 days a week, at 5 am, I’ve learned that the most motivating thing for me is seeing measurable success. I hate cardio so that means measuring my strength. Since I’d never workout if I had to go to a gym, I love bodyweight exercises. The way that I eased myself into working out consistently is first thing in the morning do 2-3 sets of push-ups to exhaustion, plank as long as I can, and then 3-5 sets of squats. You’re working your major muscle groups, and the best part is you can measure your progress easily (how many push-ups you can do, how long you can plank). You can see yourself getting stronger every week or even every few days. Works for me.
Having a workout buddy is key for me. If I wasn’t meeting up with Bill 3 mornings a week to run, I would punk out after a week. We run in the mornings, because it’s cooler out but also because it’s nice to get the workout part of the day done, so you don’t have all day to make excuses to skip it. We do a 5, 4, and 3-miler every week. The 5 and 4 are at a pretty mellow pace, and the 3 miler is interval training – 2 minutes walking and 2 minutes running as fast as we can.