Happy Friday, folks! I’m dedicating this Friday post to #fitnessfriday! It’s no surprise that a good fitness regimen should be part of a healthy lifestyle. According to the Center for Disease Control, for substantial health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes/week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. It is also recommended to spread these minutes out throughout the week, with each episode adding up to at least 10 minutes. But if you’re like almost everyone else out there, you might be struggling to find a sustainable activity. How many times have you said, “I’m going to just start running more” only to realize you absolutely despise running? WHY DO WE DO THIS TO OURSELVES? Honestly, before the beginning of this year, I had an extremely hard time finding a routine that worked for me. Back in October of 2014, I decided I was going to run a half marathon, just to prove to myself I could do it. At the time, I didn’t consider myself a runner by any stretch of the imagination. I committed myself to a training schedule and delved right in to the runner’s world. I loved it. In April 2015, I completed my first half-marathon.
But after the race, I kept holding myself to this expectation that I was an avid runner. I would force myself to run a ridiculous number of miles each week because “I had done it before”. It literally ruined running for me and I dreaded #sundayrunday. I would procrastinate my runs during the day for long that I usually ended up just skipping them. Eventually, I gave up running all together. My next phase was lifting. I remember saying, “Lifting is my thing now. I’m a lifter. I lift things.” Well, guess what happened after a few months? Yep. I hated lifting and I dreaded working out again. Then cycling as often as possible or jumping around to different “30 day workout challenges” each month.
I am FINALLY happy to announce I have found a form of movement that works for me: spoiler alert – it’s not just one! I want to help you find your form and your routine because truth be told, I love my workouts now! My secret? I pick a different form every day of the week. Because I’m slightly type-A (okay maybe type A-?), I created a spreadsheet of my workouts for the month, designating each day to a different form of movement. This requires some flexibility and honesty. At the beginning of each month, I write out all my workouts for each day. Once the workout has been completed, I cross it off, not delete. If I am unable to complete a specific workout that day, I highlight it in red. If I do a different workout that day, I type it in and cross it out (because everyone knows crossing things off a list feels really good). After a couple months, I began to see a pattern and realized which workouts I am able to maintain and which ones I never complete. Here is what I found.
Mondays – Boxing
Tuesdays – Arms + yoga + stair stepper
Wednesdays – Legs + Run + yoga
Thursdays – Spin class + ab workout
Friday – Short run + Total Body workout or yoga
Saturdays/Sundays – Active time with friends or with Luna + or more yoga
Each day, I get to focus all my energy on one form of movement and then leave it behind for a week. Sure, running is hard and I don’t necessarily enjoy doing it very often. But I do love knocking it out once a week and then not having to do it again for a whole other week. Truthfully speaking, this has improved my running speed and my 5K time is now down three minutes since the beginning of the year. My workouts and my workout schedule are very personal to me. I picked this schedule because it allows me to spend the most amount of time with the people I love. Boxing, yoga, spin class, outdoor activity – all of these are done with friends and family (shout out to my workout crew!) and I genuinely look forward to that special time with them. My support system keeps me happy, healthy and sane and I have them to thank for this schedule.
If you’re struggling to find a workout schedule that works for you, get in touch with me. I would be happy to sit down with you, virtually (if you’re not local), and have a conversation about your lifestyle. If you’d like to sign up for nutrition services, please visit my website at www.nutritionbymaky.com.
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