Working Out - in season
Just a few short weeks ago, we turned the calendar to the start of a new year. Since 2020 had been so…2020…I did not have my usual New Year’s Resolutions planned. I did, however, decide I wanted to (try) to workout every single day of January. I wasn’t trying to be mental, or unbalanced. It wasn’t a power move. I just missed the feeling of strength in my body.
I had neglected resistance training (any workout that builds strength and muscle) for the last couple of months of 2020, and I felt it. Really felt it.
Resistance training is an important part of any workout, and has many benefits. It increases your metabolism, lowers your body fat and protects you from some of the leading causes of early death and disability. You don’t have to lift like a bodybuilder (or look like one) to benefit from resistance training.
But how to fit it in?
Honestly, I’m still getting used to working 8-5. And, when I come home at 5:30, the LAST thing I want to do is workout, or cook at healthy meal for that matter. Listen, I’m just tryin’ to tell the truth here.
My belief therefore when it comes getting the movement our bodies need, is that to be successful in the long run, most people need MULTIPLE different activities at their disposal. My (metaphorical) Exercise Tool Box, for instance, includes the following:
Workouts I can do from home online
Exercise DVDs
Dedicated home workout space that includes weights, yoga mat, jump rope, etc.
Outside workouts (riding bikes, walking/jogging, hiking)
Water activities (access to a swimming pool, kayak)
In-expensive membership to a 24/7 gym
Fitness Apps
A smart watch for tracking steps on busy work days
Classes at a near-by yoga studio
I am a HUGE believer in routine, and I thrive when I get into good ones. But when life happens and my routine needs to be changed up, or I get bored, or injured…I have many other choices so that I don’t quit or give up.
Currently, I’m in a good routine, and really enjoying it. Funny thing, at the end of 2020 I was saying there was no way I could wake up early to work out before work. I was convinced there was no way I could do what I’m doing now. Then…
In January, Covid hit us (we had a very mild case), and I received some unexpected days at home.
During the time we were in quarantine, with little pressure to do much of anything, I decided to create a schedule that would allow me to read, pray, and workout early in the morning, and then I just ”tried” it. I didn’t have the pressure of having to actually get up for work, so somehow, that mentally motivated me.
My schedule goes like this:
5:00 am Wake Up, Put on Workout Clothes, Brush Teeth
5:10 - 5:50 Read Bible, and Pray
5:50 - 6:00 Put on Tennis Shoes, Grab Water Bottle
6:00 - 6:30 Workout
6:30 - 7:15 Shower and Dress for Work
7:15 Leave to drive Eli to school and go to work
I haven’t worked out every day of January like I hoped. I have worked out 16 of the last 21 days…and that’s a BIG improvement over December! My morning routine is difficult. Every day. I have the same conversation in my head. Alarm goes off.
Me to Me, “Just skip it today. If you get up, You’ll be cold. You hate being cold. “
Also Me to Me, “Woman! You are already awake. Standing up is the hardest part. Stand up and brush your teeth. Then you can sit back down and read.”
After about an hour…
Me to Me, “I could just keep sitting here reading. I don’t HAVE to work out. I’ve already worked out 3 days this week.”
Also Me to Me, “If you don’t workout, you are going to feel cold and sluggish all day. Plus, when you come home, tired from work, you’re going to feel like you have to workout then. And that will be EVEN HARDER.”
Me to Me, “Shanna, stop thinking and put on your tennis shoes….”
And, well, this conversation is usually much, much longer and not near as nice as it sounds right there. Most days, I just try and move my body before my brain can start thinking.
Let that emphasize how much I don’t like getting up early, and how much I don’t like the in-workout-feeling (and being cold). YET, I’ve done it over and over this month. And, as a result, I feel so much more awake, and alive and purposeful walking out the door to be a blessing to my community each morning.
This is not a blog about you needing an early morning routine. It’s a blog about you knowing where you are and what you need in this season. Then, doing what you can to make sure you include those things into your daily.
In my current stage of life, I also have the ability to go to bed at 8pm (and by that I mean literally be asleep before 9) insuring I’m getting plenty of sleep most nights. Just a few short years ago, that would have been impossible as I still had kids that needed to be picked up from youth group, part-time jobs, sporting practices, etc. Then they needed help with dinner. And, homework…and…and…and…and I could only (at my best) fall in bed exhausted at 10pm and getting up at 5 seemed crazy.
These days, not so much. It helps that I don’t think of it as getting up early. I think of it as getting in my most important activities FIRST. If I didn’t need to be at work until 11, I probably wouldn’t get up until 8:30. I want to make sure I’m putting strength into my spirit and my body first thing each day, if possible. On days I can’t, my bike is on the back of my car and there is always stopping by the trail on my way home.