This post has been a long time coming. Long time, because I felt like it was imperative I give it a full year + before I have any right giving fitness advice… considering I have been pretty sedentary most of my life.
My parents really tried getting me into sports at a young age, but I only ever made it 1-3 games before I quit. In junior high & highschool I started breaking out in hives every time they would make me run the mile. I was told to switch detergents by my PE teacher & still broke out in hives. Eventually I was forever excused from P.E. I played indoor basketball at the gym ONCE & broke my nose within 5 minutes.
I did get into hiking for five minutes. I would pop a non-drowsy Bendaryl (I have now self-diagnosed myself with exercise induced urticaria– it’s a thing) & went on a hike with my friends. In the middle of the hike my back began killing me & continued to kill me until I went to a doctor 5 years later. They told me that I have a fractured vertebrae that healed wrong. Pretty positive it was from the hike.
Fitness & me just didn’t mix for so many years. Which is why it is SHOCKING that, current day, I can’t live without it. Seriously, everyone in my circle is weirded out by this. I am very weirded out by this. It is extremely out of character for me.
Fast forward to however long later, I asked you guys on Instagram to literally ASK ME ANYTHING, & a few people actually inquired what I did for fitness. It is so exciting to be asked about this for the first time in my life. I totally forgot to answer it in the video (coming soon, BTW)… So I figured after over a year of living this weird fitness life, I guess could do a post on it.
LET ME VERY CLEAR THOUGH- I am 100% NOT saying I have the best routine in the world or that I am a pillar of health… but I did somehow trick my brain into getting used to a more active lifestyle & I think it could prove helpful for someone else sick of having to check off the “sedentary” box at the doctor’s office.
YA FEEL ME?
THE MOTIVATION TO GET IN SHAPE/MY STARTING POINT
When I was a kid it was always “look at that awkward skinny little thing” & then in junior high they called me “knobby knees” cause my legs looks like spider legs. I didn’t wear shorts for years. I think it all gave me a weird complex that I’d forever be able to eat what I want and never workout.
In highschool ALL MY FRIENDS worked out at the gym. I got a membership, walked on the treadmill for 10 minutes, got a smoothie, and flirted with the boys. I didn’t realize my friends were ahead of the game on their metabolisms.
Then I turned 30, & I realized it.
My metabolism slowed down, my hormones sped up & I began to realize it all when my pants stopped fitting me. I went on like this for a while, & my confidence was lower then low. Then I planned two trips to Cabo & PROMISED myself I’d get in good enough shape to feel confident in a bikini.
The first trip was 2 months away, the second one was 6 months away. I wanted to get to a good place by 2 months, & a great place by 6 months (cause you HAVE to up your game big time for a Cabo wedding).
I think having these concrete goals/dates in mind played a HUGE role in me actually going through with it & sticking with it.
Because I hated working out so much at this point, I knew a gym membership would be a waste. I didn’t have the motivation to get myself there. Same goes for classes. The only way I knew I would stick with it was by going to a personal trainer. First of all, I didn’t know WHAT to do to achieve the results I wanted, and secondly- when you have a one on one appointment with someone you feel REALLY bad cancelling. It would force me to go because I hated the thought of him wasting his time on me. That Jewish guilt got me to workout.
I well aware personal training is pricey, but for me, I made the choice to adjust my budget to include personal training as it really was the only way I would commit, w/ the end goal of being able to keep it up solo.
Also- during this time, I highly recommend throwing away your scale if you’re obsessive like I was. This helped me so much as I only measured my progress by how my clothes fit & by the progress photos.
TAKE PROGRESS PHOTOS!!! Although embarrassing, it is so motivating.
BREAKING UP WITH YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER, THE TRANSITION
I always called it breaking up with my personal trainer, because it feels sort of like a breakup. You feel bad, it’s awkward, & in all reality- your probably never gonna see that person again. But you just gotta cut the cord as soon as you feel ready cause that shit really is pricey.
For me, I knew I was ready when I stopped WANTING to bail on personal training. I always wanted to bail, never did, & as long as I knew I wanted to bail… I knew I wasn’t ready to spread my fitness wings. Once I stopped feeling that way, I started taking Orange Theory. I was overlapping them, because I was testing the waters. Easing slowly into another workout.
I researched a ton of studios, but Orange Theory got my attention because it covered all the bases in one class (cardio & strength training). Plus, I love the science behind it. You wear a band around your waist & it tracks your heart rate. On a screen it shows you your heart rate level & the goal is to spend 12 minutes in the ORANGE zone to get sustained calorie burning into the next day.
Oh yea!! My favorite trainer was Krystal from the Bachelor! Despite what you saw, she really is is so sweet, had a rocking bod, & is super motivating.
This method worked SO well for me because I do well with GOALS. I like knowing the facts behind what I am doing and why it is working, & I just like proof that the results will come. After two weeks of Orange Theory, I was ready, & broke up with my personal trainer. I became a full time OT goer, 3-4 times a week. I was going hard before the wedding, & continued going to OT until long after the wedding
THE MAINTENANCE
Eventually, I had to phase out the Orange Theory due to my back injury (that came from hiking, remember?). The treadmill was causing me pain, which was sad because I had finally learned to love running, & I had to take do phsical therapy.
During that time, I had also started incorporating Sparkcycle into my routine. I became OBSESSED with Sparkcycle & now that is my go-to workout. I try to go two-three times a week, but sometimes I can only make it to one.
The cool about working out for a sustained amount of time, if you’re just looking to maintain, you don’t have to go 4x a week anymore. That was an intense time for me, I was consumed. It became too much. Two times a week does the trick for me, and keeps me in shape. Three times of week would be ideal, but I do what I can. I am interested in incorporating some Pilates into my life because it’d be great for my back injury.
My main tricks for maintenance, because I know how easy it can be to fall out of a routine, include two things: first of all, I schedule all my workouts that week Sunday night so I can work my schedule around my workouts, & secondly… when I am feeling overwhelmed I always tell myself “an hour workout makes up 2% of your day”. I repeat it like a mantra, and it works to get me there when I feel like not going.
Plus, I always know that after a workout my STRESS will be practically erased. It is an instant anxiety cure.
MY DIET
Ahh, can’t end this post without my diet because of course, diet is important.
I do have to keep this section short because, if we’re being honest, I am not chugging green juice everyday or even having a vegetable with every meal. As I said, I am not a pillar of health. I put green powder in my smoothies some days, take my vitamins some days, eat healthy some days, eat In N’ Out other days (although I do get it protein style!).
One thing I have never & will never be able to do is deprive myself with what I want to eat. I do try to keep healthy snacks in the house, I do love fruit over ice cream, but if I want a burrito for dinner… I am getting a burrito for dinner & moving on with my life.
If I go especially big on the calories of the weekend, I just go harder at my Monday workout or I add in an extra workout that week. Moderation is important, but you can also balance things out. I personally can’t live a life of constant food FOMO, so the more I eat… the more I workout.
For more fitness, see 5 cult favorite fitness instructors in San Diego.