Hi babes! It’s been a while. I took a bit of a break from, well, everything. I’ve taken some time off from being obsessed with fitness, as you can probably tell by my daily #icecreamforeverymeal posts. Fast forward almost a year later, here I am!
Let’s start with a simple question: What is fitness?
I know that to me, personally, it used to mean being restrictive and obsessive. It used to mean never eating certain foods, always hitting my macros, never missing a workout and never really LIVING my life. Now that it has been well over a year (maybe even 2… yeesh!) since I was living a healthy life unhealthily (funny how that can happen, huh?), I have really taken the time to sit down and ponder this question.
Fitness means something different for everyone. You may learn that you are passionate about yoga or maybe you love bodybuilding. There is no one size fits all with fitness… that’s the fun part!
I lost ALL motivation to workout, like, at all. So I asked myself some simple questions:
- Why don’t I want to workout anymore?
- What is it that I think I need to get me back into working out?
Well, the first question was obvious. I felt tired, lazy, unmotivated, NOT excited AT ALL to wake up early and get my workouts in. Who was I becoming? What did I need to get myself back into it? I needed to view my workouts as an obligation and commitment and stop backing out of them. So what did I do? I joined a new gym!
I started working out at Bearfit Training Systems a few months ago. It is a functional training gym which is completely different from the workouts I was used to. I knew I needed a change, I needed something fun and I needed to make a commitment. Signing up for this gym has helped me become committed to myself, my workouts and my trainer (most of the time hahaha I have been sleeping in lately…)
Every workout begins with stretching and mobility and then we either work on strength/power or cardio! We use rowers, skiers, stairs, sleds, dumbbells, squat racks, bench press, kettle bells, medicine balls, bands and more. Every workout is different and every workout is FUN. This has lit the fire under my a$$ to get out of bed at 5:30 AM and get my workouts in. A commitment of 3 workouts per week (sometimes even 4 or 5 if I’m feeling like the Rock…) keeps me in check and feeling great every morning.
I have been stronger than ever in the last few months since training here. I never knew I could squat 200 pounds… deadlift 205 pounds… and bench 100 pounds! We test our strength every 2 months or so and it is really motivating to be working towards something… and towards becoming better and stronger and faster.
If you’re interested in trying out this gym – send me a message or reach out to the Bearfit Training Systems Facebook page here! Your first class is free, so what do you have to lose?!
Need a better plan to get yourself in line with health and fitness? Follow these steps that have continued to help me out of my funks:
- Make a small list of short-term goals you want to accomplish. – Don’t overwhelm yourself. If you continue to fail in area A, don’t make goals for areas A-Z and expect miracles overnight. Start small. Come up with the most important thing you need to fix/focus on in area A. When you’ve consistently met this goal and feel like it is becoming a habit for you, begin to introduce another small goal.Example Problem Area: You keep binge eating on the weekends. Example Goal: Limit yourself to a treat during the week and a treat on the weekend. You’re likely binge eating because you are depriving yourself too much Monday through Friday. Remind yourself the food will always be there and you do not need to eat it all in ONE BITE!
- Find a form of training that you love and that excites you! – It is common to get bored with your workouts and lose desire to hit the gym every day. Remember that there IS a form of training out there that you can have fun with and look forward to. You do not have to workout 6x a week to see progress. Set a realistic goal for yourself so you don’t burn yourself out and stick to it for a bit!
- Stick to the plan, even on weekends. – Don’t call it quits just because Friday has rolled around. Nothing will make your early wake up calls on Monday harder than sleeping in Saturday and Sunday. If you haven’t reached your workout goal yet, get them in this weekend! If you have, take the weekend off from the gym but try to stay active in other ways like going for a walk with your pup! Do you normally eat pretty healthy through the day? Try to stick to that even on the weekends and throw in an occasional treat so you don’t feel so robotic!
- Commit to your workouts like they’re meetings at work. – If you wouldn’t miss a lame meeting that could have been an e-mail at your job, don’t miss an appointment for your health!!!! Make yourself a priority. It is as simple as that.
- Don’t be discouraged if you fail. Just pick right back up where you left off and try again. – It is so easy to to view your health and fitness plan as black and white… you are either ALL healthy and hitting EVERY workout, or you might as well drown yourself in sangria and donuts. I get it. I’ve been there. You will be amazed at the progress you see mentally and physically when you just BRUSH OFF the times you fall off track, and just get right back to it.
Hope this helps and hope you try the new gym! Now, go kill your workout!
xoxo Ari
oreos4ari.com 