Wooooo for exercising!! Right?? Yeah… not so much sometimes. To be honest, it’s a love- hate battle with exercising for me. Why?

IT’S HARD TO FIND SOMETHING YOU ACTUALLY ENJOY

Who wants to sit through a 60 minute class or go out and purchase something only to find out 1 minute in that it is NOT for you. Been there, done that. The truth is, I have found that the exercise I am most excited to do and actually look forward to doing is something that allows me to take my mind off of everything else.  To just be in the moment with whatever I’m doing. Sounds amazing, right? But just like anything in life, it doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t magically wake up (or at least I didn’t) and say “I’m going to go from a long hike in the woods I bet I’ll fall in love with it and want to be healthy forever and ever”.

HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH EXERCISE IS ENOUGH/TOO MUCH?

This person says workout 6 days a week with an active rest day. Another person says only workout 2-3 days a week. It gets SO confusing trying to find the balance of pushing yourself so you get stronger/faster but also recognizing when you’re over doing it. It’s something I still have to work on weekly. The best advice I can give from personal experience is to try your best to listen to your body. No one knows you better than you know yourself. If that is too difficult, talk to a friend or family member and get their opinion on it. Sometimes others can see what you are unable to see in yourself.

WHAT IS THE ‘BEST’ EXERCISE?

Three, not only do you have to find something you like and figure out how often to do it but then you read all of these articles about what exercise is ‘best’. Similar to what diet is ‘best’, you’ll see so many people saying one exercise is the ONLY way to go. Personally, I was never athletic/still am NOT at all. I never played many sports as a child and for awhile I carried around a little extra baby chunk. (I am not claiming I was ever overweight). I have zero rhythm (ask anyone who has ever seen me attempt to dance/clap on beat. True story- my friends would make fun of me at sorority recruitment for not being able to clap on beat), I have no hand eye coordination, and I naturally don’t have that spark that pushes me past the point of wanting to quit. I’ll admit it: I’m a quitter.

When you get to the point in the race when you don’t know if you can keep going, I would walk. Whenever I get out of breath/sore abs doing a workout, I tend to stop. I am VERY BAD at motivating myself… when it comes to things I don’t like/don’t value. For me, it was key finding a workout routine that I actually liked. Over the course of about 6 years since I first started running, I can say the past 3 or so I truly have loved it. In college, it became a time for my best friend (hi Syd) and me to catch up on life, to get away from the stress of school, to just kind of run off our troubles.

‘MY CURRENT ROUTINE

Currently, I run about 5 days a week and do Kayla Itstines’s BBG program (it’s a strength and body weight workout) 3 days a week. I am NOT a fitness expert or certified in any way. Like I said in everything above- this is just my experience with what I personally have found works with my body, what I enjoy, and what allows me to get out of bed and get my heart rate up. Running is not for everyone and if that’s you- that’s okay!! My body isn’t built for a dance class. For me, longevity in a workout routine comes from letting go of what society tells me I need to be doing and try my best to figure out what I actually like doing.

That being said, I did start incorporating strength training into my workout routine about a year ago even though they aren’t my favorite. Why? I think almost everyone would agree doing all cardio is not always the best for people, especially women (hormones can get out of whack with that).

In short summary: do what you love and love what you do. Get outside , get in a studio, get the weights out of your coat closet, whatever it is for you that makes YOU feel good.