My Evolving Relationship to Working Out
Throughout most of my life, work outs were a means to an end. I would either clean up my diet OR work out to get my body in shape and elevate my health. If I was eating junk food and partying I would up the working out, but if I were eating healthy or dieting I wouldn’t workout much. Don’t be mistaken, I am a naturally active person always running around from place to place but when it comes to the gym I have always ebbed and flowed.
Getting sober was a big change for me back in June 2018. I was never out of control but I definitely lived by the “work hard, PLAY hard” motto. When my last relationship ended, I took the opportunity to develop a better relationship with myself. Sobriety and veganism became center stage in my self-love journey. About 3 months later, I broke my wrist. All these changes and this injury gave me the excuse I needed to rest my body and allow myself to heal and I learned how to avoid pushing my body to extremes. Since then, I have to admit, I have really not been working out too much.
I have noticed that in this process of trying to love myself more, which has been a lifelong journey, that I have come to accept my body the way it is. I think that this acceptance is also a contributing factor to not hitting the gym so hard these days. When I workout regularly I tend to bulk up a bit as I am building muscle. I don’t love the feeling of being too muscular, but when I ease off of working out I lose muscle pretty quickly. My workout philosophy has always been “go hard or go home.” I would rather do high intensity for a shorter period of time and more frequently, then longer workouts of lower intensity. I truly feel l best when I do a short workouts at home to strengthen my core, glutes and back. It is all about finding the right balance.
Here are my Top 3 Favorite At Home Exercises:
#1 PLANK
Even when I am not working out I will still do planks. I am super conscious of posture and I notice it in everyone around me. I know as I get older posture is so important and I believe planks really help to strengthen all the muscles that support good posture. It engages my whole body, especially my core! I mostly do plank on my elbows now because of my wrist. Modifying is key to longevity! I do 60 second planks, 3 times with a short break in between.
#2 PUSH UPS
Even just 10 push-ups help build upper body strength and engage the pectoral muscles, which for women can lift our chests! I will modify and usually do mine with fists to protect my wrists.
plan for a minute break three times in row perfect alignment help so much with posture and full body strength.
#3 LUNGES
I really believe that glutes need to be strong in order to support the lower back. This just gets more and more important as we age. I will do forward and reverse lunges, the are fun and easy!
*** MY PLANK ALTERNATIVE:
Sometimes I will do a running plank where I bring my legs back and forth near my upper body. But if it feels like too much I will opt for a basic crunch. Often I will add a twist to my crunches to engage the obliques and get the whole core charged up.