Tag: gym

Blogging, biking and balance

Learning, Love

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So here I am. At the gym.  Really don’t want to be, but since I’m on week 3 of the new year, I know I need to.  I started to fall off a bit.  Most likely it was because I am that “all or nothing” gal.  I get all Gung ho and burn myself right out.  Sometimes I forget to balance things out.  That is what I really need to work on.  So many things I want to start doing so I try to do them all.  Here is a summary of my workouts so far.

Week 1 – I exercised 7 days (gym or walked)
Week 2 – I was at the gym 4 days
Week 3 – I was at the gym 2 days out of 4

All weekend I felt exhausted and lazy.  I also feel like I’m coming down with a cold. I’m pretty sure that it’s because I haven’t been drinking enough water.  I’ve been eating healthy and I’m down 5 lbs so far.  I even had my first skinny day.  You know those days when you just feel skinny, even if you don’t look any more skinny than you were the day before?  Yet when you over do it or try to do everything at once it can sometimes backfire.
Story of my life.  Almost 38 and I’ve still yet to learn balance.  Some lady actually caught me journaling in the sauna this weekend  *embarrassing*. She said it was great that I could do that. I told her I think it’s because sometimes I don’t know how to slow down.  I’m always trying to multitask. I literally have to tell myself it’s OK to do nothing.  I find myself trying to fit everything in.  I mean even now I’m on the elliptical typing this. Obviously I’m not moving too fast but I’m moving.   As an Aries, I often forget that sometimes slow and steady wins the race.  I have to remind myself to breathe, to close my eyes, slow down my mind and feel life.  Stop wishing it away.  Stop plowing through.   It’s actually like the exercise.    Did you know that you actually burn fat at a slower level than cardio? While cardio is good for your heart, the rate your body burns fat is actually slower.  Even your body needs to slow down to get ahead sometimes.   Some days your body needs rest.  Time to heal.  Time to take a deep breath and get it together so you can move ahead.
I can hear the spin class going on next door. Last week I completed a spin class for the first time in years.  Spinning is no joke.  I have a love hate relationship with it but I think I did it as more of a challenge to myself.  To prove to myself I could do it.  I did.  It was definitely not fun at first but then you challenge yourself to push through.   It felt good to know I could do it.  This week, however, I’m lucky I even got here.  I really only came for the sauna.  And right now I’m only on the bike so I can finish this blog.
Now that I look back at the fact that I have made it to the gym two out of four days, that pretty darn good.  I’ll take 50%.
Over all it has been a good week, and hey, I made it! Maybe my body starting to feel sick is a reminder to slow down.  I’m in this for the long haul.  Stop rushing and enjoy the moment.

*photo credit – I do not own rights to photo it was found on the Internet

Deep thoughts…from the sauna!?

Love

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So we are just one week into the new year and I’m loving my gym time!  I have been here 6 out of 7 days this week.  Now, before you go telling me to “slow down” and  “don’t over do it”, please save your breath.  I have been over doing it for months now.  Over doing the sweets, over doing the lying around, over doing the excuses why I am not working out or at the gym. Making excuses why I can’t work out. Why I don’t have the time. The energy. The money.  Well, that went out with the old year, 2015.  Welcome 2016 and the year of no excuses! The year of getting out of my own way.  The year of taking time to take care of me.  Taking time to do things that make me feel good.  Like working out and writing. 
So far I have mostly been coming in to do cardio.  I’ve also done the nautilus machines a couple of times too.  But my favorite part of working out has honestly been the sauna.  It feels amazing to lay in the sauna at the end of my day with my thoughts that don’t seem to shut off.  The heat. The sweat. The relaxation my body feels after a long day.  I’m pretty sure that is what has kept me motivated to come to the gym on a fairly daily basis. 
What’s funny is that the gym and working out has also made me want to blog.  It’s like as soon as I step on that machine and put my music on, my brain overflows with thoughts and I want to write.  The problem is that by the time I get home, cook dinner and eat, I’m too tired to write or blog.  So today I had a thought.  What if I blog from the sauna? That’s when my thoughts flow freely and I can get it all out.  And here we are.  In the sauna.
This has been an amazing week I must say.  The first week of the new year. Some of us have new goals and new resolutions.  So far I have met one goal that I have been working on for months, getting up early.  I finally made it happen.  The past week or two I have been getting up about 30 minutes early to have my coffee and write in my journal.  I love my morning coffee and journal time. It’s so peaceful and I actually look forward to it every night as my head hits the pillow.  I  have also started another goal of taking time to email, text or write to one person a day to tell them why I love or admire them and I must say it is amazing.  It has literally made my day to make other people’s day.  It takes about 2 minutes but the effects have been far beyond that.  It seems as though the timing is impeccable for who ever I have chosen that day.  Some days it will choose a person depending on if they are going through something on social media, but sometimes it is just a person that has been placed on my heart.  In just over a week, I feel like it has become an addiction!  It just feels so good I look forward to doing it every day.  Which brings me to another new addiction I have.  WordPress.  I am addicted to WordPress.  I have subscribed to endless amounts of blogs and can’t stop reading! So many of them that I seriously can’t keep up! I had no idea what blogging would do to my life! This WordPress community has become part of my daily routine.  I love how loving and accepting everyone is.  All these writers and poets in one place, encouraging each other and uplifting one another.  Not to mention there are so many people from other countries.  I love seeing how someone from Nigeria has read my blog today or I can read about someone in the UK.  I feel like I’m making friends around the world just through blogging. 
On another note, I have had some struggles and my house could use some work.  There have been nights I was too tired to do my dishes because by the time I got home from the gym and cooked dinner I was exhausted.  I have also had a bit of anxiety over the fact that my son will be 18 next month and it’s making me emotional.  (Don’t be surprised if you see a separate blog about that subject!)
Overall it has been a great first week to the new year.  Like most things in life, finding balance always seems to be the key.  It’s just hard when you start doing things you really love. You want to do more of them.  It’s like being in love with someone.  When it’s new, you want to eat, drink, sleep and just be with them all the time.  That’s how I feel about writing lately (and quite frankly the sauna too!)  So I guess it only makes sense I should be writing from the sauna.  I think this week I will work on bringing it all into balance, work, home, gym and blogging.  If all else fails, you will find writing, in the sauna.
photo credit