Wellness Wednesday: Getting back to the gym

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Finally, finally, finally! I have rejoined the gym. It was a long time coming since I held a gym membership, but I am HERE! Since Aiden was born, I struggled getting into the actual gym. A few months after he was born (when his father was still living with us), I had a gym membership. I signed up for a 15 month membership because I just knew I would be able to dive in and recommit to going to the gym 5 times a week, just like I had pre-motherhood.  Motherhood smacked me in the face, threw that idea on the floor and stomped it out.  At the time, I was still having all the baby blues and possible undiagnosed postpartum depression feels going on and could not find the motivation.  I even had my friend, who is a trainer, trying to motivate me to go. It wasn’t happening.  All of the money I paid up front was thrown in the trash–non refundable. I saw that gym one time only and that was it–never to be seen again.

Over the summer in 2018, I shared my journey of getting back into working out, as I participated in group fitness led by my friend, Chris, personal trainer and owner of Essential Health & Fitness.  I’ll be honest and say I fell off. I was consistent until my trip to Mexico. In Mexico, I looked and felt good. That’s where all the milf-y mama posts came from and it showed (check out my Instagram and see because I was feeling myself).  The inconsistency truly came from everyone traveling. Our trainer traveled. I traveled. Things came up. Life changes happened (the move, the change in job, etc.). It was hard. I had excuses and I fell out of my routine. From August until now, I did not workout at all. The most I did was quick yoga exercises that lasted 5-10 minutes to set me up for the day. For what I needed, that wasn’t nearly enough.  I needed more and for what I was feeling, I needed to commit. I found myself identifying my knees, neck and back hurting regularly.  Finally, I had the motivation I needed to do something about it.

 

I was having a conversation with my coworkers when I learned that our health insurance will pay for our gym membership. This was the deciding factor and the ultimate push that I needed to get there. Let’s face it, gym memberships add up. Nonetheless, I gave myself a deadline and did it. The key defining factor of my gym choice was the fact that they have childcare.  Let’s face it, I need it. That was a major barrier to my enrollment in any gym. It was a barrier for me continuing personal training group workouts after the location changed and Aiden would no longer be able to attend.

 

I finally signed up last Monday and made it into the gym on Saturday morning.  They reeled me in with the fitness assessment. It was a scheduled appointment that paired me with a trainer to find out my BMI, weight and everything else under the sun.  My trainer and friend would be disappointed to know my results since I stopped working out in August, but it’s okay. I’ll get to where I need to be.  I went through a 30 minute workout that really left me feeling sore the next day, but it’s all worth it. I don’t know about anyone else, but the former athlete in me enjoys the feeling of soreness the next day. It serves as a reminder that I need to get up and get going again. I need to be in the gym. I need to allow myself to exert some of the physical stress. That’s what will keep me going.

 

I understand better than anyone how easy it is to make excuses to not go to the gym or to not engage in any physical activity at all. However, it would be a disservice to you (and your child) if you did not find a routine to allot yourself some sort of physical activity.

 

Here’s the benefit of physical activity:  It releases endorphins in the brain that thereafter can improve mental health and wellness.  It serves to reduce stress, triggers euphoria (or positive feelings). The physical activity can decrease anxiety and increase energy levels overall.

So, let’s get moving!

Here are some tips to creating a routine for physical activity throughout the week:

  • Identify the type of activity that will work for you (yoga, running, etc.)

  • Start small commit to 30 minutes for 3 days

  • Write down and schedule the exact days that you will exercise

  • Set reminder or alarms in your phone, use your calendar, use Alexa or Google for prompts

  • Ask someone to hold you accountable (accountability partners make all the difference and they can even be through social media)

  • Be prepared –Lay out the materials you need in the morning, so you can just do it (hey, Nike!) when it is time

  • And don’t ignore the alarms, reminders, people who are holding you accountable and telling you to go (that was me)

 

Comment below on some ways that you include physical activity into your week!

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Thanks for reading!