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Jennifer Tries....Barre
May 26, 2017
Oh yeah, three-day weekend, oh yeah, whoop whoop! Are you so
excited?! I’m so excited. Life has been non-stop since we got back from our
honeymoon. ::sigh:: I miss Oahu every day. This
weekend we were supposed to be heading up to the panhandle to visit some
friends, enjoy the sweet sunshine and relax. Unfortunately I have some reading/projects/studying
I have to do so those plans got cancelled. MAN! And I really wanted to visit my favorite popsicle joint! They serve gourmet
fruit popsicles. That is basically a fancy way of saying they don’t contain any
added s@#% and they are delicious! Anyone know a place like this in Tampa?
What do you have planned for this weekend? Time with family?
Mini vay-cay? Sitting on your butt binge watching Netflix? I mean, those all
sound great to me. Whatever your plans,
enjoy!
So, we are almost through May which means it’s time for this
month’s Jennifer Tries!
This month I tried Barre. If you’re not familiar with Barre
it is a ballet based fitness class. Now, this doesn’t mean you’re going to need
point shoes to attend, it just incorporates several movements from the ballet
practice to help strengthen your legs, glutes, core and posture.
I have been interested in trying Barre just to see what the
craze is all about. I have been reluctant to do so because it just looks slow.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I don’t do slow. But, I thought I would
finally give it a try. I recruited my amazing Esthetician /friend to join me
because I’m just socially awkward in new group settings.
Most Barre classes are held in individual studios as opposed
to your normal gym setting. Reserving your spot in crucial to make sure they
have enough room and equipment to accommodate you. I went online prior to the
class to reserve our spots. My friend did more research than I did and read
that we needed sticky socks so we wouldn’t be sliding all over the place. I thought that was so funny. In my mind, I thought we would be the only
nerds with sticky socks but I wasn’t going to make her wear them alone.
The studio was small and inviting. Our class consisted of
the instructor and only 3 other women besides us. And, they were wearing sticky
socks! I felt more comfortable then for sure.
The instructor went over the basics with us and then the
class began.
We started on the barre. I know, what a concept right, the
class is only called Barre Jennifer. Duh! We spent about 20 minutes performing
multiple ballet and balance movements on the barre. During a couple of movements,
I could really feel the burn. It also really made me more aware of my posture
which I tend to struggle with.
Then we moved on to weighted movements. We used 1-2lb
weights (those little pink balls pictured above are the weights, LOL.) You’re
thinking, “that’s it?” and so was I, especially since I train with weights
daily but hot damn! My shoulders and biceps were burning. We also used bands
for additional upper and lower body movements.
We finished the class with what the instructor called a
minute circuit. It incorporated weights, abs and barre movements. There were 5
different exercises and each had to be performed for 1 minute. The longest
minute EVER! My legs and abs were burning for sure!
Overall I enjoyed the class. It reminded me of Pilates but
with a ballet twist. As I said, it made me more aware of my posture as well as
my breathing. The instructor had to tell me a couple times to breath. LOL. I
also utilized muscles I don’t typically target in my weight training so it was
good to feel challenged in those areas. It was definitely a total body workout.
Plus, it was amazing the work you can do
with those tiny weights! My biceps were sore the next day.
It helped me become more aware during my weight training. In
the days following I have really taken notice of my posture and alignment which
is something I’m not as mindful of as I should be. It made me realize I need to
incorporate more lower impact, slower paced exercise into my workout regimen so
I can preserve my muscles and joints instead of beating them up all of the
time.
Oh, and you don’t have to look the part to take the class. I
walked in with my basketball shorts and sweat wicking t-shirt I typically wear
to the gym and no one looked at me sideways. So, wear something comfortable
that you can move in and don’t forget your sticky socks!
If you’re interested in trying Barre there are several
studios in the area. The studio we went to was Spark Fitness. Here a link so
you can check them out! http://sparktb.com/ They also offer Pilates and
spinning.
Suggestions of other fitness classes or just fun things I should
try? Comment below!
Need quick fitness ideas for the long weekend so you can spend
less time working out and more time enjoying your time off? Check out the blogs
Pinterest for quick workout routines!
Don’t forget to follow the blog! Help me grow this mother!
Just scroll down and click the follow button!
And please share with your friends and on the socials!
Ok, enough already! Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!
BONUS: What I Came Away with from the Womens Strength Summit
May 22, 2017
Hey fancy seeing you here. I know you usually enjoy my
shenanigans on Fridays but welcome to a bonus post!
If you follow the blog on Instagram or if you’re friends
with me on Facebook I posted about the Women’s Strength Summit. I wanted to do
a post to recap the summit and share what I learned.
If you had a chance to check out some of the speakers from
this year’s summit I would love some feedback on what you learned, if you had
any “Ah-Ha” moments, what you liked, what you didn’t like etc.
So, I have recently gotten into Podcasts. I know, everyone
and their brother seems to have a Podcast these days. My first Podcast I got
into was Just Sayin’. One of the hosts is Sammi Sweetheart from The Jersey
Shore. Did you ever watch that show? I boycotted it for the longest time and
then the husband and I (before we were married) came across Jersey Shore on
Netflix. We decided to watch the first episode just to confirm how stupid we
thought it would be. Well, we were hooked and binged watched the shit out of
that show. ::Sigh:: MTV……that was television gold. Then one of my favorite
paleo bloggers, Julie Bauer from PaleOMG started a Podcast. It was great to put
a voice to the blog. On one of her recent Podcasts she featured the hosts from
Girls Gone WOD. I really liked their personalities and what they had to say so
I started listening to them as well. It was through their Podcast I was
introduced to Steph Gaudreau. She is the host of the Women’s Strength Summit.
After hearing a little bit about the Summit, who some of the speakers were
going to be and what it encompassed I decided to take a listen.
The topics of the summit ranged from health and wellness, to
how to achieve your goals whether they be in the gym, in your career or in your
personal life, how to detox your body on a daily basis, and how to be your best
self.
The overall theme centered around taking care of yourself.
To take care of others in your life and be present for any type of relationship
you must take care of yourself first. You have to improve your mind, body and
spirit to give your all to your relationships and your goals.
Some key points I took away from the summit are as follows:
Take small steps to
achieve your goals. Set micro goals to achieve your ultimate goal.
-I recently presented this technique to one of my nutrition
clients. She eats fast food for a meal or two throughout the day. She is looking
to lose weight and asked for my assistance. I know from experience how
difficult it can be to start and stick to a completely different way of eating.
You feel overwhelmed and like you can’t eat anything! I advised her to start
with just giving up fast food. The rest of her diet can remain the same right
now but she should start with just getting rid of the fast food and drinking
more water. This definitely seemed more doable and a goal she could achieve. We
also talked about alternatives she could have for breakfast as opposed to the
fast food.
This is also something I have started implementing in my day
to day with a new goal I have. I tend to overwhelm myself with the big picture
and feel so defeated by the small hiccups along the way. So, as difficult as it
is, I am trying to focus on each step as it comes and accomplish that first
before focusing on the next goal.
Surround yourself
with positive people, when you leave time with them you should feel energized
and positive.
-I have been
practicing this more and more over the past few years. I purged my close
friends list of those who caused ciaos, stress and just overall negativity in
my life. I had a best friend for over 13 years that I just had to let our
friendship go. She was a very judgmental, selfish person. When we first met, we
served a purpose in each other’s lives. We were both outcast and shamed because
of our weight so we clung to each other for friendship and support. For many
years, she was my person to talk to and share everything with. As we got older
and our lives went in separate directions we would get together and I felt like
I couldn’t share much with her anymore for fear of judgment. I had a lot going
on in my personal life I kept bottled up because I feared her opinion. Our time together was spent discussing things
going on in her life and I just felt inferior. I finally had to break away from
that friendship because it was no longer having a positive impact on my life.
It as a one-way street. It was difficult after so many years spent by each
other’s side but ultimately it was the right decision and I have become a more
positive, accepting person.
Look for any good or
lesson you can learn from a situation
-Life is about
taking risks. If we fear failure or
strive for perfection all of the time we cannot grow. This is a big hurdle for
me. I am big on playing it safe but I have missed opportunities because I have always
stayed on the road most travelled. This year I have decided to take some risks
with my career path and listening to several speakers during this summit made
me feel empowered and more comfortable In my decision to pursue what I really
want to do with my life.
Be aware of your
inner dialogue “We don’t get a choice of what happens to us but we get a choice
of how we respond.”
Self-talk- don’t say
things to yourself you would never say to anyone else, especially the person
you love the most.
-These topics play off of each other I feel. For
many years, I have had an issue with my self-talk. I have not been my biggest
fan for a very long time. Over the past couple of years, I have made an effort
to be more of my own cheerleader. I have to. Because really, why would I say
things to myself and about myself I would NEVER say to someone else. That isn’t
fair to me or my wellbeing. Plus, I need to continue to work on how I
internally respond when others say things to me or about me I perceive as
hurtful. If you catch me on the wrong day I can feel very insecure about how I
look and can take any comment to heart. I have been working on taking time to
stop and think before I react in my mind and continue the negative self-talk.
-This also goes back to taking risks. I may fail
at some of life’s endeavors but do I give up or pursue an alternate path to get
to my goal?
Stop shamming
yourself into thinking you always have to do more.
-This one really rang true to me as it does for
the majority of women. We always think we need to do more and be more. We run
ourselves into the ground trying to be everything to everybody. We feel bad if
we can’t juggle it all, health, family, fitness and a career. We wear too many
hats. For me it’s the fear of asking for help. I don’t want to seem weak or
like a “girl” because I need help. But really there is nothing wrong #1 with
being a girl and #2 asking for help. In the end, I’m only hurting myself and
stretching myself to thin if I do not delegate tasks, ask for help once in a
while and cut myself some slack. This is very hard for me and I work on it a
little each day.
Cardio is not the be
all end all for women and weight loss
We will not become
beasts as regular gym goers. That takes multiple training sessions per day
-I have heard each of these statements time and
time again but it wasn’t until recently when I ventured into weight lifting
that It really rang true. It was a difficult transition for me because cardio
was life! I was stuck in the cardio=weight loss. While cardio serves its
purpose, and has many benefits women will see more results if weights are
included in their exercise regimen. This isn’t to say that every woman needs to
squat 300 pounds but adding a little resistance can go a long way. As women, we
tend to fear looking like a man because that is not what is typically on the
cover of a magazine or seen as desirable but I feel the second statement sums
it up best. As a typical gym goer that spends between 30 min- 1 hour at the gym
5-6 times per week we aren’t going to look like men. If we want more muscle and
want to compete that takes additional time and effort in the gym.
Eat intuitively- if
your body needs more carbs eat more carbs, if you need to eat more eat more.
Eating more one day and eating less another is not going to wreck your body.
-This is another area I have been working on and
will continue to work on. In my day to day life I just kind of set my eating on
cruise control while I try to accomplish what I need to for the day. Often
times I do not take the time to be present when I eat which can lead to
overeating or undereating. During dinner, when I am actually sitting down at
the table, I try to pay close attention to when my body feels satisfied, not
full, but satisfied. If I have left over food I can take it for lunch the next
day. I especially try to do this whenever we eat out. It is not fun to stuff
yourself and try to go to bed. It makes for a terrible night’s sleep and you
just feel gross the next day. It takes some practice and a conscious effort but
I’m going to keep trying to incorporate that into each meal so I can eat more
intuitively.
Practice daily detox
to ensure all areas of the body are helping get rid of toxins and waste in the
body.
-I found this topic to be very interesting. With
so many fads out there in the detoxing community it was neat to hear that I can
do something small each day to help rid my body of toxins and start anew. I
have incorporated drinking a glass of warm lemon water with apple cider vinegar
in the mornings before my work out to help with digestion throughout the day
and wake everything up. Once I get a grasp on that I plan on trying other daily
detox methods to keep my body running as it was meant to.
These are just a small batch of the topics that were discussed
during the summit this past week. I feel so fortunate that I stumbled upon this
event and was able to listen each day and gather little bits and pieces to add
to my daily life.
If you weren’t aware of or didn’t have the opportunity to
listen to the summit make sure you keep it in mind for next year. There will be
a whole bunch of new speakers to learn and grow from. You can even sign up at
womensstrengthsummit.com so you will receive updates for the next summit. Its
FREE!!!
Again, if you were able to listen to any parts of the summit
I would love to read your feedback and continue the discussion! Please comment
below with any take aways you may have.
Have a great week!
Ask Me Anything and My Most Frequestly Asked Questions
May 19, 2017
What’s a happenin’ hot stuff! Please tell me you read that like Long Duck Dong from Sixteen Candles??!!! Only one of my most favorite movies EVER! Glad to have you back!
Are you sweating yet? Has the summer heat smacked you in the
face yet? Well it has here! Good thing I love Summer and I don’t mind sweating
because Florida is bringing it this year for sure! My sisters and I were
supposed to go to Disney this weekend bbbbbuuuuuuttttt it is just too hot to be
walking around Disney, arm pit to arm pit, with a bunch of randos. One of the
beautiful things about living in Florida is we can go whenever we
want so we are planning to go in the fall.
Let’s just jump right into it, shall we? So, this week I was
stumped on what to post. Not that I didn’t have content, I just had several
ideas running through my head. I have kinda run head first into some new things
lately so I couldn’t pin down exactly what I wanted to write about. This week
on the blogs Instagram and on my Facebook I asked for your questions. What
questions do you have for me? Do you have any questions about me, fitness,
nutrition, my dog, or food? I thought it would be a good way for you to get
some information your seeking and to get to know me a little better. This may
back fire on me because once you find out more about me and what a wacko-doodle
I am you might not share with your friends. Please share with your friends!
PPPPLLLLEEEAAASSEEEEE! Invite them to come join this journey of mine and we can
all laugh along the way!
All right! Here we go!
What are you training
for? This is a question I am asked a lot. People stop me at the gym on a
regular basis and ask this very question. In the beginning, I felt awkward. Why
were they asking me this? Should I be training for something? Do I work out
weird? Then I became aware of my surroundings. I would go to the gym and
see people talking, people on cell phones, people resting between sets, people not
sweating. I felt weird. I felt different. I tried working out that way but it
was boring to me. I was there to work. I was there to sweat. I used to do A LOT
of cardio. Partially because I used to run and because my head was in the wrong
place about exercise so I felt cardio was king to lose weight.
Once I shifted my focus to weight lifting I missed the
endurance part of all of the cardio I used to do so I started exchanging my
rest periods between sets for intense 20-30 second bursts of cardio. And the
question followed me. What are you training for? My answer is always the
same….nothing, I’m just working out. It may not be the guaranteed way to gain
muscle or lose fat but it keeps me coming to the gym day after day. It keeps me
motivated to see how hard I can go.
Do you/ Did you
play________________? Fill in the blank with whatever sport. Soccer,
basketball etc. I used to swim in high school but when I tell people that they
look disappointed. Its almost like they expect me to say YES! I was in all of those!
I feel if I said yes it would be justification to them as to why once I enter
that gym door I don’t stop until I have to leave. “She grew up with that
ingrained in her from her sports back ground.” Nope, sorry. I just enjoy
pushing myself. I enjoy the struggle of it. I feel accomplished when I’m done.
That’s all. I have thought about joining a rec league in something, maybe kickball, but let me
be honest here……I’m not that coordinated. In another life, I would be a
football player. I think I would be good at that. With my broad shoulders and
big legs, I would be a wall. Boom Bitch!
What is your
motivation? Hmmmm let me think how I can sum this up and wrap it with a
pretty little bow. I have a lot of motivation in my life. First and foremost,
my weight. I was heavy my entire childhood. And I was harassed and bullied even
into my college years because of it. Part of my everyday drive is to prove them
wrong. Then there is my eating disorder. While my exercise regimen was
disordered at one time as well, I now have a true passion for it. Fitness is
something I thoroughly enjoy. Since I have started my weight lifting journey my
view of food has really changed. I see food more as fuel for my workouts and my
muscles as opposed to a poison to my body. Fitness keeps my mind right so I
stay on the recovery path. Finally, my mom. This is really hard for me to write
as I have always admired my mother. She has always been my inspiration and
driving force to be a strong, hardworking, independent woman. Health wise,
however she hasn’t been good to her body, always putting it last and at this
point in her life it is fighting back. A woman that has always been my
superhero is now burdened with wearing an oxygen tank and uses a walker to get
around. This is a huge motivating factor for me because when I’m 74 years old I
still want to go hiking, I still want to go canoeing, I still want to be in the
gym.
Do you have any
suggestions on getting your spouse to make heathier choices so they will lose
weight? This is a tough one. I think this may even be tougher than having a
heart to heart with yourself about taking steps toward a healthier lifestyle.
Broaching the subject can be very touchy because you certainly do not want to
offend your spouse or make them feel insecure or unattractive. So, let’s start
there. Not that I’m an expert but I try to think of how I would want someone
to approach me about this subject. I know I would take it to heart if someone
came to me and told me I needed to
change my lifestyle. Immediately I would feel defensive. The key word here is told. It’s almost like an order. Most
people are not going to respond positively to that. As opposed to telling your spouse what they need to do,
the best approach, I feel, is to sit down and have a conversation with them
about your concerns. An honest and open, non-judgmental, non-accusatory
conversation about why you are concerned about their current choices. An
example may be; “I’m concerned about your eating habits. You eat a lot of fast
food and that worries me. You have a history of high cholesterol in your family
and I don’t want you to end up on medication or worse.” After you have opened
that line of communication make sure you listen to what they have to say. This
is their chance to open up to you and tell you why they are eating that way.
Maybe its emotional, maybe is a convenience thing, or they may say nothing at
all. Either way this is your chance to hear them out and then let them know
that you want to help them make better choices because you value their health
and you value the time you have together and you want to have as much time with
them as possible. Now the next part may be difficult as well because, just as in marriage, this
healthier lifestyle will need to be a journey you embark on together. Your
spouse may have never had to eat a certain way or had to exercise to look and
feel their best. This is where your patience and guidance will be key. You will
need to lead by example. Start with small steps like getting them a water
bottle and help them set a goal to refill it X amount of times per day. Have
them give up fast food, that's it. No other changes as to not overwhelm them. This
alone will start to change how they feel and change their taste. Take time to
cook together, show your spouse how to prepare proper, nutritious meals. Pick
out recipes to try together. Maybe this just becomes something you enjoy doing
together! You may have to start out preparing their meals, maybe packing their
lunch for them until they get the hang of it. Help them make time for at least
30 minutes of physical activity each day. What is something they love to do?
Run? Bike? Play Tennis? Make time to do those activities with them and get them
into a routine. Now this is not a recipe for guaranteed success and ultimately
it will be their decision if they want to make healthier choices but at least
they will know and understand your concern.
Hey! That was pretty fun. I hope you learned something and
hopefully I answered your questions. If you have any other questions you can
always leave a comment below, message the blog on Instagram or e-mail the blog
at barbellsandboyshorts@gmail.com!
Hope you have a fantabulous weekend and I’ll see you back
here next week for this month’s installment of Jennifer Tries. And invite your friends!!!! Share the blog on the
socials! Ok? Thanks! Love ya! BYYYYYEEEEE!
Use What You Have....The Gallon Jug Workout
May 12, 2017
Hey you! How are all the things? Did you have a great week? Once again my week was jam packed full of all sorts of stuff. But let me tell you about this past weekend. Saturday was just the best! Of course i woke up bright and early and hit the gym. We have taken a few weeks off from Saturday morning bootcamp so i have used that time to really focus on squats and deadlifts. This Saturday i also worked on my bench. I PR’d! I’m not going to tell you what my PR was because it was so lame but darn it…I did it!….by myself. BAM! I was at the gym for over 2 hours! What is wrong with me!? And…I easily could have been there at least another 30 minutes! Craziness. It’s just, on Saturdays I feel like I have no time limit so I just want to do everything! Are you bored yet? Are you tired of hearing about my gym-capades? Ok ok…moving on.
After the gym I came home and made the most awesome waffles….Paleo waffles of course. I have been dying to use my coconut syrup so i had to indulge a little. You can find this amazing waffle recipe in Brittney Angell’s cookbook Every Last Crumb .
(Sorry...no picture of the waffles. I scarfed them down before I remembered to take one.)
The weather was so amazing Saturday. It was low to mid 80’s with a nice breeze. Too breezy to go canoeing but nice enough to walk around outside without dripping in sweat. The hubs and I went down to Clearwater Beach. We really hated going there for awhile because it was just so run down and just dirty but they have really spruced it up! Good on ya Clearwater! We walked around and then we ended up at the putt putt golf course. Believe it or not we tied. Jon always wins. In the 12+ years we have been together I have never won. I came so close on Saturday too, but the darn 18th hole screwed me over! But we tied. It was a lot of fun.
After that we went to this place over there, Shepherd’s, and just had a little snack, we each had a drink and just listened to the live music. It was fantastic! We never get a chance to just chill like that.
That night we ate in which seems to be my favorite thing to do lately. It's not like we eat out all week, which we don't, but there is just something about eating at home, watching TV and then sitting my butt on the couch with my husband. Usually at that point we are pigging out on dessert. This weekend i made this deliciousness right here for dessert! "PB” & J Cups for the win!!!.
That night we ate in which seems to be my favorite thing to do lately. It's not like we eat out all week, which we don't, but there is just something about eating at home, watching TV and then sitting my butt on the couch with my husband. Usually at that point we are pigging out on dessert. This weekend i made this deliciousness right here for dessert! "PB” & J Cups for the win!!!.
I even made the jam from scratch! They were phenomenal. Another good cookbook find. This one was from Julie Bauer’s Paleo Cook Book.
Ok, so now on to what this post is really about. Maybe a month or two ago I posted a little workout on the Instagram using items I already had in my truck. I want to continue this trend because I think it is important to realize that fitness is everywhere. You don't have to pay a bunch of money to a big fancy gym to look and feel your best. Plus, if you’re just starting out on your fitness journey you may not be ready to show off all that your working with at the gym. I get it. I’ve been there….several times.
Here in Florida we are not only the Sunshine State but we are the Hurricane State. We have a whole season centered around this weather event. Every year at the beginning of Hurricane season we are reminded to stock up on food, water and other supplies in the event a hurricane graces us with its presence. So, because I happen to have gallons of water on hand, as every good Floridian should, this, Use What You Have, workout is with 2, Gallon water jugs! And it's so convenient you can even do the whole workout in your kitchen like I did! Enjoy!
Use What you Have.. The Gallon Jug Workout
Warm up
1 min Jumping Jacks
1 min Air Squats
1 min Butt Kicks
1 min High Knees
Workout:
Do 3 rounds each group of exercises
before moving onto the next group
Do 3 rounds each group of exercises
before moving onto the next group
Group 1: Water jug squats 10 reps
Squat pick ups 10 reps
Front lunges 10 reps
Reverse Lunges 10 reps
Followed by: 1 minute Jumping Jacks
Group 2: Hammer Curls 10 reps
Tricep Kick Backs 10 reps
Followed by: 1 minute Butt Kicks
Group 3: Lateral raises. 10 reps
Shoulder Press. 10 reps
Rows 10 reps
Followed by: 1 minute High Knees
Let me know how you do!
The Go-Getters Guide to the Morning Gym Sesh
May 5, 2017
Alright! We made it through another week. What doesn’t kill
us makes us stronger right?! Sure!
I have had a lot going on lately. Just trying to figure out
my next moves in life. Ugh…being an adult…blah. But, this past Sunday I had a
welcomed break from all of that. I had my first book club meeting! Does that
make me old? No! it totally doesn’t make me old because my 20-year-old niece
belongs to a book club so clearly, I’m just cool now. It was so much fun! It
was our initial meeting so we just had lunch and got to know a little bit about
each other. We picked our first book to read and settled on our next meeting
date. It was nice to meet so many women from so many different walks of life.
We all came together with the common goal of meeting new friends. It’s so
difficult once your out of school to really meet new friends. I’m psyched!
Except now I actually have to read.
So, this week I want to talk about going to the gym….in the
morning. When I started working in cooperate America the rule of thumb was work
then gym then dinner then sleep. This regimen worked well for me. I couldn’t
wait to leave work and head to the gym…..on most days. Other days I was
exhausted but would still drag myself to there. This dream continued all while
I lived 15 minutes from work.
Eventually I outgrew that position and had to move on. I
moved to an even more cooperate job and now I had a commute. Without
traffic…..20 minutes. With traffic…1 hour! It would take me and hour to get
there in the morning and an hour to get home at night. If there was an
accident…forget it! My gym time went from ending around 7pm to ending around
8pm or later. It just wasn’t working. It was too late for me to eat dinner, it
made it difficult to go to sleep at a decent time and by the time I was making
to the gym I was already over everything after sitting in traffic. I decided to
start going to the gym before work.
Ooooo I can feel you cringing but just hear me out! If
you’re stuck in this dilemma my goal is to offer some guidance and you too can
be an early riser. Exciting, right?!
I have been keeping a morning gym routine consistently for a
little over 3 years now. I get up around 4:00am every morning (I say around
because I like to take my time when I get up that early so I try to get out of
bed by 3:35am and 3:45am.) Once I’m dressed and the dog has been walked and fed
I am out the door and on the way to the gym. When I first started going early
it was difficult for sure! I was tired, I wanted to sleep and the last thing I
wanted to do was exert myself. The payoff came at the end of the day. I was
able to go right home after work, eat dinner at a decent time and spend time
with my husband which wasn’t happening previously. It also afforded me the
opportunity to run any errands I had after work, schedule appointments and have
dinner with friends.
When I first started my morning routine I was a member at a
gym that was further from my home. I would bring a duffle bag with me each
morning and just get ready there after my work out every day. Now, I am a
member at the gym that is across the street from where I live so I have the
luxury of getting ready in my own bathroom after my work out. Whether you will
have to get ready at the gym or at home it’s always good to have a plan of
action.
Here is my guide on how to become and early morning gym goer
and stick with it!
Time: First,
decide what time you need to get up in order to get a good workout in and make
it to work on time. This can be the
hardest part and may take a few days to figure out. You need to factor in not
only the actual time it will take you on the gym floor but also your commute to
and possibly from the gym. You’ll also need to factor in how long it will take
you to shower, get dressed and groomed. Will you need to make breakfast or stop
for breakfast?
Set Multiple Alarms: I
cannot stress this enough, especially if you love to sleep. I set one 10 minutes before I need to get up,
the time I need to get up and then about 10-15 minutes after I need to get up. I’m
never one to hit snooze but I have a safety net just in case.
Prepare the night
before: It can be annoying and you won’t want to waste your evening
preparing for the next day but trust me! It is so worth it. 10 minutes of your
time the night before can save you a huge headache the next day. The night
before, decide what you are going to wear, pack your lunch and snacks for the
next day, anything you need to remember to take with you set it by the door or
put it in your car. This will save you time and frustration the next morning.
If you are getting ready at the gym, pack your bag the night before. Keep a
check list so you make sure to take all of your toiletries, clothes, shoes etc.
and bring a plastic bag to put your dirty gym clothes in. They can stink up
your car otherwise.
Before you leave the
house: Eat or drink something. If you are the type of person that hits a
wall during their workout if they haven’t eaten, eat something small. I suggest
½ a protein bar. I do not do well in the morning if I eat something prior to my
workout so I just drink a full glass of water. Something to let your metabolism
know you are awake and it’s time to start burning.
When you get to the
gym: Warm up. Even if this isn’t in
your training plan take at least 10 minutes to hit the elliptical, treadmill,
something! Doing this will help relay the message to your body that you need to
wake up because it’s time to do work!
After your workout: Make
sure you stretch. This goes for any
workout but particularly your morning workout. It can be easy to skip this step
when you are trying to rush to get ready and get to work but make the time.
Even 5 minutes can help out tired muscles and keep you from tightening up and
possibly having cramps throughout the day. I sit all day at work so I try to get
a good stretch through my legs and back every morning even if those were not my
muscles of focus that day.
Eat: Working out
is great but eating is the most important. Getting a good meal in after your
morning workout helps set the tone for the day. Post workout I typically have a
protein shake, another protein such as chicken or fish and a starchy veggie.
I’ll also add almonds or cashews if I’m feeling extra hungry.
I don’t have time to make and then eat breakfast after the
gym. I just use foods I have cooked during my Sunday meal prep. I eat on the go
during the week. It isn’t ideal but it’s what works with my schedule.
Just like anything else going to the gym in the morning
takes some getting used to. Once you figure out a schedule that works for you
it gets less and less difficult to get up that early. Like I said before, you
won’t regret it when you are able to come home and relax at the end of the day.
For me, I only like working out in the morning now. Even on my days off I still
go right when I wake up. I feel I do my best work in the morning. Plus, it
leaves the rest of the day to do other things!
Follow the blog on Pinterest! I have a bunch of great workouts up there so you can put your brain on cruise control while getting through that morning gym sesh! Ha! I have an official button for that now at the bottom down there! See it!
Check out the blogs Instagram too! I’m always putting meal
ideas and workout ideas on there!
Come back next week……and bring some friends! I’ll be showing
you another workout you can do with things you have on hand. No gym required!
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