Ok. Time to come clean on my current fitness state. If you’ve read my bio or know me, you know I played soccer pretty competitively from age 10 to my junior year of college. I always had a love-hate relationship with soccer but ultimately I didn’t realize just how much it did for me physically, mentally and socially. When I quit soccer in college I packed on the lbs. Like a lot of them.
I’m 5’4″ so gaining weight shows pretty easily on me. I went to study abroad in Barcelona my Junior year and promised myself I would drop the weight and start working out again consistently. I did. I ran a lot during that semester and my picky palate made eating more of a thought than the mindless consumption that was happening on the hill in Boulder. I came back fitting in my old clothes but I wasn’t super fit.
It wasn’t until after college that I really fell in love with running. I had a unique schedule working for Jim Rome, so we were done around 2 every day. I would head back to my place in Corona Del Mar and run, looking at the ocean for miles. Eventually I signed up for my first half marathon and realized running could be fun, not just punishment.
I felt pretty happy overall with my body but it was always a struggle for me to find time to workout when I went back to business school in 2010. It was an accelerated program so we had a lot of work. And working out jut kind of went to the back burner. Combine that with then interning, finishing my thesis and accepting a job at MTV and I was really fighting to wake up every morning at 5 to get a workout in. It was a lot and by the time I moved to NYC, I burned out.
I finally was living in my dream city and working for MTV. I had my Carrie Bradshaw-esque apartment and was on cloud 9. That’s until winter. I lost all motivation for heading anywhere, let alone the gym when it was freezing out. I woke up in February was so unhappy and couldn’t fit in my clothes and could not seem to drop the weight. It was then that I decided to get a trainer to help keep me consistent.
Travis. He’s a tall, fit young guy who’s demeanor automatically calmed me. Training with Travis changed my body but also acted as therapy. He was so cool, I couldn’t help by mellow out. Meanwhile, I just kept doing what he said. And my body kept changing. After about 3 months with Travis I was in the best shape of my life and did not want to stop. We trained off and on for about 5 years (only ever off because I left NYC a couple of times). His movements would always work more than one muscle, they kicked my butt but mostly changed it and that’s what was so addicting. No one wants to keep working on something and not see results.
Flash forward to March 2016. I moved to Dallas. I was training for a marathon, still doing Travis’ workouts up until I left. I was in decent shape and happy. Not 2 months in and the weight was packing on. I was working out less consistently, went through a break up, moved again and changed jobs. All of those are the excuses I used for not taking care of myself and putting myself first. I started a new relationship in October and I’ve gained even more since we go out on dates, travel and would rather hang with each other than head solo to the gym. Plus I got pneumonia and the flu. I will say when I’m taking care of myself and eating well I do not get sick. It’s no coincidence that I was sidelined for a month over the holidays.
By the time my birthday rolled around in January I was really ready to make health and fitness a priority again. So I started working out and watching what I ate in mid January. To be honest, it’s so frustrating when you switch things up and don’t see immediate results. I’m not a patient human. I’m also 32 now. Things take more time now. And its harder.
Two things have happened in the last month. First, I found shakeology. I forgot to mention that when I was in the best shape of my life I was extremely consistent. I had a shake every morning for breakfast. The powder that I used is no longer made and was always so hard to find and I have tried so many others and just do not like them. I was PUMPED when I found shakeology and liked it. This has really helped me with making better food choices and keeping my diet consistent.
Second, I signed up for a month-long challenge at BodyBar in Dallas. After 10 classes, my body looks very different. At first I was so weak, couldn’t do all the exercises and wasn’t seeing results but then, almost like magic, I was in my 10th class and just noticed my abs looked tighter, my arms had definition and my bf has noticed a, well, “tightening” of my backside. I have to keep it real, I’ve watched what I’ve been eating but I still have been indulging too much so I’m shocked I’m seeing such results.
So this got me thinking. Why was I so committed to this studio now? I’ve been going there for months off an on but hadn’t seen real results. Their challenge was 20 in 28, that’s 20 classes in 28 days. I’m a competitive person, I think we all are on some level. So I really want to finish this thing, that’s what kept me going. Now I see the results and I’m eager to keep going to see what happens in the next 10 classes. Also, its super convenient, lots of classes, lots of times and its super close to my house.
Mid lunge on the reformer it hit me. I wonder how many studios around Dallas offer these kinds of month-long challenges? I also wonder what kind of results I will have at a different studio? There are tons I’ve wanted to try but who can afford a membership to 10 studios and when you find a class you like, who wants to give that up for something new? Well, I’ll do it for the sake of content LOL!
I’m planning on trying a different challenge at a different studio for the rest of 2017. It’s not that I don’t love BodyBar but I think there’s something to shocking your body and doing these month-long challenges. I will keep a diary, essentially, of my progress and what I think about the different studios, the good, the bad, the everything so that you all can reap just the rewards.
Please holler if you have any specific workout studios you want me to try. Currently I have tread barre, orange theory, core power yoga and pilates barre on my radar but I’m going to need 6 more.