On Finding My Fitness Fresh (Again)
/The Year to Flourish is off to a fast start! January feels like it just flew by.
My theme of flourishing is a counterbalance to all of the simplifying I did last year. At the top of my goals in this Year to Flourish is to fall back in love with fitness. I'd fallen off the latter part of last year as my schedule got crazy & I pulled back from a lot of the workouts I used to do. Now that my normal 6:00a.m. class is nonexistent, I've been experimenting not only with different workouts, but when I'm doing them.
I kicked off the year with a strong urge to start running again. My miles definitely fell off when winter kicked in, but the sunny weekend days made for perfect urban trail runs. I never thought I'd say this, but it felt so nice and so right to get out there and run in the winter sun!
After a refreshing run at Bridle Trails Park
I started to fold in a few solo gym workouts with my new Monday night Zumba routine, but working out by myself is only a moderately successful motivator in getting me up in the mornings, even with three gyms at my disposal! I can totally rally after work for Zumba because I know I'll see my BFF, but getting in any other kind of workout at night is a million times harder for me than in the morning. I've finally realized that working out in the morning is my preference. It just starts the day off right for me.
One other thing I've realized is that I truly love the group workout format. Jacob and I took one of the SoulCycle x Target classes last week, and we both fell in love. SoulCycle really has all the right things in place to breed that cult following they're known for. I was so impressed by their staff and all of the details that went into making it a fun, high-energy experience from the moment we walked through the door. I can't wait for SoulCycle to come to Seattle, and until then, we've been inspired to take on more spin and cycling classes.
This week I've been trying out classes at hauteyoga in Queen Anne. I've been following the luminous Ginger Saunders on Instagram for a long time (I think because of another fitness beauty, JJ Muenz) and finally pulled the trigger on taking one of her classes. I've taken many a yoga class but haven't sweat as hard as I have in Ginger's classes in a very long time - maybe ever! I'm a big fan of her practice and her playlists. It was so nice to finally meet one of my IG girl crushes in real life!
It's fascinating how quickly we can lose sight of why we do things once we've fallen off the routine. I'd gotten to a place where working out was a chore - one I wasn't looking forward to. This month has been about rediscovering all of the 'why's in why working out is so important to me. Sure, I can list off all the obvious benefits, but it wasn't until I was experiencing them again that I am truly able to reconnect. The sweat in my eyes and dripping off my arms, the endorphin high, the glow from getting it done...I'm still finding my groove on this quest for a new weekly workout routine, but I've loved every workout so far!
