Good morning! How is it the middle of the week already!?
Today, I thought I would touch on my fitness journey and what I’m doing today in my everyday routine. I’ve always enjoyed mixing up what I’m doing and having a variety of things to choose from because I tend to get bored easily. If you read my old blog or follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you know that I’m a Jazzercise instructor and have been for a while. Next April, it will be ten years. Don’t even ask me where those years went because I, seriously, have no idea. Joining and, eventually, training to be an instructor seems like a lifetime ago…but, I can say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because, after all these years, I still love it!
(me getting ready to torture my Saturday morning class last weekend)
Anyway…I, usually, teach about 2-4 classes a week, depending on if I’ve signed up to do a weekend class or not. I live about an hour away from the center where I teach so, a lot of the time, I’ll come and double at night so I can teach multiple classes when I’ve made the trip down. Since I’m not close enough to teach every day or attend other’s classes, I depend on a lot of at-home workouts to supplement my classes.
Over the years, I have tried a ton of at-home workout programs…starting way back with Tae Bo and Gilad in my bedroom when I was in high school. Please tell me someone out there knows who Gilad is!? He was on the fitness channel and would do his workouts on the beach…I think I secretly just wanted to be on the beach and that’s why I tuned in! Okay…anyway…fast forward through the years and I find myself, present-day, totally in love with, not only cardio, but strength training, as well. Jazzercise classes are a combination of both so I have always incorporated both types of training into my plans but, recently, I have really buckled down on my weight work and, specifically, trying to tone and build muscle.
Last year, I came to the realization that, even though I did a lot and was teaching, running, biking, etc., I felt like I was just skating through and not really putting my all into my fitness. I decided to really make a change and start to, not only work harder on my workouts, but, also, work harder on my nutrition, as well. I loved Beachbody’s Turbo Fire workouts so, in addition to teaching, I started a cycle of those workouts, including both cardio and muscle work. I, also, started paying closer attention to what I was eating. I love food and will never restrict my diet but I concentrated on how much and when I was eating. Through the combination of hard work, I ended up losing around 15 pounds.
Getting to where I wanted made me feel incredible and I set a plan to work on my next goal, which was to continue to tone and build muscle. Enter The 21 Day Fix. I knew I wanted to start a new workout program and that seemed like the right choice at the time…and, I couldn’t have been more right! I fell in love! Since the latter part of last year, I have worked through multiple cycles of the Fix and have, also, moved onto 21 Day Fix Extreme. The workouts are killer but short so it’s not hard to fit them into my schedule! Also, the eating plan is super simple to follow. I am not one for following specific meal plans but I use it as a guide to tell me how much I should be eating to fuel my body properly.
I am so happy to say that I am in a good place when it comes to my fitness. I love teaching, I love challenging myself at home, and I still love to get out and do those different things I like to throw in every now and then like running and biking. I may do a trail race in the next few weeks so I may have to switch up my routine a bit so I can get some training runs done!
So, this post got a little wordy but I like to look back over my journey and see how far I’ve come. I’ve had many ups and downs…there were times when I’ve struggled and others when I’ve felt on top of the world. I think any journey in life is like that and can be expected. However, nothing compares to when you reach the point when you know you’ve found something that works for you and something you love. I’m there, now, and am grateful for every step I’ve taken to get here!
XOXO!
Do you workout at home?
Are you a cardio or a strength person? Or both, like me!?
What is your current fitness routine?