My Workout Challenges

I've never been the type that would make a New Years' resolution to workout. To be honest, I thought being skinny was enough evidence that I'm healthy and fit until I was diagnosed with Lymphoma. I've always been active and naturally fit. I was once a cheerleader in middle school, I was on the dance team in the band, and ran track in high school. I was never faced with the turmoil of losing weight. I've always been underweight actually. So the last thing I wanted to do is to fade away by working out. 

After four children, I was anticipating getting some nice womanly curves, but the curves never came. I realized that the biggest I've ever been was when I ran track, so exercising to gain muscle mass made sense for my body type. I was motivated to do the work until my health took priority over my looks.
 

After two heart and two lung surgeries, and having a tube stuck in my rib cage to drain the fluid buildup in my lung for several months, I've been scared ever since to exercise. I've had a lot of trouble breathing and a dangerously high heart rate during my healing. So every time I get out of breath or my heart starts to beat a little faster than normal now, I panic. It's hard for me to let go of these symptoms now, even though I'm thriving in my healing journey. The memories still haunt me, and I simply get scared to feel any of these symptoms again. 

But it's time to push out of my comfort zone. My goal last year was to walk to the mailbox every day, and I still didn't commit. Change is so psychological. This year I'm ready to embrace the challenges that come with fitness to get those glutes tight and perky lol. Here are the little changes I'm making, and I hope you will join me too.

Get some cute workout clothes! Looking good helps me feel good, even if it's just in my head lol. Using cute workout clothes as a motivation to workout lol.

Almost every mom can appreciate a high-waist pair of leggings to hide all of our pregnancy scars. I got these leggings in my favorite color, emerald green, to bring joy to my heart!

I love love love these long sleeves (to hide my tiny arms) crop top! The criss-cross bands give it such a cute and fashionable look. You can really wear it with some jeans and keep it moving, which I also love. 

 

I created a simple workout routine to get me to commit before I throw money into a gym membership, a trainer, or expensive equipment. I feel like I need to commit to myself first. It's a lot harder to work out on your own without outside motivation, but no matter what you plug into, you will have to commit. 

My routine is simple:

20-30 minute workout on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 

20-30 minutes of yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays 
I do it all early in the mornings. When my husband gets up and heads to the gym, I get up and head to my mat! That's my first commitment.

I love the Nike Training App! It has guided videos that are timed and make me feel like I'm working out with a trainer. And I love the fact that you can select workouts or yoga sessions based on your fitness level. I also LOVE this work video and all the other awesome videos on the FitnessBlender Youtube channel. Here are some of my favorite trainers on IG:

I also implement some breathing exercises throughout the day, especially when I feel anxious. This video really helps me calm down and get me back in balance.

Meditating is probably the hardest exercise I've ever done. Sitting still and not letting your mind wander is harder than I thought. But I am definitely seeing the change in my mind and health because of it. It's when you get out of your own way that the magic happens. And I believe the body is self-healing if you allow it to do what it's supposed to do. 

I'm just trying to get in my workout groove first. Once I get a good momentum going, I will add weights and possibly a gym membership, but none of it matters unless I commit. So I hope my little tips will help me stay on course.