Work It Out!

Fitness is a huge part of my life and has been for many years. My first love was running, and to this day, it remains my go-to workout. Along the way, I’ve tried different workouts, and found what works for me and what doesn’t. I taught Spinning classes for nearly two years post-college and enjoyed every minute of it. I miss it – in fact, I haven’t stepped foot in a Spin class since I left my job teaching classes. That was December 2011. To say that I’ve been missing Spin and group fitness classes is quite an understatement!

When I stopped teaching Spin, I also stopped going to the gym – because I have a treadmill, a library of fitness DVDs, and free weights at home. The combination of planning a wedding and commuting to and from work 2.5 hours a day really limited the amount of time I had in a day, so I just transformed an extra room into my personal ‘gym’ and worked out at home! I’m very self-motivated, so I have no problem committing myself to a workout…in fact, I’ve always found time to work out 6-7 days a week. To this day, I still do this. I’ve just had a really strong desire to get back in the gym…I miss the environment!

In addition to working out at home (usually running, about 5-6 miles per day), I do hot yoga or hot vinyasa once a week. Yoga has really helped me as a runner, because running leads to muscle tightness – so yoga helps to give me a deep stretch after putting in miles all week. It’s really become one of my favorite forms of exercise…other than running, of course!

I’d like to get back into a gym within a month or so. I really miss Spin, Pilates, and my personal favorite class: BodyPump! Seriously, I was a BodyPump regular when I was in college. I remember waiting in a long line to go to a late-night BP launch party in my university’s gym because I loved the classes so much! The best thing about BodyPump is the music – the song changes for each weight exercise, and the music is always current and upbeat. It’s a great alternative for lifting weights if you aren’t too keen on building your own weights/toning routine. I’m comfortable making my own routine ( I studied exercise physiology and personal training in college, in addition to my Political Science major, and taught group fitness classes for two years), but it’s great to go to a class where the routine is already laid out for you in an easy-to-follow format. 

I think I may have convinced myself to find a new gym membership! 😉

Have you tried BodyPump or any other Les Mills’ fitness classes?