Showing posts with label Personal Practice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal Practice. Show all posts

Thursday, March 2, 2017

12:13 PM 0

Fighting the Workout Funk

Yes, I've been there. Not wanting to work out. Yes, I'm a certified Pilates teacher, but I've definitely gone through spells where I've had to fight off the I don't want to work out funk.
About six weeks out from having my second baby, I was super motivated to get back to Pilates and tighten my core back up. But I quickly lost that focus and motivation as the busyness of having two littles set in. I'd come up with really good, creative excuses why I didn't have the time to workout... I need to catch up on the laundry and the dishes....or I just want to lay on the couch and catch up on my shows while everyone naps...

I was looking through some old pictures from the newborn days recently and found this picture. And this is how I feel about working out sometimes... All jokes aside, I should probably note that I removed the hat right after sister did this haha...

And I could go on, but let's jump to what worked for me to get back on track.

Set a focus and a goal.
I think your goal can be as specific or as detail-oriented as you want it to be. Maybe you have just one goal or more than one focus. Whatever works for you. Personally, I like to make my goals attainable at first- then bump it up a notch. That way, I have a starting place that makes me not overwhelmed and I can feel accomplished, which helps me stay motivated.

For example, my initial postpartum goal was to get in five workouts each week. I didn't focus on the length or what kind of workout- whether it be Pilates Mat, Reformer or simply walking. Then, once I got pretty settled with this goal, I modified my goal to make it fit my progress.

So currently, this is what my fitness goals look like:
1.  Work in 6 to 7 (minimum 1 hour workouts) a week.
2.  Out of my weekly workouts, I like to do 2 to 3 Yoga Classes, 2 to 3 Advanced Reformer Workouts, and at least one Pilates Mat. I also like to visit the Pilates Tower and Wunda Chair at least once during the week. I'm flexible with my 7th workout of the week (typically Saturdays.)
3. I'm currently focusing on headstands, flexibility in the quadriceps and psoas muscles, and arm strength. So no matter what I do for my workout, I'll spend a few minutes practicing headstands, stretching, or using light weights pretty much daily.

Go to a Group Class. 
If just don't feel like you have the motivation to work out, I'd definitely suggest trying out any kind of group class. There's nothing like being in a room full of people to get you motivated. It's also nice to be told what to do instead of planning out your own workout. Group classes also give you new ideas for you to do at home. Signing up for a group class also gets a workout penciled into your busy schedule and makes you committed to exercising.

I had a client in one of my Pilates Reformer classes tell me me recently that he loves group classes for the camaraderie...even if it is a class with all women...

Besides enjoying Yoga and wanting to learn more, these are all the reasons why I go to Yoga classes each week as well.

Try setting some goals and going to a few group classes...and I'm sure you'll be well on your way to getting over your workout funk. 






Friday, February 17, 2017

5:55 AM 2

Five on Friday- Fitness Progress, Valentine's and More


Y'all, I'm exhausted! Not sure what is about this week, but I'm worn out. I've been crashing hard after getting the kids to bed. I like to catch up on my favorite TV shows after the kids go to bed, but this week it hasn't happened. Like I'm talking it has taken me three times to get all the way through Jane the Virgin because I can't stay awake...Side note- anyone else watch Jane? I'm really bitter that they killed Michael off of the show. I could rant on, but it's Friday, so I'll move right along.

O N E
Patience, Commitment, And Progress
I'd say the past four months, I've really committed myself to getting back on a routine workout schedule and increased my workouts to five to six times a week. I'm definitely starting to to see and feel the results. My arms, thighs, and abdominals are toner and stronger. I'm paying more attention to my posture. I feel better...Pilates will do that to you. I've been combining Yoga into my routine as well...this past week I've made it to three Yoga classes. Yoga has really helped with my flexibility (which has helped with my Pilates practice). I'm feeling a difference when I do exercises such as Tree in Pilates (pictured below). I think the key here is I've noticed so much progress lately from being patient with myself and committing to prioritizing my workouts. Just in case you missed it, I blogged earlier this week about being patient both in fitness and life- read it here and here.

T W O
Spring Fever
We've had a lot of warm weather the past few weeks with highs in the 60s and 70s for part of the week. I feel like it has been a few days of spring mixed with really mild winter weather. Next week, the weather forecast looks just about the same. I'm not really complaining and we did get to enjoy one snow this year.
That being said...With all the late winter warm weather, as I was mentioning yesterday, I've noticed a lot of trees and flowers budding and blooming. I took these pictures yesterday while we were playing outside. Now, here's to hoping if cold weather decides to return, that these blooms make it! I'm definitely ready for warm weather to stick around for good. 

    


T H R E E 
bareMinerals Foundation Primer
I blogged earlier this week about my favorite skin-care products, especially for dry skin types- check that out here. But I have a new favorite to add to that list- bareMinerals Prep Step. I stopped by Sephora earlier this week because I was out of makeup primer and foundation. I usually buy the Prime Time Foundation Primer by bareMinerals, but I decided to give the Prep Step a try because it has SPF 50. I have fair skin, so this is important to me and one of the reasons why I love bareMinerals. Anyway, I LOVE the Prep Step. It's light and moisturizes my skin without making it oily. I also think it helps blend my makeup on my skin. Here's a full day of wearing the Prep Step with foundation (I like the Original Broad Spectrum).

F O U R 
Essential Oils of the Bible
A few months a go, a friend recommended this book to me- Essential Oils of the Bible. I use essential oils regularly, especially to fight sickness (read here and here), but I'm interested in learning more in general about essential oils and ways to incorporate oils. I just picked this book up from the library, so I really haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I'm looking forward to flipping through it. I thought I'd check it out from the library before I decided to buy it.

F I V E
Valentine's Day Dinner and Treats
I did a lot of cooking and baking for Valentine's Day. I really enjoy baking from scratch, knowing and controlling what goes in our food, and using Organic ingredients as much as possible.

Hubby loves and requested Apple Cinnamon muffins, so I made those- loosely following this recipe. The main difference is I used Organic Unsalted Butter instead of Coconut Oil (his request) and I dipped the muffins in melted butter and cinnamon after pulling them out of the oven.

For Valentine's Dinner, we had: Grilled Chicken, Roasted Broccoli, Brown Rice, and Heart-shaped Biscuits with Honey. Here's the recipe for the biscuits.

 
For dessert, I made Sugar Cookies with Strawberry Glazed Icing with my little assistant. Yes, we did use Sugar, but we used Organic ingredients and no food coloring. Side note- I just really hate the thought of adding food coloring into what I cook. The icing was delicious and the strawberries gave it the perfect color and flavor. I found the recipe for the icing here. The recipe calls for fresh strawberries and lemon zest, but we used frozen strawberries and lime zest (since that's what I had on hand). The cookies are just about gone- if that tells you anything!

Have a great weekend!

For this post, I'm linking up with April from Smidge of This and Christina from Carolina Charm for 5 on Friday and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites, and Amanda from Meet at the Barre for another round of Friday Favorites. 






















Monday, February 13, 2017

6:38 AM 2

Patience in the Process

I can definitely remember as a kid looking for my Christmas presents hidden around the house before Christmas day. I just had to know what I was going to get under the tree. Forget being surprised. I had to know right away. So if I'm being completely honest, there were a few years that I found a few of my Christmas presents hidden away in the closet or tucked under the bed before they were wrapped. Or if they had already been wrapped, I'd try to peel the wrapping paper back just a hair to get a sneak peak. I'd feel sneaky, yet at first satisfied that the wait was over.

I remember one year I found one of the presents my mom was really excited about giving me. The funny thing is now I can't even remember what the present was...I felt guilty and told my mom that I had found the present. She of course, as I can totally understand now, was pretty disappointed. So what does this story have to do with your journey with Pilates or truly any fitness practice? A lot actually.
Joseph Pilates said "in 10 sessions you’ll feel the difference, in 20 you’ll see the difference, and in 30 you’ll have a whole new body."

I remind both myself and my clients of this all the time. See I'm about 8 months postpartum now and with it being my second baby, I feel like it's taken a little more time to pull my abdominal muscles back together and build back up powerhouse strength. I had to be patient with myself and my practice. I had to use modifications as needed. I couldn't just go straight from having the baby to an Advanced Reformer workout. It's taken time, but with consistent practice, working gradually to increase my strength, I absolutely notice a difference. But the thing is even though I started Pilates around 8 years ago, I'm not done learning. There are still things I'm learning about the method and how to work deeper. The journey never really is over. 
I remember my first Pilates equipment lesson wanting to know: Am I doing this right? Is my alignment right? How many repetitions? What's the breathing pattern? How do I do this exercise? I'm suppose to be able to do that? Why can't I do it now? And I could go on. See I wanted to understand and be able to do it right then and there...my first time even using a Pilates Reformer. Our society has placed such a high value on the "right now" results. But it takes time, persistence, and dedication- not something that can be discovered in one lesson or a handful of classes for the matter.
I find the same with my Yoga practice as well. I was reflecting about this whole idea of being patient with ourselves in the process and how change takes time after taking a Yoga class yesterday...hence why this post was written. For the first time, I was able to sit in Virasana while doing an arm/shoulder stretch without sitting on a block. I have pretty tight hip flexors, so this is an area I've been working on. I think it's important to humbly celebrate our successes, then appreciate that there is more to learn. We must be patient with ourselves and know it takes both time and practice.
How often do we take time to enjoy and appreciate the process? I'd like to think now I'm a little more patient than I was as a kid to be able to do this. I'll give a little credit to that to the lessons I'm learning being a mom and practicing both Pilates and Yoga. I'm pretty big on believing that what we face and discover about ourselves in our fitness practice applies to our personal lives and vice versa. On the mat and in life, we'll miss out on some valuable lessons and beautiful moments when we do not practice patience. 



(For this post I'm linking up with A Fresh Start on A Budget for Motivational Monday and The Life of Faith for Mommy Moments.)