One of the questions that I’m most often asked in my Q&As is about my workout routine. I wish I could say I have it down to an art and that I’m super in shape… I mean I’m married to an incredible personal trainer, you’d think I’d be on top of my game, right? Not so much.
I have a weird relationship with working out but if I’m whether I’m on an off week or an on month, I’ve only really come to accept this sometimes toxic love affair in the last few months.
When I was young and single I used to go to the gym every day. EVERY. Day. Honestly? No idea how I had time for that. Today that’s just not realistic nor is it something that I have any interest in doing. This is how I roll these days…
I try to workout three times a week for three different purposes.
Toning:
I work out once a week with my husband Anel who has a private training studio in Greenwich that you should def look into if you live in my area. I’m not just saying this because he’s my husband but he’s amazing at what he does. The workout he does is a one-on-one super slow high-intensity weight training session that lasts for only 30 minutes. He recommends that you do this once a week, not more, so that your muscles have time to recover.
Out of all my workouts this one, for sure, makes the biggest impact on the way that my body looks. The results are near instant and I can feel it for days afterwards. If you don’t live in our ‘hood, try his 20-minute at home workout that I promise will make your muscles burn.
Sweating it Out:
While I love working out at Countdown, I also love a serious sweat so I try to go to SoulCycle once a week for my fix. My favorite instructors in Greenwich are Conor, Nina, and Ryan F. who all have very different styles but all manage to have me literally dripping in sweat after 50 minutes.
Nina actually put together an amazing summer workout mix especially for you guys on Spotify. Take a listen here– I love her taste in music which is part of why I love her classes so much.
Clearing My Head:
One of the reasons why I love to work out is because I love the feeling of a clear head. I often have my best ideas and moments of clarity while running (more like jogging, I’m pretty slow) so I try to strap on my sneaks and pound the pavement at least once a week as well. I’ve never been a great runner but as I get older and realize that the speed doesn’t really matter, I’ve learned to push myself hard enough for a good workout but not hard enough that it feels awful.
Now that we have Boots, sometimes I’ll take him with me which is fun but can be kind of annoying because he gets distracted unless I can take him off-leash somewhere.
Motivating Myself:
This is the hard part for me. I’m envious of people like my sister who make exercise a priority and seem to always make it happen come hell or high water. Me? I’m more of an excuse girl. I’m generally too tired, too busy, or too (fill in the blank) to want to get moving. What I learned from Gretchen Rubin’s new book about habits is that I am more motivated by others… as in if I have someone holding me accountable, I’m way more likely to do the task at hand.
I’ve been trying to talk to my husband and sister more about working out so that they remind me and push me to do it, and I’ve been Snapchatting my workouts more (when I remember!) so that you guys hold me accountable in a way as well.
How do motivate yourself to work out and what are your favorite ways to sweat?
Clearing your head with a good work out just makes you fell better.
xx. The Coastal Confidence
http://the-coastalconfidence.com/
This was a really great read! I also find it difficult to get motivated. I usually use cute workout clothes to get my motivated and tell myself I can do something in them afterwards (lame) like grocery shopping, or walk to the mailbox. Kind of the way you don’t want to waste a good outfit when you don’t see anyone thing.. Thanks for the tips!
http://www.dollcourtney.com
I am the queen of excuses too — have been known to put on my workout clothes and walk past the gym because it looks crowded. What’s helped me if belonging to a studio and doing classes at places that require signup ahead of time. I will schedule my workouts for the next week on the Mind Body app, they show up in my calendar, and then I have to go, or I lose my money. It’s been working — been hitting up classes a solid 3x per week.
Uh girl your butt looks great in this post! xo
Love this, Julia! You should definitely try class with Elle. She teaches at GWCH and WSPT and she is my FAVORITE! Hope to run into you at Soul one of these days!!
Loved reading this! Pure Barre has been my go-to lately- having a class scheduled gives me so much more motivation as I have to go and can’t skip it!
xoxo,
Katie
chicincarolina.blogspot.com
Great post! I try to go to the gym regularly. I do really love exercise, but I find it difficult to find the time to workout.
http://ohduckydarling.com
I can’t say enough good about Pure Barre and the Bar Method. Helps build long, lean muscles. Plus, I hate cardio lol, and this workout is low impact. I too am motivated by external factors like what my husband is eating, etc. Financial incentive is also very motivating. Hanging the fact that Soul Cycle costs as much as it does over my own head makes me get out of bed for that 5:45am class.