So I’m struggling to get a weekly fitness routine back into my life. There was a time when I didn’t think twice about working out.
Fitness Routine for Fitness Competitions
In 2009, I decided to take care of my health in a new way and I would get up every morning early to do 30 mins of cardio. From there I found myself in the fitness competition world and I would work out every morning lifting weights and then cardio after work. I loved book-ending my work days because I would start my day on a great note and I would finish my day with some movement which would help me de-stress from the day. I loved having the drive and routine.
Fitness Routine for Obstacle Course Racing
In my fitness evolution, I went from sparkly bikinis and stripper heels to mud & monkey bars. I would still find myself in the gym every morning but would then train at the former Alpha Obstacle Training which has now become One Academy in Toronto in the evenings and weekends. I would do 2 – 3 classes a week and that felt really good with my schedule.
To be completely honest, I’ve struggled since moving to Ottawa to maintain a specific fitness routine. After running 20 races in 2015, I gave myself adrenal fatigue and never seemed to recover. I’d get some energy and try to throw myself back into a routine. Some weeks I get all jazzed up and workout in the morning at my husband’s new gym and other days I just want to sit in my home office, curl up and meditate and read and side hustle.
Some days I pack a gym bag and head to the gym after work and other days I have no energy and just go home to take care of the dogs. I crave consistency and routine and don’t really thrive with this go with the flow mentality. I’m trying to not judge myself for what has happened since moving here. I know it’s time to really bring some movement consistency back into my life for my health.
So here are the things I’ve done before to create a routine and that I’m going to try again to create the perfect environment (for me) for planning and doing my workouts:
Top 5 Fitness Routine Habits
1. Pack Gym Bag The Night Before
If you have a fitness goal that requires you to be in a gym or getting a resistance workout in outside of the home why “waste” time trying to get all your things together in the morning and simply pack the night before.
If you have a home workout, this could mean laying out your gym clothes, filling your water bottle or getting the DVD or YouTube video set up or playlist ready the night before so you just have to press play.
2. Sleep In Your Gym Clothes
Even if I lay out my gym clothes the night before I’m really good at ignore that pile of material. But if I sleep in my gym clothes I just can’t ignore the fact that I planned a workout.
3. Set Up Coffee Machine & Pack Lunch The Night Before
Making lemon water and coffee takes a good 15 mins in the morning, so setting things up the night before cuts down on that time so I can simply turn on an element for warm water and pressing one button to start the coffee maker.
Also if my meals are packed the night before I just have to slip them in my meal bag and take off out of the front door post-meditation and journaling!
4. Set A Fitness Goal and Reverse Engineer The Training Needed
I just need accountability sometimes. So announcing a fitness goal, reverse engineering the training and then scheduling that into my life is a way I can create accountability to have a consistent routine.
So for me, my “big” fitness goal of the year is to run my first trail half marathon this Fall. I have in my calendar to run a 9 km trail race in July and then 11 km in August, then 15 km in September and the trail half marathon finale mid-October!
5. Create Appointments in a Paper Planner or Phone Calendar
Every Sunday I sit down to write out my weekly and daily goals and schedule in my appointments for the week so writing down my fitness workouts is important to make sure that what gets scheduled gets done.
To create a fitness routine though, depends on having a happy and healthy body. Right now I’m rehabbing from throwing out my back at a workout a few weeks ago. And then excruciating pain in my knee presented called patella femoral syndrome so I’m feeling pretty broken at the moment.
So first and foremost I’m scheduling appointments with my chiropractor, massage therapist and using all the anti-inflammatory tools to help my body heal.
Rehab for Fitness Routine
- My husband is a fascial stretch therapist and he has me stretching daily, from couch stretch to rolling my glutes out with a therapy ball.
- I’m taking Copaiba & Turmeric internally in a veggie capsule every morning
- I’m having nightly Epsom Salt baths with Marjoram & Ginger and applying Deep Blue Rub to my back and knee nightly.
The Deep Blue Rub is available in the Daily Health Habits Kit that’s on sale until the end of May 2019!
