Showing up for myself…with friends
Despite the best intentions, recently I’ve been struggling to stay committed to daily exercise - what once worked just wasn’t working anymore. I wasn’t feeling motivated, I was sliding back into the habit of not prioritizing what I need to care for my spirit, mind, and body, and I sure as heck wasn’t having any fun. Plus old demon body-conscious thoughts from the past were coming back to haunt me.
To remedy this, I went about unpacking some of the thoughts and patterns going on inside of me, and once I came up with those, I created a plan to get back on track.
I need to get out of the house
I have allowed myself to get a little too isolated than what’s healthy for me. I work at home, hang out here when I have my son, teach yoga out of my house, and usually work out at home with the help of youtube videos or other online resources. Some days, the only time I leave the house is to walk the dog or go to the grocery store. Whether this is because I can be somewhat introverted or some other personality trait, I tend not to be the one to make plans and invite others to join me. I need to do something different. It’s gotten ridiculous.
The first step in my plan was to figure out how to get a little more human interaction and a workout. I had barely even started thinking about what I could do when a friend called. She asked me to join her for personal training at another friend’s fitness studio (FitFusion for my local readers). She didn’t even know that I was designing my plan to do something new or my need for some face to face human connection! All three of us are divorced and members of each other’s support squad, so the time with the two of them would meet 2 needs in one. God sure lined this one up quickly!
Showing up for myself
Only one week in, and I have to say this was the best first step. I see myself checking self-care boxes in so many different ways.
✅ Sharing the personal training time makes it budget friendly.
✅ The studio isn’t close to my house, but gives me time with my friends so that works in the big picture of time well spent.
✅ This step provides me with an accountability partner; someone to encourage me in making this commitment to myself, not only to her and our friend the trainer.
✅ The training is challenging in all the best ways. It combines some cardio with strength and interval training. Research indicates that now that I’m in menopause I’ve got to focus on strengthening my muscles so that they don’t atrophy (which is called sarcopenia for those of you who like to build your vocabulary and your muscles). They also recommend a variety of activities each week to keep the body strong and flexible and the mind engaged; I can definitely agree that I need the variety.
✅ An additional, research backed benefit: because I am osteopenic, a condition common post-menopause, I need weight and resistance training to strengthen my bones.
✅ Since I’m doing this with friends, I am distracted much of the time from how hard it is, plus encouragement flows freely between the 3 of us. #strongertogether
✅ I’ve noticed that I’m pushing myself harder because I am competing with the clock.
✅ I was sore the next day, but not in a I-can’t-walk way. I look at it as proof that I worked out muscles just right - not too much and not too little.
✅ Best of all, I'm having FUN! Fun definitely makes me want to continue doing this.
I’ve made a 10 week commitment to continue this with my friends, which takes me through my first few months of having an empty nest. There is no question that showing up for myself by upping my exercise game will help me build a good foundation in this next chapter. Doing so with friends will make it that much easier!