According to my records đ¤, I haven’t been to the gym since July 11.
ARGH.
I am feeling this familiar frustration, where I want to do things, but “can’t”/ “am not making time”/ “life schedule has been way too wonky for consistency”.
We left for San Diego on July 14, got home late on Sunday the 17th. Ivan’s mom stayed with us for several days last week, before I spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday driving back and forth to Milwaukee for the State swim meet.
In between, my work department has seemed to be semi-imploding, with a brand new manager in place + the sudden, unexpected departure of a different key member…
I have basically been selected to jump in and take over a bunch of her duties and then train the new person (starting in August)….although this particular area is actually more adjacent to my job, meaning I am soooo NOT an expert on much of it, currently….đłđŹ
Also meaning, I need to first try to really LEARN these (Very Important! Transplant regulatory related!) tasks myself so I can, um, teach them to the new person. A lot of it is quite nuanced and complex stuff. On the plus side, they always say that if you can teach something, you really know it, so, I’m actually kind of excited to really dive in and learn more deeply about this other side of our department. More knowledge is usually always a good thing.
ANYWAY, between all of the above (picture me waving my hand in the air- “all of this”), way too many late nights with family events, increased meetings/ busy workdays and more, the gym has not been happening. I am sure a true time management/ productivity guru would be making it happen, but, I guess it has slipped down the priority list. I don’t know what else to say.
I have done a large handful of home workouts though, mostly in the evenings, after I’m done working or when the boys have been away. I finally finished Morning Meltdown for….the 2nd or 3rd time?? on Wednesday. This time I started it WAY back in like, November. I really was only using it as a filler around gym workouts most of the winter/spring, just chipping away at it little by little, not following any kind of real schedule.
I finally decided yesterday that there is no real point in even worrying about going back to the gym right now until we get back from Mexico. Or school starts again. We leave in about a week and a half. With work being crazy, it feels like a good time to let that goal go (temporarily). And sadly.
But I still want to exercise, so I decided to look for a new Beachbody program. Home workouts should be pretty do-able, in theory, even when life is very busy.
I am very ready for a break from Morning Meltdown. I liked that program a lot, overall, especially with the shorter 20-30 min. workouts. The cardio workouts in particular were a nice addition to my gym strength workouts, since I basically despise doing cardio on my own. However, there are two moves (the “bolt” and the “firecracker”, namely) in most of MM’s cardio workouts that I pretty much hate. I am very, very over those. I find them awkward, uncomfortable and challenging in kind of a bad way.
So, I decided from at least now until we go to Mexico, I will start Amoila Cesar’s 645 program. I’m going to aim to follow the exact program. Will give me some structure and exercise at least in the (very) short term
The basics are:
- 6 workouts per week
- 45 minutes per day
- 4 strength workouts per week (all technically full body, though 1 is lower body emphasis and 1 upper body emphasis)
- 1 mobility workout
- 1 cardio workout
- 1 rest day
- It’s a 13 week program.
I like Amoila Cesar a lot. One of my first BB programs, after 21 Day Fix, was his The Work which is SO HARD!!!! Whoa. Very effective, but I don’t think I’ll ever repeat that one unless I’m preparing to enlist in Army boot camp. But I still really, really liked him as a trainer a lot.
So far I enjoyed Day 1! I am really not a fan of strength workouts that are basically…. cardio. This one didn’t feel like that, so that was good.
This is the schedule for Stage 1:
I started on a Thursday, oh well. Will just keep following the days. For a little while, anyway, until we leave again. Ha.
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for slide sandals to slip on to run outside quickly, even if you’re wearing socks. đ
GRATEFUL KAE 
In a way it’s kind of encouraging to see that even you can fall off the workout wagon once in awhile! I have struggled to fit workouts in this summer and have basically only been running! Which isn’t ideal for me. I really liked MM, especially the length of the workouts as they are really easy to fit in. I tried another program, can’t remember the name of it now, did 2 workouts and felt meh about it. I think if I did MM again, I would only do the strength training ones since I get plenty of cardio from running. I also hated the bolt and firecracker moves and would often have to modify! I’ve been getting 3-5 runs in each week though so at least I am doing something. May and June were bad w/ covid and quaratines and such. And lately I’ve had more client calls that start early so I can’t squeeze a workout in unless I get up at 5 which I am just not motivated to do. I don’t know if it’s my age or RA or having young kids, but I am just so dang tired. I saw in a comment on SHU’s blog that you would get up at 4:30 to run before doing your nursing shift and I can’t even wrap my mind around doing that. But my little sister often runs around 4:30 since she lives in AZ where it’s so dang hot, and she has a 1.5 yo who hasn’t slept great – so it can be done! But she’s 7 years younger than me and doesn’t have RA… So all that said, I’ve tried to adjust my expectations for myself. If I workout 3 times/week, that is kind of good enough for now and maybe down the road, I can run while Paul scoots alongside me. He doesn’t have the stamina to scoot more than 2 miles so we aren’t there yet but in a couple of years, he could join me on my runs and Phil could manage Will, and that would open up some time for me to workout!
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The weird thing with me, that I think is what bugs me the most, is that I feel like I was actually more dedicated/ âmade it happenâ when the boys were littler! And I was working in the hospital with that terrible schedule. I feel like my life should be EASIER now- I work from home, the kids are old enough to fend for themselves⌠I feel like I donât have that many excuses anymore. I just donât have the desire, I guess, to get up and workout at the crack of dawn (in fairness, the boysâ later bedtime and later summer happenings may play a role in this, but I just really donât have much desire to do it anyway). I also have other things that I enjoy âfitting inâ, such as this blog, walking, my journaling/planning stuff, etc. I suppose if I cut those things out I would have more time for my workouts. I didnât have a blog or those other things back then. I donât know, I think itâs a multifaceted issue. Not sure there is a right or wrong answer! I like to workout and value it a lot, but I guess not at the expense of everything else I enjoy, either, anymore. So when I am in busy seasons (apparently all the time..), I have to accept that it might need to look a little different to fit in. I have no doubt if I truly wanted to be at the gym everyday, I could make it happen, but I am not sure I want to make the sacrifices right now during this busy summertime.
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You have really stumbled on to the reason that I prefer home workouts. Yes, I could probably lift heavier weights at the gym and they probably have some equipment that would be useful, but the time element is so big for me. I just can’t justify the transit time to the gym, let alone the getting ready, packing bags, etc. I probably am not in as good as shape as I could/should be, but I consistently do my home workouts, but I was never consistent about going to the gym. But
I also think you should maybe cut yourself some slack. It’s summer! You’ve been traveling and doing exciting things. Once school starts up again and things are back in the rhythm of normalcy, you’ll be back at it stronger than ever! (Also, that plan looks scary intense to me, but maybe that’s why you’re in tiptop shape and I’m just another schlub on the street. đ )
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It is very true that a âsubparâ consistent workout is way better than the âperfectâ workout that you donât do, or do inconsistently. (I donât mean your workouts are subpar, speaking in general terms!) I agree that is a huge reason so many people workout from home! Canât beat the convenience. I live sooooo close to my gym, but it still takes more time! I think in part because I have to be more âpresentableâ to go to the gym. As in sometimes I need to change my clothes into something that matches or just clean up a little, etc⌠get my bag, water bottle, etc⌠Definitely can avoid those steps at home! (And this plan really doesnât seem bad!! Only 4 strength workouts and 1 cardio, then 1 day is a stretching day, one rest day). So far the â45 minuteâ workout includes a pretty long âdynamic warmupâ which I think feels really good, but some people might complain is a waste of their time. I rarely stretch enough on my own, so I welcome this though.
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I didn’t know you stopped hahahah.. but it does happen that’s why I didn’t even try to commit to a gym. I think overall doing things that are not essential like eating, sleeping… really needs commitment and know the why in a deeper level. there are too many distractions to interfere.
but don’t put too much pressure on you, as long as you are moving, walking, home workouts, to get the mental benefits of exercises then it is totally okay to take a break from the gym. we go through cycles in so many aspects of life.
6 days workouts sound daunting to me but might be easier for you, we are all different. đ good luck with the program and enjoy Mexico!
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I can relate to your feelings, but look, you haven’t really completely slacking… you’ve still fit in exercise when you could and THAT in itself counts for something. You don’t always have to be following a program and strive for progress. It’s summer, live a little, you’ll get back to it (of that I am sure). đ
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