I have settled into what feels like a really good, happy place right now with my workouts. I’m not doing anything drastically different than usual, but my routine needed some tweaking. After some bouncing around, I feel like I’ve found something that really works.
What wasn’t working:
-Being very inconsistent with cardio, despite my goal to do it 3 times a week. Ongoing problem for several years now.
-Trying different types of cardio all the time. e.g. Trying to do 20 min, 3x/week at the gym on machines. Then switching to Beachbody cardio videos (except that I hate any cardio that feels “too hard”/ makes me want to die, and also, I hate burpees). Then I’d flounder around doing kickboxing or dance videos on YouTube… but then, were those “too easy” or “too short”?…
-I’d set a new year’s goal to do some fitness classes at the gym this year. And I have done some- not cardio, but mostly this shorter Core class I like. But it kind of became just another thing to “fit in” and/or would end up bumping out my MAIN workouts, if I ran out of time… it was yet another inconsistent presence in my schedule.
– I have chronic back pain issues, and they really escalated last year. After MRIs, PT, Spine appts, and days nearly in tears over constant pain, I am now on prescription Meloxicam daily (an NSAID) and my back pain has all but disappeared. This is amazing! However, I am also questioning if the strength workouts I was doing last year were exacerbating it. Last year, in January 2024, I switched to Momentum with Sohee workouts. She is great/ the workouts are great! But they do focus a lot on the “big compound moves” like squats, deadlifts, etc. I now strongly suspect that barbell back squats and ANY hinge motion like deadlifts, RDLs, etc. do not work for me.
What I’ve Changed:
You know that “self help” suggestion (I can’t remember right now who gets the credit for it) of asking yourself: What would this look like if it were easy?
Well, I spent a little time pondering that, re: my cardio dilemmas.
What would this look like for me??
- Not too hard
- Fairly short (20-25 minutes max)
- Fun
- Enjoyable
- No burpees
- Easy to fit into my schedule
- I don’t dread it
Cardio on machines at the gym? No. It doesn’t fit the criteria. As it is, I’m usually rushing to fit in my strength workouts. I don’t usually have another 20 minutes then. I also do not enjoy at all doing cardio on a machine.
Beachbody workouts? Maybe, but my subscription is almost up and I’m not renewing it, and also, many of them involve “harder” moves… like burpees, and I’d find myself resisting doing them.
I decided that what best fits the “what would this look like if it were easy” criteria for me are the Emkfit Dance videos on YouTube. Emily’s personality is like a breath of fresh air, she’s fun, she’s funny, she’s cool and silly and so carefree, and I usually feel totally energized and refreshed and happy when I’m done. The videos are usually only 15-25 minutes long. They are not “crazy intense”- but that’s fine! I don’t need that. I just want to move my body, sweat, and get my heart rate up. I enjoy it. Mission accomplished.
So I decided- this is going to be my cardio for the foreseeable future. I don’t need to try new things, I don’t need to alternate, I don’t need anything harder. THIS IS WORKING, I’m doing it, the end.
I’m also giving myself a pass on the fitness classes at the gym. I do like them, but not right now. Maybe in another season.
I have switched back to doing Emma Montgomery’s monthly workouts, too, for my strength. (I had done these back in ~2022/2023 I think?). Her schedule is 5 days a week instead of 4, but I actually like that because in addition to 2 Upper/ 2 Lower, she also incorporates 1 Full Body workout and I like those.
Her workouts are just a touch lower intensity to me versus Sohee’s (meaning, Emma’s have a few more “accessory moves” and not so focused on just those big weightlifting moves). But that’s fine- I’m not trying to be a body builder! I find myself looking forward to them, and they are very effective. I also think they have been kinder to my back issues! (I am still careful to sub out any back squats or deadlifts for something else, too.)
In summary, all of this is basically the same goals/ routine I’ve been doing for a long time now, but just…. refined. 🙂
On paper, it looks like this:
- Monday: Legs/Abs at gym, Cardio at home
- Tuesday: Chest/Triceps/Shoulders at gym
- Wednesday: Back/Biceps at gym
- Thursday: Legs/Abs at gym, Cardio at home
- Friday: Yoga at home/Recovery day (doing Yoga with Adrienne, just picking one and done).
- Saturday: Full Body strength at gym
- Sunday: Cardio at home
(Oh, another thing that had not been working: I had previously been scheduling strength workouts on both Saturday and Sunday and one less during the workweek. Well, I kept finding myself missing my weekend workouts! This was frustrating me. But we’d get busy doing other things, or stuff with the kids, or I just flat out didn’t want to go to the gym both days, etc….I’ve now been scheduling just one on the weekend, which has felt more realistic. Oddly enough, it’s easier for me to get to the gym during the weekdays when my life is more structured.
I have no workout-related photos to share (what can I say, I have not mastered the gym selfie), but will leave you with a few silly things I’ve compiled lately because, why not:
Quote of the Day:
Never wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, and the pig likes it.
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for my contact lenses.
GRATEFUL KAE 
I always say that I don’t just read blogs, I take notes, and this was definitely a note-taking post. WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF IT WERE EASY????? Lots of food for thought there.
Booyah for figuring out what works for you! I don’t have this perfectly figured out, but I know that fairly high intensity cardio but no more than 30 minutes of it is my jam. I don’t do much strength work right now other than pushups, but pushups do a lot. I’m trying to figure out how to add in a bit more strength, so once I sit back and figure out what it would look like if it was easy, I should be able to come up with something.
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I’m a walker/cyclist but managed to snag a nice spin bike on Freecycle and have been enjoying a bit more intensive cardio. Last night, I read T a story and did a quick 20 minute youtube class while he listened to his audiobook. It’ll be so nice during the cold winters to be able to hop on a bike. And I’m convinced I could do a slow class during teams meetings (we don’t need our cameras on).
Really need to figure out some sort of strength training but honestly, my autumn is going to be hellish (Sunday, Monday in hotel and Tuesday back late), I think I need to be kind to myself and realise I have no capacity beyond keeping my sanity and my yoga, walking, etc routine. One for my sabbatical in January.
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I found Emma via Sarah who found her through you, and I like her a lot! There are some things she says that make me wince a little, and I would never want to talk politics with her, BUT her advice about macros and mindset is SO SO SO good.
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It’s so funny–I just started doing emkfit this month too. I think I remember reading about her here a while ago, and was finding myself bored by doing cardio on the spin bike. The summer is a lot busier with both of my kids home, and the videos are so fun and energizing that it’s made it easier to stick to exercising. I’ve been really, really enjoying it and I wanted to thank you for the recommendation!
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It’s so funny–I just started doing emkfit this month too. I think I remember reading about her here a while ago, and was finding myself bored by doing cardio on the spin bike. The summer is a lot busier with both of my kids home, and the videos are so fun and energizing that it’s made it easier to stick to exercising. I’ve been really, really enjoying it and I wanted to thank you for the recommendation!
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Tim Ferris! It’s Tim Ferris that talks about What would this look like if it were easy and I it’s one of my mantras for the year and whenever I’m really in a rut and I think to remember to harken back to this advice it makes such a difference. I think women, especially, tend to feel like everything should feel hard? Like something is going to be better or more effective if it feels miserable.
Burpees are the literal worst. Ugh.
I’ve been doing a mix of walking and pilates lately. My goal is to have some intentional movement every day until the end of the year. We’ll see. I did 365 days of walking at least 1 km a day and was burned out of it by the end (most days I walked way more than this and there were some tough things happening so I always had to power through because I wanted to maintain the streak). I really like the idea that I can just do a 15 minutes floor yoga exercise on a rough day. I get caught up in what I think movement has to look like in terms of intensity and then I don’t do anything.
The 1 km I run every day, is better than the 5 km I never run!
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I’m so glad your back is feeling better! Back pain is so debilitating!! Your cardio solution sounds perfect. We all need a little extra dose of fun in our lives so it’s a bonus that it’s something that is actually fun to do (I also hate burpees!!).
My workouts have been all over the place with travel and trying to get into the office enough when not traveling so I don’t get on the naughty list. I like training for this 10 mile race but it will be nice when it’s behind me because those long runs are harder to fit in than a Caroline Girvan workout!
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Yes, this is what people always say- the best workouts are the ones you will ACTUALLY DO. If it’s super difficult, or you hate it, you’re not going to do it. I also have been modifying some of my strength moves to accommodate my hamstring. I kept thinking I “should” be doing things like deadlifts and bulgarian split squats, and finally had to admit that those were aggravating my hamstring.
Sometimes, when you’re having trouble sticking to a routine, it’s helpful to ask “WHY am I having trouble with this?” and if you can identify what’s holding you back, you can change it and move forward with a routine you’ll actually do. Sounds like this is what you did, and I hope it works great for you. And I’m VERY glad your back is feeling so much better!
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