Fitness

No more than a 30 second walk from my work is a new fitness studio, Nerdy Girl Fitness. It’s for women 25 and older. Seeing as this month I turn 29, I guess I qualify.

I thought about it for awhile. Should I go? Would I have time? Is it any better than just going to the gym on my own and using the machines, or following a video online? Who knew. But one afternoon while scrolling through Facebook I saw a post for an open house for Nerdy Girl Fitness. It was at the same time as work, so I knew I couldn’t go. I commented anyway, saying I wish I could go. I have no idea what made me do that.

But Patti, the owner, responded. Told me to come in for a free class. And if you know me, you know I don’t say no to free things. So I worked up the courage to get myself down to one of her 45 minute circuit training classes. She had minimal equipment set up when I got there: a few mats, some weights, and what looked like portable ballet bars.

Only two other women were there for the class, we warmed up, did three rounds of circuit training at six different stations. I was squatting, holding planks, doing laying on the floor style pull ups, and shoulder presses. I didn’t sweat and thought, we’ll that wasn’t that hard.

But about 24 hours later, I felt it. The sore muscles from lunges and the tense shoulders from the “pull-ups.” It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t move, but sore enough that I knew the workout had been worth it. Maybe Patti was on to something. So I caved, got the Groupon deal that was going on and said I’d go to 15 classes (which is what the Groupon was for). This morning was my third class (including that first free one), and I actually am enjoying it. There is no grunting, no men who are stronger than me making me want to push myself until I hurt myself to keep up, and no judgement. We laugh at balancing acts we try on the Bosu ball, grumble together as we try to keep up in our planks, and compare notes about how many steps we’ve all got on our FitBits.

I’m not leaving in a sweating, soggy mess that leaves me exhausted and sore for days. That used to force me to rest for a day or two until I could walk up stairs again. I want to workout every day, and if that means circuit training with a bunch of women I don’t know while I supplement that with running at Planet Fitness, then so be it, I will do it. It’s 45 minutes of my day that lets me feel like I did something.

So I’m committed to Nerdy Girl for a while and if any of my friends want to join me for morning workouts, I’ll see you at the 9 a.m. classes!

One of my goals for 2016 is to be much more organized, keep track of my schedule, and put in writing all of my fitness and health goals. I want to track 2016 to the point that if I slack off, I have a list of reasons why I need to kick my butt back into gear.

So I spent a really long time considering the best way for me to stay on track. A few years ago, I used a wall calendar to keep myself on task. I logged my weight, my workout goals, and plans on a wall calendar. But that was when I was single and had a lot less to keep track of. Sure, I could use my phone, but there is something about physically writing down information that helps keep me on task.

Picking a 2016 planner really seemed like the best bet. Find a really nice planner that I would want to write in, one that I could keep up on what my weight is, when I should be hitting the gym, what events are coming up, and what tasks I needed to do.

I found a few planners that I really fell in love with: the light blue Rifle Paper, Co. toile planner that was just too beautiful to pass up, the Kate Spade polka dot tiny planner that would fit in my purse, even an out there brightly colored Lily Pulitzer planner that would keep me motivated by it’s positive cover. But that one that really drew me in was one by Blogilates. There was something about the addition of health tips, recipes, and space to write my goals that said to me, “Roni, this is the planner for you this year.” Plus, it’s super pretty with its watercolored pages.

I spent a lot of time hemming and hawing about whether or not I should spend almost $40 on a book. When you’re on a budget, does it really make sense to spend money on pretty paper? But I talked to myself about it. My health is worth it. It’s worth it to keep me on track. When I made my goal to run 365 miles that one year, and I tracked it every day, I was in the best condition of my life. So why not make myself a promise again. Track it, make it worth it, make a promise to myself to stay healthy and get fit in 2016.

So I did it, I bit the bullet and purchased the planner. And I’m encouraging all of you to do the same. You don’t have to get the same planner as I purchased (I’ve shared a few of my favorite below), but I do think keeping track of your goals is a great place to start to get fit. So who’s joining me this year?