New Video! Unboxing My Swag!
Thank you to @GatoradeEndurance and the @EndurAlliance for the AWESOME swag!
Guess Who's Back. Back Again.
Admit it. You are singing that song right now. You're welcome.
I intentionally took the month of October off from posting on my blog. I didn't feel like I had a lot to say that would benefit anyone else. Honestly, my depression was just too much. And, I felt like anytime I talked about my health and fitness that it was always negative. Like the downward spiral of Covid, my own health journey was in a downturn. I continued to gain weight while at the same time, my working out become almost nonexistent. I felt like I had become a person I didn't know. And I couldn't figure out how to stop the landslide. As I go back and listen to some of the podcasts, I can definitely hear it in the tone of my voice. I sounded lost.
But, something happened towards the end of October. I was scrolling Facebook during one of my late night insomnia sessions and saw a promoted ad for a 30 day challenge at a fitness facility that I was not familiar with. The part that peaked my interest was that the challenge included small group personal training. I did a little more research and found two tidbits that talked to me. First, they are only two miles away from my house. (Ummm, yes!) Second, they focus on strength training. (Now you are talking my language!) There was only one deterrent, it is for the 40+ crowd. I don't like to think of myself as that old. But, it's a fact.
I contacted them, did an initial meet-and-greet, then signed up for the challenge. While, I'm not really a competitive challenge person, I liked the idea of accountability. Let's be honest, I haven't had any strong accountability since March. If I got back into a groove with my fitness then I would consider that a win for myself. My first workout was a 1-hour small group strength training class. Let me just say that it was AWESOME. Nothing was too hard and nothing was too easy. And everyone at the facility (members and coaches) was extremely welcoming. I am always impressed when people remember my name, because I am awful at it. I kept going to classes and putting in the hard work. Then something happened along the way…. I started to feel like myself again. I felt good pushing myself in weight. I felt good showing up for my scheduled workouts. And I felt good putting in the work. Ultimately, I found that spark that I was missing and it is better than I imagined it would be.
Sometimes you just need a reset
I am typing this post while on vacation with my husband and dog. Every year we l take a week long camping trip to Northern Michigan. Sometimes we pick a new campground and other times we return to our favorites. It's normally a very relaxing week with plenty of trail running options for me. Personally, I really look forward to running on new trails and seeing new areas. Due to Covid, our annual trip was delayed by several months. So, this past Saturday we loaded up the camper and headed North to one of our regular campgrounds. Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground has the best view of the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinac Island. The bonus for me is there is a biking/hiking trail across US-23 from the campground the heads TONS of miles South and 2-3 miles North.
I've felt very blah lately. I cancelled my CrossFit membership and completely sporadic workouts. I make big plans. (I know, shocker). But, I'm not following through on anything. I'm doing just enough to get by. Honestly though, it's not enough to get by. It's really just enough to say I'm working out. I'm not pushing myself. I'm not testing my limits. I'm not giving it my best.
So what does feeling blah have to do with an annual camping trip? Well, it's about resetting. For me, I feel like I get stuck in doing the same thing day after day. I get up at the same time. I eat the same food. I make the same excuses. I make the same plans. Same..same..same…same…SAME! Doing a reset is a good way to get out of that same day and same rhythm.
What's a reset? It's changing up your routine in a big way. Put it another way, it's like a cleanse for everything in your life. For me, this week of camping is my reset week by changing my environ ment. I started out the reset by planning all my workouts and my menu for the week. I didn't buy a ton of sweet. (I did buy cookie dough for skillet cookies…because ya know…camping). I planned hearty and healthy meals. I did my grocery shopping ahead of time to have all the food that I need so I am not tempted to get takeout. I even planned our takeout meals instead of waiting until I didn't feel like cooking. I packed enough workout clothes for the week. I packed my workout bag with all my clothes and gear, including my folding yoga mat. I planned most of my runs that they finish with a run to Starbucks (it's exactly 5k away) and then a walk back with my coffee. I am really taking myself out of my normal routine and the same foods and the same workouts. I'm shocking my system and hoping it comes out better on the other side.
I know the way I am doing it is not realistic for most people. If you fall into that category, take a moment to think about your life. How can you do a reset in your life, even if you can't take a trip to physically change your environment? Can you change your morning routine? Can you meal prep instead of "winging it".
Let me know how you plan to do a reset in your life.
20 Questions With Me!
I reviewed my posts from this year and they seem really serious. Time to have some fun!
Are you a morning or night person? Total morning person!
Are you an extrovert or introvert? Introvert. I can act extroverted, but I need a lot of time to prepare and recover.
Are you on time or always late? Always early
Do you consider yourself a good cook? Absolutely not
Do you have any phobias? sharks in fresh water or swimming pools. Thanks Becca!
Favorite vacation spot? The upper peninsula of michigan
Do you prefer Mac or PC? Mac all the way
Do you prefer the beach or the mountains? Mountains, but a lake in the mountains would be AWESOME
Have you ever met any celebrities? President george w bush, I shook his hand at an event for work
What did you want to be when you were younger? Teacher or marine biologist
Favorite season of the year? fall
What movie have you watched repeatedly? Lord of the rings/hobbit trilogies
What’s the most expensive item of clothing that you own? Other than my wedding dress, running shoes
What’s the thing you can’t leave the house without? Planner
Wine, beer or cocktail? Red wine, but I will not say no to tequila, whiskey or moonshine
What is your favorite food? Potatoes…preferably french fries
What’s your favorite sport to watch? Nascar
Who’s your favorite fictional character? Anne of Green Gables
What is your favorite tv show to binge watch? The West Wing, I have watched it too many times to count
What are you most grateful for? My family
Motivation or Discipline?
I see a lot of posts about ways to find motivation. I've said many times that I am looking for my motivation or trying to get some motivation. People will say to find a strong goal that makes you want to get out of bed. In fact, we did a podcast recently about finding your "WHY".
But, are we putting to much work into finding or maintaining our motivation? I firmly believe you have to know your "WHY" but if you keep having to find your motivation maybe your "WHY" isn't the only thing you need.
My 616 Fit Coach dropped some amazing wisdom last week. I don't have the exact quote. But, the overall thought is that motivation comes and goes, it is discipline that you need to keep showing up. So, is discipline more important than your motivation? And why don't more people focus on having discipline? Is it because discipline is harder to obtain? Is it easier to be motivated that it is to be disciplined? I feel like motivation is more about how you feel in the moment and discipline is about the long term. To put it another way, when I don't want to workout in the morning, motivation can get to me to workout that day. But, it might not work tomorrow. Whereas, if I don't want to workout today or tomorrow, or next week, discipline will make me do it.
The definition of discipline for our use is "train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way." Whereas the definition of motivation is "the general desire or willingness of someone to do something."
I think the difference between these two definitions is that discipline is a habit and motivation is feeling. So maybe you still need a strong "WHY" to influence either discipline or motivation. And, then you get to choose whether you rely on one or the other. You can make whatever it is that you are trying to do a habit because you are disciplined or you can rely on motivation to make you want to do something.
But, let's take it a step further. Can you have one without the other? Yes. But, will they lead you to the same results. Probably not, but I'm just guessing.
I still feel that I haven't fully figured out why we strive for motivation over discipline. At least I understand the difference now. Let me know in the comments what you think.
Deciding What's Important
In this week's podcast, Becca and I talk about finding your "why". Finding that reason to workout or eat healthier. Take a listen, if you haven't already. The entire discussion really made me think about the difference between just doing the mental/emotional work because it's what you are supposed to do and going 100% all-in.
For me, I know that I spend a lot of time talking about what to do, planning what to do and doing it. I do the "thing" so I can check it off my to-do list. I crave that feeling of accomplishment. But sometimes, that feeling comes with a cost. I put in more effort on quantity than quality. I do the work without learning along the way.
What would happen if I gave it my all? What if I put the effort into making the right choices, even if it means my checklist is undone? What if I REALLY gave everything I had to this pursuit of wellness?
As you look at your own life, where are you just going through the motions? What area of your life could you go all-in to achieve your goals? What does that look like to you? Can you decide that it's important to you and worth giving it everything you have?
There is a quote that sums this idea up pretty well. "If it's important you'll find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse." -Ryan Blair. So, let's do this together. Let's pick something and go all-in and see what happens!
New Podcast! Not Your Normal Run
My sister and I started a podcast! No, seriously. Each week we will talk about different topics to help people either start getting active or stay active. It is available on many podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Subscribe and check it out!
You can also go to the Podcast page on this website to listen to all the episodes.
Finding My New Normal
In last week's post, I talked about having a hard time with the quarantine. Staying home and staying separate has been quite a struggle. While my work from home period has now been extended through the end of April (eeks!) , I feel like I am gaining control in this uncontrollable situation. (Is uncontrollable even a word?)
With the help of my gym (shoutout to @CrossFit 616), I had a renewed focus on my nutrition this week. I restarted my Instagram page (@smartphonefitsarah) that I have just for posting my food and weigh ins. Hello Weigh In Wednesday! I tried to make each food decision as an intentional one. Was every decision a good one? No, absolutely not. But my goal wasn't to be perfect. My goal was to think about each food decision and not let that decision be controlled by emotion. Yes, I had wine and chocolate and pizza. But, the majority of my meals were ones that I was happy with. And compared to the last few weeks, that is a huge win for me. I didn't let my feelings of being out of control, or annoyed, or pissed off (to be completely honest) control what foods went into my mouth. It is quite refreshing to feel in control of this part. Now, will I lose weight when I step on the scale on Wednesday? I have no idea. And it doesn't really matter to me. I feel like I finally have control and I know that weight loss will follow once I start weighing and tracking.
Now, for fitness, that isn't any better. I didn't work out this week. And, I have no excuse. I was wide awake each morning with enough time to get at least a 30 minute workout in. But, did I? Nope. So this week, while I continue to focus on my nutrition, I am going to focus on working out the majority of the days. My goal is to workout 4 days this week. That still gives me three days to do nothing. I can do more, if I feel like it. But, I'm not going to feel guilty if I don't. I just have to get out the door 4 days this week. I have to move.
So, what are you struggling with? Or what did you win at this week? I want to hear it all! Good or bad!