Hi friends, let's start fresh.
I've been on a pretty long hiatus and I was just making my comeback right when COVID-19 hit and everything went into disarray. For this post, I'd like to focus on a small portion of how I'm dealing with the pandemic. There are so many different factors I could dive into but the one that's had the biggest impact is my commitment to my health.
Now many of you know that I am a huge fan of studio-based workouts. I do aerial arts, kickboxing, and bungee fitness just to name a few constants. However, with current circumstances, I've been forced to reinvent the wheel like many others so to speak.
If you're anything like me it's hard to just start up working out on your own with little to no guidance. I have no idea what to look up, what to work on, what platform to go to or even if I have the right equipment because it's sold out everywhere. I need an instructor to decide all those things for me. I need a strict schedule with room for flexibility to keep me in check, and I need a setup that works for me.
Now everyone and their mama is working out and hosting live video workshops. Even ClassPass has offered free digital resources and some of my studios now host online workshops you can pay for, but it's so overwhelming.
Where do I begin? Oh and let's not forget it's all available via your phone.
Ummmmm excuse me. That's a really tiny screen.
Wait it's only on the app? Wait, the app doesn't have an actual website I can view and just hook my laptop up to the tv in the living room? Great, let me see if I can download an iPhone mirroring app to my Amazon firestick. Yep, that's not really working out for me. Ugh, I really need an Apple TV. Welp, my soon-to-be mother-in-law says she doesn't need hers since she doesn't use it. Finally, let's hook it up to the living room tv. Oh but there's more. I don't have that much floor space. How can I do this without aggravating my pompous neighbor below without getting a noise complaint?
Yeah, all of that from above was the series of questions, solutions and frustrations I found myself dealing with. I use a mix of Apple and PC products still. I haven't fully converted over but after this whole thing, I might just make the full jump to Apple just for the sake of synchronicity. But honestly, there has to be something better than going through the trouble of all of that from above right?
So I picked up "running".
Well technically walking at first. Can't just dive into running all of a sudden in my opinion.
I decided to knock several birds out with one stone. Zoey my "fur"ever friend needed to get some fresh air, I needed exercise, and we both needed a reason to be out of the house. I prefer having things flow easily so whenever I took Zoey out to go to the bathroom would dictate if we went for a walk. If it was like 10am and the sun was beating down on us I'd decide to do an evening walk instead.
We started out slow. About 2-3 times a week after I'd already been working from home for two weeks when we first shutdown and went into #stayathome mode. Those first two weeks of the stay at home order were the worst for me, and I had to dig myself out of a rut. All of our walks were completed at home in my apartment complex. It's a tiny complex but it has really nice and wide sidewalks since it's a dog-friendly community. We would just zigzag back and forth creating new walking routes so as to break up the monotony of walking around the exact same place again and again. We even ventured out past the complex since the sidewalk continues out to the main road and makes a half loop around the community. We'd get in anywhere from 1.5 miles to 2.5 miles, but it wasn't about the distance for me. It was about the length of time: 25-30 minutes.
Since then we've graduated to actually running.
I did end up buying Zoey a harness for her own safety and I bought a second pair of sneakers, these particular ones designed for running. I get shin splints easily and didn't want to exacerbate the issue with also not taking proper running precautions. I also found a down and back trail that's a short drive from my home so that it doesn't feel like a chore.
I decided to download the Nike Run Club (NRC) app yet again. As if I haven't tried this a thousand times before in the past, but this time I tried out one of the beginner guided runs with Coach Bennett. It wasn't terrible. There was some troubleshooting issues with all my technology. I use my Apple Watch to record workouts in the Activity App, but the Nike Run Club (NRC) app has its own built-in recorder, and sometimes that doesn't sync well with the Activity App.
Tip: If you love getting the Apple Activity Awards you should honestly just record all runs in the Apple Watch Activity App. If you don't the Activity App won't pick up on some of the data that the NRC app didn't record. It also doesn't count any of those workouts towards the awards in the app. So pay attention when making those decisions. At the moment I'm okay with just closing my circles and knowing I got a workout in that day.
In addition to using the #CoachBennett guided runs, I decided to explore the app a bit more and clicked on the "My Coach" tab. This brought me to a little corner of the app that lets you set up a running plan. I chose some beginner "Get Started 5 Week" plan. Each week it assigns stuff for you to complete. Sometimes it's a benchmark to see where your pace is at. Sometimes it's speed drills, endurance runs or long runs. Not to mention it includes rest days for you to recover. There's even an NTC Workout, which I had to click on and lookup.
Apparently, there is a Nike Training Club app that you can download and it has workouts available and workout plans like the running plan I'm using. If you're just using the NRC running plan it will assign you a workout through the NTC app designed for your running plan, but if you go directly to the NTC app you can choose other workouts too.
Yeahhhh, I started a workout plan on that app too. Running is a great exercise by itself but I need to work on my arms and abs for a complete and total package.
For now, I'll have to utilize my Apple TV airplay setup in the living room for any at-home workouts through the Nike Training Club app but I find solace in knowing that all I have to do is click on that day's assigned workout and just start.
It does give me the flexibility I need in terms of completing it when I'm ready because I find it hard to wake up early in the morning these days. I find it hard to find the motivation to focus on the 6pm IG live fitness class that's available. I need something that aligns more with my go with the flow vibe I've got these days.
And then there you have it guys! You're not in the slightest bit alone, I promise. If you find yourself relating to me then subscribe to the newsletter for updates on books, events, health & how I'm embracing finding joy in the ordinary.
How are you finding happiness in the ordinary? Have you gone #BeyondYourWindow in terms of adventure, travel, or perspective recently? Feel free to share your journey by engaging with the blog on social media or using the hashtag. As always, happy seeking!