Back in the Saddle: Working Out

I've been a little slow to blog on my "working out in the moment" routine because I was unable to exercise for a l-o-n-g five week period (varicose vein surgery) but I'm so grateful to be back in the saddle.

MY TIPS FOR STAYING MOTIVATED:

1.   Schedule exercise by adding it to your daily calendar.   Some days are more difficult than others, but if I have it blocked off on my calendar I will make it happen.

2.  Exercise first thing in the morning.  Of course this doesn't work for everyone, but for me personally I find that if I put it off until later in the day I'll likely find a legitimate reason for skipping out.

3.  Partner up!  Right now I'm in the midst of some classes so I feel like I had better show up.  As the ski season gets rolling I'll try and partner up for some ski time on the beautiful Birkie trail.

4.  Sign up for a race.  I've signed up for the 50K Birkie ski race so even though we don't have tons of snow yet, you can guarantee I'm going to be out there skiing at least twice a week because for me that distance would be impossible if I didn't train - it's really hard even with training.

5.  Switch things up:  Because I prefer to exercise outside, I'm forced to change my workout routine about 4 times a year.  Right now I'm smack dab in the middle of a transitional season (not enough snow locally because of some warm weather this weekend), but I'm really enjoying the mix of activities.

Here's my TRANSITIONAL workout schedule over the last week:

Last Sunday:  Skied for an hour
Monday:  Day Off
Tuesday:  Run 5K (this next week SPIN)
Wednesday:  Strength Class
Thursday:  SPIN class
Friday:  Ski - 1 1/2 hours
Saturday:  Yoga (trying to stick to once a week - good for balance, strength and mental health.  I've been following YogaToday on YouTube).
This Sunday - snowshoe

And, as winter enters full swing I'll be taking out a SPIN class and adding in some more skiing.

My best early morning tree pose - Go Packers!

BACK IN THE SADDLE

Even though my cardio workouts seem extremely difficult, I'm trying not to get discouraged because if I don't keep at it I'll never get back to where I was AND I'm telling myself, "you are doing laps around those on the couch" because I tend to compare myself to others which is never a good thing.

Hustling on my Snowshoes

When I took the time off I found that I was pretty crabby, I gained a few pounds (could be Thanksgiving and Halloween too) and I didn't sleep as well.   I really missed those daily endorphins and I'm glad to have a piece of me back.

We've had such a great weekend - mostly revolving around Bentleyville in Duluth which I will blog about tomorrow.  Oh, in case you missed it - here's a few ways we're celebrating the advent:  counting down until Christmas.   Kids really make the holidays so much fun.

What does your fitness routine look like?  Have you been to any amazing light shows?  So far we've visited Irvine Park in Chippewa Falls, Hayward's light show, and Bentleyville. 

Greta and me at Bentleyville - poor thing lost even more teeth this week

Thanks for reading,

Kristin