This post was a looong time coming. I have not calculated the days that the gym has been closed, and I don’t want to, but I have some tips for you today to help you take your fitness from bleak to amazing if your gym is closed or if your usual routine has been affected.
Before I jump in to all the tips, I have to let you know that perfecting my routine took a good 3 months. When I found out Daisy had cancer and during her steep decline, my fitness routine went off the rails – and that was in the middle of having anxiety about all that is and was going on. NOW, however, I am in a consistent routine and feel comfortable and confident sharing what has worked for me.
♡ Perfect your night time routine. This one is huge and I think it deserves its own blog post, but make sure that your sleep hygiene is on point. I like to go to bed at the same time night, and that starts with a HOT shower with the lights off and the salt rock night light on, a skincare ritual with lots of oils, calm tea, and 30 minutes of reading a book (no phone). Right now I’m reading Hidden Epidemic <– more on that at a later date.
♡ Wake up with a cold shower. I wrote a blog post on getting cold last year, and this is something I still do everyday. I hop in the shower for as long as I can handle it COLD, usually about 1 minute these days, and it wakes me the fuck up. Getting cold changes your physiology which helps your circulation among many other things. For the purpose of getting my fitness in, I find that getting cold helps me feel physically ready for a workout.
♡ Calendar your workout. My workouts are set for everyday at 6:30 AM in my Google Calendar, and they’re color coded to yellow. Yellow is such a happy color and that is how I always feel after a workout. I’m sure you’v heard the saying “You’ll never regret exercising”…but we’ve all regretted NOT exercising. Having my workouts scheduled makes a WORLD of difference in just getting it done.
♡ Do something different each day. By different, I mean a different workout than what you did the day before. It keeps things interesting, it keeps your body guessing, and limits fatigue of certain muscle groups. I like to focus on upper body or lower body and add in cardio days in between. These days cardio looks like a rigorous hike. They used to look like 45 minute HIIT workouts on the treadmill or a SoulCycle class. I have tried to run outside and I injure one of my ankles each time…so I’m done with outdoor runs for now.
If I’m not feeling very creative with my workout, I’ll refer to fabulous trainers that I’ve been following for years. These amazing women don’t disappoint. When I’m not making up my own routine, I am doing a workout with:
Blogilates: Cassey’s workouts are approachable and they’re FUN. I always get a good workout when I follow her routines. Usually I’ll pair two workouts one after another for 30-45 minutes of upper body or lower body. I recently did this thigh workout paired with a different leg workout and my legs were on fire for days.
Whitney Simmons: I started following Whitney YEARS ago, like 2012 or 2013 when Instagram was just popping up on the social media scene. Her funny posts had me coming back for more and now I follow her routines if I want new ideas for body weight or dumbbell moves.
Pamela Reif: If you want an amazing workout, Pamela is your gal. Her workouts are super easy to follow and they’re ALL challenging, just how I like my workouts.
Sarah Bowmar: Sarah helped me track my macros several years ago (I no longer track macros) and she has been a nutrition and fitness inspiration to me for years. Her body is insane and she has the BEST weight lifting workouts. I referred to them more when I was going to the gym but I do modify many for at-home dumbbell workouts.
xx,
Lynn