Workin' On My Fitness ft. Fergie & Anni-J

So is it embarrassing that at one (small) point in my life I went by Anni-J?

Annika + James = Anni-J. I even got it stitched on my Land's End backpack. Go 3rd grade self ;).

Anywhoo...

Exercise!

A few people have asked me what I've done to try to get back in shape after having a baby, so I thought I'd write a post about it!

The word 'exercise' has brought up way too many high emotions for me over the past 7 or so years. I'll delve into all of it at some point, but basically I've swung from overexercising to not breaking a sweat for months to playing college sports and exercising for hours a day to using exercise as punishment. Our relationship has been complicated at best. And I think (maybe!) I'm not alone in this, I think a lot of people struggle with finding what works for them! Some happy medium between dreading exercise and obsessing over it.

So I've finally struck that balance! It's taken a loong time to get to this point where I exercise to feel strong and happy and healthy and productive - NOT out of shame or duty or negativity.

The best thing I ever did was 6 weeks post pardum sign up for a gym membership. Yes it's pricey, I got the cheapest one in town with daycare, but still pricey for us, but it is 100000% worth it. I dabbled with some at-home workouts, but it's really hard to motivate yourself to work out in your basement when you're waking up three times a night with a newborn ;). 

I've found I really thrive off classes! I like the music blasting and the instructor shouting and I think I work harder with other people around me.

Also, weights are the best things in the world. Obvs the goal isn't to get hugely ripped (maybe for some of you rockstars?), but I feel like I can jog on a treadmill forever and not get results, but after a week of weight classes I immediately see definition and feel stronger.

Here's what I've been doing lately that I love: 

Monday: 

30 minute Grit class - basically a lot of jumping and squatting and pushups and burpees all with free weights

15 minute Core class - abs and obliques and twists and planks and all sorts of burny things

Tuesday: 

60 minute Spin class - I love Spin as my cardio! the lights are mostly off so no one can see how much I sweat, music blaring, and it goes wayyyy faster than an hour on a treadmill

Wednesday: 

30 minute Body Pump class - weighted bar for legs, chest, back, arms

30 minute Core class

Thursday: 

60 minute Spin class

Friday: 

60 minute Total Body Conditioning class - weighted bar exercises for half the time and then free weight cardio-ish things (kettlebell swings, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, etc) for the other half

or

45 minute Cardio on my own - 30 minute sprint workout on the treadmill and then 10 minutes on the eleptical and 5 on the row machine

or 

Rest :)

Saturday: 

60 minute Total Body Conditioning class

Sunday: 

Rest :)

I'm definitely far from perfect but this is the schedule I try to stick to. And here are a few tips that are SUPER helpful for me (and maybe you!): 

- Never skip a Saturday or Monday. Missing Saturday makes me feel lazy all weekend and makes Monday morning workouts that much harder to get to. Also I feel like I eat better on the weekends if I work out on Saturday.

- Exercise early. For me I've found the best time to work out is 5:45am. I'm at the gym while Lydia sleeps and I'm back home before she wakes up! (Michael's home with her.) Also Lydia has been a real stinker at the gym's daycare lately and I usually get pulled out of class 20 minutes into them because she's crying. So this has kind of forced the 5:45am thing.

- Wear cute workout clothes! I don't think this is factual but it's a good excuse to go shopping amiright.

- Don't base success solely off a scale. All these weight-bearing exercises will increase muscle mass and the scale might not even budge - but body composition definitely will! So I try and go off a pair of jeans or a dress. If it's a little snug I know I need to eat healthier, if it's fitting great than I'm doing good things! Vague, but helpful for me.

- Eating is everything! I've heard that eating is anywhere from 70-90% of getting in shape. That means all those workouts at the gym only amount to like 10% of your bod!!! So I really try hard to eat balanced and limit heavy carbs/sweets after like 4pm (obvs there are some major exceptions to this ;) ).

Well sorry for the longest post in history. But I hope this was helpful or at least mildly entertaining for some of you! I am by no means a fitness guru or but I am happy I've found some balance in my life :). I'd love to hear any workouts or tips you guys swear by!