Back to the gym

Just prior to shutdown, I was halfway through a modified version of the “75 Hard” exercise fad.

The gist my routine was that I worked out twice a day for a minimum of 45 minutes per session. It was a big commitment, but felt great (most of the time).

I never subscribed to some of the more arbitrary rules of the 75 Hard program — like the requirement that one session has to be outside, or that you can’t make-up missed sessions when work gets crazy. Even I understood that flexibility is needed for thunderstorms and client demands. I also wasn’t going to take 5 minute cold showers every day because that’s clearly nonsense.

The point of this fitness spurt was to train myself to understand that exercise is something to be prioritized. Scheduling two exercise sessions per day instead of just one also makes it very hard to skip working out altogether. In short — I was on a roll.

And then a global pandemic happened.

I was days from signing up for an obscenely expensive gym when everything shut down.

Although the workout schedule was doable, there’s something about a $200/month gym membership that felt too extravagant. Am I really ready to be that queen? (Yes, yes! I was).

Before I had the ability to fork over my money, all gyms were ordered closed — not just the shiny new expensive gym but the three decidedly unglamorous gyms that I already used at work and home. Out of all the reasons to stumble off of a gym kick, the threat of pestilence is the most legitimate excuse that I’ve ever had.

But five months and 15 pounds later, I realized that I need a plan because Zoom calls are not going to hide this gut forever. Plus, I refuse to buy new work clothes when my current professional wardrobe has experienced precisely ZERO wear-and-tear for half a year. (That’s worse than spending $200/month for a gym membership).

I still can’t take intense group cycling classes at the expensive “fitness hall,” but most regular gyms have reopened. My scale has also clearly communicated that I need to be more intentional about what I consume during my endless screen time unless I want to audition for My 600-lb Life.

I doubt that I’ll work my way back up to 1.5 hours of daily workout time, but I have reacquainted myself with my shitty apartment gym and working out more generally. And now, something worse than a global pandemic needs to happen to knock me this far off course again.

Here’s hoping that 2021 doesn’t bring war or zombies before I get snatched.🏋️🧟‍♀️