Are You A Fitness Hippie?
By admin
Happy Monday Friend!
I hope you had a great weekend and instead of dreading the 5 days that lay before us, you are motivated and excited to tackle them!
We had an awesome weekend catching up with friends, getting work done, and getting a few workouts in.
Image curtesy of my friend, Ashton. I enjoyed a mocktail for seltzer water and a splash of cranberry all night as I have taken on a month long challenge of no alcohol.
Our trail run is just around the corner, and I have to say I am really impressed with my husband’s training efforts. I think this is the most I have ever seen him train for a race.
Which also makes me nervous because his goal is to beat me.
Men.
But that’s besides the point, the point is we got some great workouts in and that got me to thinking…
Why My Workouts Have Changed
Over the past decade, the way I think about exercise and the way that I workout has changed… drastically.
I think far too often we’re afraid of change because we’re nervous people will see us as hypocrites, or as if we’re changing our core beliefs.
I am certainly not afraid to admit that I’ve changed. I’ve learned more about my body, what works, and what doesn’t.
I have become a hippie… at least in the fitness world.
I’ll get to that in a minute.
As someone that studies fitness, as new programs and theories come out, it’s not a surprise that I may change the way I workout or the way I train others.
Ya gotta keep up with the times! Just because I am getting older, I certainly don’t wanna be “old school”.
You know?
Why Do You…
When anybody changes they way they do things, getting criticism is expected. It’s cool.
But what I have learned is this….
90% of the time people aren’t criticizing, they sincerely want to know why “you” do something the way you do it.
They want to pick your brain, not tear it apart. And I love that part of my job. I love changing things up and having people ask the why’s and the how’s of fitness.
I love educating.
So with that, I thought it would be fun to look back over the past decade of my fitness career to see how I’ve grown to transformed into a fitness hippie.
A Decade Of Fitness
Well, I am 30, so let’s kick this party off when I was a young 20 year old.
I didn’t care about being healthy, I just cared about being the skinniest girl at the party (no really, here’s my story).
I ran. Then I ran some more. And then I would run one last time just to make sure I was running enough.
I suffered multiple stress fractures and other breaks due to the stress I was putting on my body from too much exercise and not enough nutrition.
I didn’t care… I was skinny.
I graduated college, got a job and still wanted to be the smallest girl, but this time with no sorority sisters to compare to, I compared myself to the ladies in the office and gym.
But I also moved in with Danno the Manno and on top of my cardio, he encouraged me to try out strength training. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but I lifted weights and read a few books.
Apparently, I was kind of doing something right. I was approached by a body builder and talked into doing a figure competition.
My training did a 180-degree turn… light intensity cardio (walking) with split, heavy workout routines. Typical “body building” routines ruled me life. Chicken, eggs, and broccoli consumed my life.
I felt like shit, but looked amazing. Nothing like losing handfuls of hair, let me just tell you.
I was stubborn thinking that this was the only way to train.
It was all about STRENGTH!
Running was no longer the answer. I loved lifting and lifting HEAVY.
Mike Boyle was a big influence to me and I changed from doing split routines to doing full body workouts.
Heck, I even did a strong woman competition and had a blast!
But I was still a stubborn young adult, if you had tried to convince me to do something differently, I would have rolled my eyes and in my head called you crazy.
I was introduced to tabatas!
I got engaged, and I remember relying on tabata sprint intervals to burn some fat for the wedding. <— It worked! Still my go to for fat burning!
Full body traditional weight lifting was still a huge part. But less barbells and more dumbbells for a balanced workout program.
Steady state cardio was never in my workouts and the idea of running a mile straight seemed stupid. I even wrote a few posts about why steady state cardio is bad for you.
I forgot that exercise was a way for me to escape mentally, and I forgot to have fun with it. It was all about looking good when I walked down the aisle.
The year of the running shoe.
I found my love of running. It wasn’t about trying to lose weight, it was about finding something that allowed me to have time with myself. It was the mental release that I needed at this time in my life.
Oh and it was also about races…. Lots and lots of races.
I think this was an extremely important time for me as I learned just how competitive I am and what my talents and abilities are. The competitive drive that I found from racing, has spilled into all other aspects of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I was always competitive, but running all the races helped me to realize I had the right to be competitive. I don’t win, but I fight for it!
I became the hippie I am today.
I think that my (and Dan’s) views on exercise have changed the most over the past year.
We used to be so black and white with exercise… this is right, this is wrong.
We’ve made experimenting a ton with our workouts. Something that used to never happen because I was so focused on what I was trying to accomplish, oh and stubborn.
Kettlebells, Yoga, Sprints, Distance Running, Barbells, Metabolic High Intesnity Workouts…
Even handstands! Why? Because they’re fun! It’s like being a kid again.
One thing that I do know now that I didn’t know then…
Peace and self-love!
I love having a “hippie” mind-set to a workout. No one is right, and no one is wrong.
Working out is all about what works for each person. And we should all appreciate each other and our efforts.
I used to look at others working out and wonder what the hell they were doing, now I have new eye. I might not agree, but I do aim to see what they can offer. Everyone has something to bring to the table. Right?
Today… I love everyone. It’s one big hippie fitness fest!
I might now love the workout you’re doing, but I will appreciate it and the fact that you’re working out is enough for me.
The end.
This week kicks off a special women’s fitness series…
Tomorrow I have a special piece that can’t wait to share. A piece on the hypocrisy of the media on women’s workouts. Get excited!
Let’s chat:
Right now… for me I am still loving kettlebells, but I am also enjoying interval sprints and hill work!
A few weeks ago, I mentioned a few changes that I was making to LiftingRevolution. You might not have recognized the changes so let me quickly address them…
I am working (though a bit unsuccessfully) to write 3 shorter posts… M/W/F. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am wanting to share more research based posts with you. These posts take a lot of time to put together which is why the shorter posts are required. I almost actually changed to just posting 2-3x/week but I can’t do that. I love sharing life too much with you!
I am also planning more podcasts!