As someone who has been working our regularly for 15+ years I feel like I have learned a few things over the years. I have belonged to a number of gyms:
- U of M Rec Center
- Bally’s
- Lifetime Fitness
- Xperience Fitness
- Anytime Fitness
- Corepower Yoga
- LA Fitness
I would say Corepower and Lifetime would be my favorites but they happen to be the most expensive (of course). Right now through my health insurance I have access to quite a few gyms but use Xperience and Anytime the most often. Corepower is my Tuesday/Thursday sculpt classes and LA Fitness is great for cardio, weights, classes and this is where we have a couples membership. Along with belonging to a few gyms I have tried just about every fitness program out there!
- Step aerobics
- Zumba
- Couch To 5K
- Body Pump
- Spin
- Latin Dance
- Yoga
- Bootcamp
- Kickboxing
- New Rules of Lifting
- New Rules of Lifting for Women
- New Rules of Lifting for Life
- New Rules of Lifting Supercharged
- Women’s Health Bikini Body Workout
- Custom Workouts Designed by a Trainer
- Best Body Bootcamp (I miss this!)
- Inspiration from Oxygen Fitness
- Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
- Girls Gone Strong Program
- Kettlebells
- Workout DVDs
- YouTube Workouts
- p90x
- Turbofire
- PiYo
I am sure there a few things that I am missing but I really have tried so many different kinds of workouts! After all this time I have learned a few key lessons:
Working out is part of who I am. I make time for it 4-6 times per week and make it a priority in my budget. I would rather spend $100 a month on yoga than $4 a day on Starbucks. These six things are integral in my fitness life:
Sweat Often: At least 4 times a week. And this means get your heart rate up and do some cardio or other challenging activity.
Try Something: How do you know that you don’t like it unless you try it? I never thought I would love kickboxing and yoga but they are a bit part of my routine.
Do What You Like: If you hate running, don’t do it. There is no need to hate the activity that you are doing. But… this is not an excuse not to workout.
Wear Fitness Apparel: I am not saying you need to be clad in Lululemon from head to toe but having sweat wicking materials makes a big difference. If I feel comfortable and like I look at least somewhat presentable I know I will work harder during my session.
Lift Weights: I can not say this enough. Especially to women! Doing load bearing activities is essential to the health of your bones and I promise it will change you body.
Push Yourself: Doing the same thing over and over isn’t going to produce results. Change up your cardio, lift heavier weights, take a rest day, try a new class. These are all in the effort to surprise your muscles and get them to work instead of being trained to do the same thing.
I know working out isn’t always fun but you will feel so much better after. Yes there are days that I roll over and turn my 5am alarm off but the days that I get up and do it I am so much happier. I truly believe working out keeps me sane!
