Working Out Is Hard

This past Monday, I (kind of) completed my May Yoga Challenge I had set for myself and I was really proud. I only kind of completed it because Monday was (technically) in June, but sometimes you have to cut yourself some slack.

My May Yoga Challenge, taken very seriously by me and no one else, was to go to yoga 10 times that month. I came up with this because my silly yoga studio held a big challenge for all of us–to go to 18 classes in 30 days. Yeah, lol, that may be the dream, but it ain’t happening.

Those of you who know me may be like, “But you love yoga! You go all the time!” You’d be almost right. I do love yoga! I did used to go all the time! But working out is hard, you guys.

When we moved to Hoboken, I had to leave my lovely DC studio and I struggled hard to find a place like it in Hoboken. I still haven’t found it. But I’ve settled, as you often have to do. My problems are: first, I have to go to a hot yoga studio to get the kind of classes I like and I HATE HOT YOGA. Second, WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE?? Listen, you guys. My HOT YOGA studio CHARGES FOR WATER. I mean… really?!?

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Also, I really love running now (what? I know).  And sometimes you have to make difficult choices. So between March and May, I went to yoga like 8 times total (appalling) and I really wanted to kick start loving going to yoga again.

I basically completed it. Hey! I started May 3 and finished June 1 so that’s in 30 days! It’s the principle of the matter. And I’m so glad I did.

  • I’m way into yoga again.
  • My legs don’t feel like they want to die every second because they finally get stretched properly.
  • My body feels pretty balanced and healthy again.
  • I’ve become comfortable with sweating in yoga because… I’ve done a lot of it.
  • My running is getting faster!

So I’m going to stick with this quota for a while. But now I’ve got the yoga quota (twice a week) and the running quota (five times a week) and MAN. Working out is hard.

I’ve always struggled with fitness, you see. When you’re 12 and your metabolism is slower than (what seems to you like) everyone else’s metabolism and you definitely aren’t athletically gifted, being fit and healthy is the last thing on your mind. Figuring out the easiest way to magically become skinny is. Hopefully, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to fit some day along the way.

After a lot of ups and downs and false starts (Lol right before I started working on Obama in 08, I thought I was going to get a six pack), I think I’ve made it. I enjoy exercising (most of the time) and I prioritize it (most of the time) and I am satisfied with the results (most of the time). I got here because I changed my focus from “Will this make me skinnier?” to “Will this make me healthier?”  (They aren’t one in the same–hi there, thunder thighs).

I hope! I hope so badly that you’ll all do your best to be fit and healthy and that you’ll stop caring about what size you wear or what the scale says.

Now, full disclosure, I worry about this a lot. This world is not an easy one! But we’ve got to stop being so hard on ourselves! We can’t all look like Karlie Kloss (I pretend I don’t want to but who am I kidding) or be the best athletes. There’s no reason to put so much pressure on ourselves to be like that! It’s like when people are like, “Beyoncé has the same hours in a day that you do,” and like yeah, but I’m not fucking Beyoncé. I’m not going to be! Stop making me feel bad for doing the best I can!

Set goals that challenge you. Try to improve yourself a little every week and just do your best. Put work into your body and be nice to it most days, but not every day. You have to have some fun!

Later, on AliceMcAlex, I’ll share some of my favorite fitness tips. I know you wonder how you’ll keep being fit until you get those tips, so here’s the first one:

  • Be a little smug. Being fit isn’t easy, but being cocky is. Just kidding — what I really mean is: if you put the effort in, you deserve to be a little smug about it. To me, it makes waking up at 6:30 worth it. Stop comparing yourself to Beyoncé and be proud doing you.

It works for me.

 

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