I did ballet for 16 years and was on pointe for about six. I loved dancing and still would do many of my exercises I.E. pliés, relevés, and tendu’s in front of my bathroom sink as I have been doing for the better part of 29 years. This may have driven Tyler crazy. “Why do you always feel the need to move?”
In 2021, a Pure Barre studio opened up near where I was living and I loved it. It’s a mix of ballet barre and pilates and is a great full body workout. I saw results within weeks. I was toning and loved to teachers and the community feel. Everyone was so supportive and we’d celebrate each other’s wins.
Then we bought a house and instead of a ten minute drive it was a 45 minute which became unfeasible with my job at the time. I had to quit something I loved and leave a supportive community of strong women. Life goes on.
I told Tyler recently that I wanted to join again since there’s a studio that just opened a bit closer to us. Closer means a 35 minute drive instead of 45. It happens when you can see the stars in the night sky. The difference is a little more flexibility in my schedule now. Then I looked at the prices. On top of the hour drive plus time for class it was going to cost almost 30% more than what I was paying in 2022.
If I wanted to I could have relooked at our budget, and been able to justify a membership. I don’t want to right now. If the time/travel and the inflation weren’t involved maybe I would’ve. I have other priorities.
I digress, I was speaking with my mother on Father’s Day about how my husband and I had this conversation and I was disappointed but it was logical and rational. She reminded me I was a professionally trained ballerina once upon a time and that I did classes relatively recently and can look up things on YouTube. I stated I know, I just need a barre and I’ve been looking at one for a few months just haven’t pulled the trigger on the purchase because of the narrative in my head to save money.
We basically have a home gym and our community has a gym that Tyler goes to for his strength training. Our fitness path was one of the ways our parents have helped us. My Nordic-track Treadmill is a decade old but still had the plastic wrap on and works perfectly fine. My in-laws never used it and knew I wanted one. They said if you can get it out of our house and into yours without needing our help you can have it. My mother had a stationary bike and stair stepper she wasn’t using. Mom also had weights and other accessories and Tyler got a pull-up bar at goodwill to put up so every time he goes in that room he has to do them.
Two days after the conversation with mom, My Booty Kicker Barre equipment set showed up on my doorstep. My mother surprised me because she knew how much confidence I had when I was doing those classes and how much I loved it.
I looked into on-demand programs to start off the right way and after a week of research decided on Physique 57 on demand. It’s $250 for the entire year which is a huge difference than almost $2000. As a plus it will also be covered by my wellness reimbursement. Physique 57 has many live and on demand training programs. They also have things for different skill levels and adjustments in exercise for people who have preexisting conditions such as pain that affects exercise. I enjoy it. I feel the part of myself from when I was a ballerina come back to me. I don’t have the sense of community I had with Pure Barre but I can do it in my bedroom and have the same results in my arms, abs, and legs. Cardio isn’t everything.
My Booty Kicker does kick my butt in case you were curious, since it’s been a while since I used a lot of those muscles. It folds flat when I’m not using it and fits under the bed.
Currently, I wake up between 4-5:30 am, I do have to make sure my husband wakes up and he is a bear sometimes. We’ll have coffee and eggs or Greek yogurt. I’ll do an hour barre class while he gets on the treadmill. He gets ready. This week since I’m off work, I have gone for my runs after he is done. I’m up to 5.75 miles. Slowly increasing my distance and pace safely. Then I will go back to my yoga mat by my barre and do a stretch and recovery video from the program. Hurting myself is not the point and will set me back.
When I start my new job this routine may change. I may go back to doing my runs in the evening, we’ll see. If I do it’s not that big of a deal because Tyler usually stop by the gym after work to do his strength training unless. We also make sure to take rest days and unscheduled rest days when needed.
I will admit there have been times I took my health for granted. Times I worked out but since I didn’t have a commitment, it wasn’t a priority so I made excuses. I was tired, would do it tomorrow. My husband did the same thing. Neither of us got out of shape. We didn’t love that we went from being super active people to a life of work. It also didn’t help us mentally to not have an outlet for stress.
We try to do the best we can everyday with our activity level and diet (nutrient-dense and packed with protein and about a gallon of water). As you get older, habits are difficult to change. One of my people told me that “you need to focus on yourself because if you don’t have your health you have nothing”. That was an impactful statement.
The point is we keep trying. We do it for ourselves and each other. We both consistently show up for in these aspects and that’s what matters. We consistently set time to say this is my time for me and that’s not selfish, that’s healthy. We made choices to love ourselves to be better for each other.
I highly encourage looking and seeing if you can tweak some of your routines to have healthier ones maybe give yourself a better mindset. My warning label is don’t do things for anyone else in this world. Do it for you alone.
You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone; that mindset is so toxic. I was stuck in that thought for years and it did nothing good for me. Nobody whose opinion should matter will care about what you look like in the gym or in bathing suit or if you eat and darn burger. There’s no such thing as “good foods” and “bad foods”. There are some food that will do more for your body than others. That’s why I love studying nutrition and how food powers your body.
Building healthy habits and routines takes time many people give up when they start because they put this timeline or number on themselves and things get in the way or you have a bad day or made a mistake. Give yourself some grace. For the longest time I didn’t give myself any. Then I decided I was born to be real, not to be perfect. I have bad days, bad runs, bad classes. It’s a stumble along the way.
Especially if you’re working, a caregiver, or a parent- you deserve grace and self love. Change isn’t easy and you can’t feel like a failure for doing the best you can and trying. As life progresses, my routines will have to be changed. I won’t have as much free time when I am a parent, my job may become more demanding, and while I am young as I get older there will inevitably become limitations to my mobility. I hope to always keep trying.
You do what you can do based on your life. My life is completely different than a parent of five who also works full time. Maybe the only thing that person can do it wake up a little earlier to have time to themselves in the am and think.
I don’t know your life, don’t know your needs- be it mental or physical. I don’t judge you for what you’re capable of or feasibly have the time to commit. I just hope you do something for yourself.
You carry so much love in your heart. Give yourself some.
It’s amazing what little changes in life and a different point of view will do for your mind and your confidence. Self confidence is a superpower once you start to believe in yourself magic starts to happen.
Until next time, cheers🥂🍾
Coffee, Cats, & Champagne 