Thoughts on Fitness from a Non-Runner + a Playlist
While I've never been a huge fitness guru, I have a deep respect (and maybe a tiny bit of jealousy) for those who naturally are. Being a nutritionist has me focusing so much more on food and less on exercise these days. So I've made a conscious decision to start running regularly again. You can read about my past running woes here. Try not to laugh too much.
My Current Fitness Regimen (if that's what we're calling it)
I work (very) part-time at CorePower Yoga in Santa Barbara, which enables me to take all of their classes. It's a fantastic opportunity I feel blessed to have stumbled into. They offer 1-hour warm-hot classes of different levels. I try and take at least 4-5 of their intermediate-advanced classes each week.
I had a BLAST doing pilates taught online by my friend Robin Long of The Balanced Life during the month of February. And guess what? She's offering a free program through the month of May with the option to upgrade for more! It's a superb deal — so get on it.
Without a doubt, I've felt the best, looked the most toned, and had the most energy (and self-esteem) when I've been in a running phase. Lately I've been focusing on time spent running, as opposed to distance or speed. I get too discouraged when I aim for four miles and look at my RunKeeper app (highly recommended and free!) and I've gone a little over two. I've also used the very basic, but very helpful half marathon training plans by Hal Higdon. Even when not training for anything in particular, it helps a planner like me have some structure that increases in difficulty slowly over time.
And of course I love the fun fitness adventures that don't even feel like exercise:
Also, a vacation in the middle of the summer sailing the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia is BIG MOTIVATION, let me tell you.
Running Without Music (means I'm probably not going running)
As much as I want to be that girl who listens to though-provoking audiobooks or does her deep thinking while she runs — I'm not. I need new music that channels the beats of Ke$ha, Gaga and Bey. But like I said — new. I'm not about to run to Journey.
So I asked for help and took some recommendations via my Instagram account. After a lot of Spotify-searching and a little bit of desk-dancing I came up with the following 1-hour playlist. I hope it inspires you to MOVE! [I'm not a pro at embedding Spotify playlists, so the songs aren't in the order I'd prefer, but you get the idea.]