Switching It Up

Today I switched up my workouts. Normally Thursdays are my "cross training" days, which means I usually bike (especially since I have that little 50 mile bike race coming up in November) or sometimes swim (I am a pretty bad swimmer and very much dislike cold water, so the weather and water have to be almost perfect to get me in there for a pool workout).

My bike needs a tune up (the breaks are pretty much shot due to the hills around here and not being serviced since I got it a couple years ago), so instead of heading out on it this afternoon, I did something I have never done before. I tried PiYo.

For those of you who don't know what it is, "Piyo has been taught in Gyms for years by Chalene's team but now it has been created for HOME and it's ALL NEW. Chalene Johnson took the very best Pilates and yoga-inspired moves she has and cranked up the speed to give you cardio, strength, and flexibility training—all at once. PiYo packs it ALL into each workout so you can build lean muscles —all while burning crazy amounts of calories!"

Kat from Katrina Elle is a fitness coach and has been talking this workout up for a while now. I figured I would get in on the craze and order the DVDs. They were delivered earlier in the week and this afternoon's workout would be the perfect time to test them out.

Now mind you, I have never done any yoga or pilates, so I am pretty new to it all. Today I started with the "fundamentals" session. It was walking you through some of the moves and the names for the different postures. Although it was more of a teaching session rather than the high intensity of the other workouts, I still worked up a good sweat (it probably doesn't help that it is about 90* in our living room right now).

I am hoping that the more I do it, the more I will "get it". I figured it would be a nice change in my routine and something to add to my running to help make me a well-rounded athlete (is it crazy that I still don't really consider myself one?!). Also, I think it could be something that Ryan and I do together (maybe on the weekends or in the mornings before he leaves for work).

After my 40 minute training session with the DVD, I thought I would run some stairs. (We live in a condo complex on the second floor, so there is a stair case right outside my front door - might as well put it to use!) I set my timer and went up and down (and up and down some more) for 20 minutes. I was sweating buckets, but I kept chugging along.

Now, if you know me, you know I normally NEVER post pictures of me in a sports bra. The reason?! I never wear just a sports bra. With the heat and humidity though (and the fact that I figured no one would see me since I was just on our stair case), it was tough to have extra layers on, so I went without.

As many girls and women do, I struggle with self esteem (especially when it comes to my body image). While I was going up and down the stairs today, I would catch a glimpse of my body and get frustrated that it didn't look the way I wanted it to and start beating myself up about it. I had to continually tell myself that I need to love my body for what it DOES, not what it looks like... It seems like when I see my body for what can accomplish (rather than just what it looks like to me - which I am sure is pretty warped from the way others see my body), I am able to love myself a little more. It is a daily battle, but one that I am working on continually to try and overcome.

Source

With that being said, although I cringed when I saw the photo of me running the stairs, I knew I had to OWN it, and show the world. Not because I wanted compliments, not because I wanted a pat on the back, and definitely not because I liked the picture, but because this is ME and I need to love myself!

What is one way you can love yourself more?