Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you
So thankful to have discovered a love for getting outdoors to explore! Years back I had started to dread cardio as the last thing I wanted to do was workout on another treadmill or stepper in the gym. I always did it anyway because somewhere along the way I got it stuck in my head this was the only way for cardio to “count” as a “real” workout. Rinse & repeat, this was the drill and after doing this for a few years I knew something had to change! I first started to head outside for a walk or run around my neighborhood and was seriously shocked by how great it felt to do something so seemingly simple- to just get outside and move!
I wasn’t quite ready to replace all of my gym cardio with power walks or jogs around the neighborhood, but on extra busy days where getting to the gym was creating far more stress than necessary in my schedule, I simply gave myself permission to skip the gym, but reminded myself that didn’t mean I needed to skip out on being active altogether.
From walks, twirls and running around the neighborhood, I started to feel a sense of joy each time I’d get outside. One weekend I decided to skip the step mill at the gym and head outside for a challenging hike instead and I suddenly realized just how much I was enjoying myself, that all of the elevation changes (far more than what I would have done on the step mill, even after the standard 45-60 minutes I was accustomed to) never once felt like a chore- I was truly enjoying every challenging minute of it!
Taking cardio outside has had such a positive impact on so many areas of my life, that I honestly can’t picture my life(style) without outdoor workout adventures!
To clarify, I am NOT against doing cardio at the gym (I still do it there once in a while myself), but what I AM NOT all about is when a preoccupation with the gym starts to interfere with your LIFE and YOU GETTING OUT THERE & LIVING your life Fortunately I recognized that this was happening to me, and I knew things had to change!
I realized that aside from being bored with cardio machines, I was fed up with so much of my life seemingly revolving around going to the gym in order for the workout to “count” (because aside from cardio, I was still lifting at the gym daily, too! This equated to so much of my life revolving around driving to/from the gym plus the time spent working out there, often twice a day!) as I knew I wanted to SEE more and I wanted to DO more. I wanted more experiences, to explore and have adventures and I didn’t think my health & fitness needed to be sacrificed for this to happen
Spoiler alert- it doesn’t! In fact, it started to flourish and I enjoy the variety in my workouts more than ever these days while also doing my best to explore, see and do as many activities outside as I possibly can!
It’s still hard to believe that years back I was even nervous to travel because I was afraid of a lack of gym access for a few days thinking that would just throw EVERYTHING off. I’d rarely go anywhere and NEVER when I was within even a month or 2 of a shoot or show…thankfully I do things differently now and embrace each travel adventure by putting my own #fittravel spin on each trip- no gym necessary!
As a result, my approach to fitness has evolved, with each outdoor workout feeling like an adventure, reenergizing me and SO MUCH MORE!