I feel like every time I’ve written about fitness the last three years, it’s been about my perceived journey trying to get back to how I once was. Only recently have I realized that it’s not about getting “back to how things were” but in making fitness something that fits in my life today.

Let me take a step back for some context. I was never much of an athlete growing up and I didn’t really worry much about my diet. It wasn’t until the end of 2012 that I’d decided to take both of those things more seriously. It was then that I found an amazing community of women and together we worked out  every weekday at 6:00a.m. while maintaining superfood diets. Eventually that community died out, and I spent a long time trying to recreate that space for myself. 

I’ve tried CrossFit, hot yoga studios, Orangetheory, SoulCycle, F45, countless online programs, and the occasional in-person special workout. It wasn’t until I found Burncycle a year and a half ago that I really found a community I felt part of. 

One of my goals in 2018 was to create a consistent fitness routine again. I've tried putting a lot of pieces together at all those different studios and have learned two major things about myself in the process: 1) I prefer to start my day with a workout & get it done for the day, and 2) I need the motivation and guidance that group studios provide. Do you know how hard it is to get up for a 6:00a.m. workout, especially in the dead of winter when it’s dark AF out? For years I’ve tried to convince myself that I could work out any other time of day, but I’ve always known that my favorite time is first thing in the morning. It’s literally taken all of this time to work my way back into a consistent morning routine. Yoga is about the only thing I can get myself to do at home! I joined Orangetheory last year but quit earlier this year to cut back on the number of memberships I had. While I love spin a lot, I knew deep inside that my body needed & wanted more variety. 

As fate would have it, Orangetheory's corporate team would invite me down to Portland in July to help open up their 1000th studio with an epic weekend of workouts. That weekend I realized I knew what I wanted all along. I finally rejoined Orangetheory last month, and balance OTF with mornings at BurnCycle, weekends at SoulCycle, and night yoga at home to round out my week. 

I'm so happy to be back in a consistent fitness routine that I love and that serves my body. That’s really the lesson I’ve been struggling to learn this whole time. I've loved every OTF workout I've had since returning! I'm excited to see what this mix of studio workouts will bring me in 2019!