from weightlifting to running - life transitions and finding balance

The past few months of my life have been eventful, to say the least. Marriage, a cross-country move, and the ups and downs of life have taken over the past few months. While all of these transitions have been blessings, the impacts they have on my fitness journey have been more challenging to wrestle with than I anticipated.

That's not an excuse of course, because we don't make excuses around here! However, it's time I come clean and be real about how I've managed my health and strength training.

The truth is, I haven't been doing a lot of weightlifting. Instead I have slowly transitioned into that girl you see running in the mornings. There are a few reasons why. First, because I have had an outrageously difficult time finding a gym near me that allows deadlifting. Second, because the impact of a 10+ hour workday in the office combined with LA traffic and a commute means I needed to find a gym with flexible hours, which many do not have.

This means that after doing some exploring in my area of the city, I have discovered routes I enjoy running. Now, I am not going to say I love running. I have NEVER, in my life, gotten the classic "runners high" or anything close to the feeling other people describe. Maybe that makes me defective, I'm not certain. But I knew that running was an easy, effective way to move my body during this transition period, and my body craved movement and a new way to relieve stress. This has been my primary training method for several months now. Also, for additional incentive, I pay myself $5 for every mile I run, an idea I will shamelessly admit I got from TikTok. It has been a GREAT motivator for when I want to treat myself.

In additional to running, my husband wanted an elliptical. At first I anticipated only he would use it, but admittedly I have used it a lot more than I thought I would.

Outside of running and using the elliptical, I have also found myself doing at-home resistance band training and basic strength training using a pair of dumbbells. For this, I usually revert to exercises like single arm rows and squat to overhead press. Occasionally I will also throw in some pilates, yoga, or a little extra mobility work.

So, would I call myself a runner? I mean, I considered signing up for a 10k, whatever that means. As of this week however I am returning to weightlifting at my new "home" gym and I am VERY excited about this. Will I continue to run? Absolutely, that's the plan! I plan to continue this journey of finding balance between both.