What if I couldn’t stay consistent?

Jun 12

When we hit the road full-time, I worried that staying consistent with workouts would be tough. Turns out, the opposite happened.

As I’ve learned… 🎵 It’s fun to go to the YMCA. 🎵

This month, that’s where we are working out. The local YMCA.

Basically, it came down to cost. Since we are doing month-to-month gym memberships, at most gyms the cost is quite a bit higher than signing a year-long contract… but not at the Y!

At first, I was hesitant. This place is crowded! Way more crowded than any of the other public gyms we’ve visited since living on the road full time.

The gym is divided into several different spaces, which is much different than what I’m used to.

As we toured the gym on our first day, a classic scene from “10 Things I Hate About You” (one of my fav movies) came to mind.

Michael (played by David Krumholtz) gives Cameron (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a tour of the campus describing the different “cliques”.

In our version of the same scene we saw the runners knocking out miles on the nearly 20 treadmills lined up on the wall.

The gym bros pumping iron in the dark and moody weight room.

The jocks playing basketball (and pickle ball) in the gymnasium.

The free spirits using the overflow room, and the "CrossFitters” throwing down in the “Den” (or open gym space).

Since joining the Y, I’ve found my “clique”, my space, and two significant things have happened:

#1 - I’ve been running 200% more than I ever have before.

Most of the running I did in the past was within the confines of a conditioning workout. 200, 400, and 800m runs mostly.

Jonathan and I have also run the yearly Polar Plunge 5K on January 1st, but aside from that… if running wasn’t in a workout I wasn’t doing it.

Now I am going to the gym and sometimes ONLY RUNNING. I’m running MILE(S) with an S!

BY MY OWN CHOICE!

And I’m running them faster and faster because … wait for it… I’ve been practicing my running!

I know, I can’t believe it either. If you are a real “runner”, these achievements won’t sound spectacular. But for me, running 5 miles at a time, running 30+ minutes at time, trail running a 5K… these are spectacular events!

Why all the running? Honestly I think it’s because I don’t have a lawn to mow right now. Mowing lawns used to give me time and space to be in my own head and just think and come up with (brilliant 😛) ideas. Time spent running has become that replacement.

#2 - I’ve been feeling like an athlete again.

Growing up, I was in all the sports. I knee-boarded competitively for years. I also played soccer and was on the swim team in high school.

Looking back, that’s really the reason I found and fell in love with CrossFit. It gave me back the athletic fire I had lost.

But in the years since closing my CrossFit gym, and working out in our garage or more recently our “office-gym-natorium” at home, I truly haven’t felt like an “athlete” for a long time.

There’s just something about walking into a space, carrying a gym bag on your shoulder, and crushing a workout in a space filled with people around you doing the same thing that makes you feel athletic. You leave the gym pouring with sweat, feeling accomplished, and like a baller ;)

Whether I’m at the gym running, lifting weights in the dark and moody mirrored room, or crushing a CrossFit metcon in the open space at the gym… today I feel like an athlete. And I’m loving that feeling!

But wait, there’s MORE!

Since riding this athletic high, I really care about what I eat and what I drink. I make choices (even in social situations) that align with my goals and desires right now. And you know what, no-one around me cares.

I’m focused on fueling my body for performance again. I’m making sure to get enough protein in, loading up on fruits and veggies, and using carbs to fuel my training.

I’ve also turned my back on having alcohol. I just don’t want it.

I say to myself, athletes are mindful about what goes in their mouth, how they recover, how much stress they allow into their world, and what time they go to bed.

They know staying up and scrolling, drinking, stressing, missing workouts, and sub-par nutrition only hurt their outcome.

When we first started out on this journey of living full time in our Airstream, I was the most nervous about how, when and where I would be able to workout.

Before, we had a space dedicated to working out and all of the gym equipment we could need at our home. I worried when we left that behind that I woudn’t be as consistent and wouldn’t be able to push myself as hard. And even though we own a fitness business, I worried that keeping up with my fitness would little by little diminish.

Today, I’m realizing that I am more consistent. I push harder and feel fitter today than just a few months ago when we first set sail. And I can’t believe it.

So yeah… shoutout to the YMCA.

Is it a little crowded? Yep.

Do I sometimes have to wait for a pair of dumbbells? Sure.

But right now, it’s exactly what I needed. A place to move, sweat, grow, and feel like the athlete I still am.

So wherever you are, whatever your setup looks like, don’t underestimate what’s possible. Don’t underestimate the athlete that you are.

You might just surprise yourself too.

Here’s a few of the places we’ve been throwing down in the last few months.