Ways I Want to Challenge Myself in 2020

I’ve come a long way with my fitness journey over the past 9 months or so, but in reflecting upon this past year I’ve realized there are still some areas I’d like to challenge myself on so I feel more comfortable and confident.

Running

I have been avoiding running since I started my fitness journey. It’s never been something I’ve enjoyed because I’ve always felt like I was so bad at it. Plus I get tired from it, struggle to catch my breath, and just want to call it quits. I was already motivated recently to get better at it, but then while back home for the holiday’s I found a new goal to aim for. While thrift shopping with one of my childhood friends, we found the shirts they used to give out to students who were able to run a mile in less than 8 minutes. I want to earn that shirt. I mean I already bought it so it’s mine, but I want to earn the right to wear it. I’ve already been challenging myself to do sprints with walk breaks on the woodway, but I want to start running on the track once a week. Would it be acceptable to wear my camelback or is that too dramatic?

Taking more Fitness Classes

One reason I’ve been hesitant to take fitness classes is because it means throwing myself in a new environment where I don’t know how its going to go down. This has always been something that’s made me a tad nervous, whether it be in school, theater, or now fitness. I’ve pushed myself a bit more with this recently by taking Rumble Boxing classes, but I think I need to take advantage of the classes that are offered at my gym, like yoga.

Nutrition

I really do want to aim to eat better this year. Last year a big change I made was deleting postmates as I had gotten to the point of laziness that I was too tired to get out of bed and make myself a meal that I would instead order something so I could have the energy to cook for myself. I’ve realized that I’ve now become too reliant on quick meals. It’s easy to justify fast food or to go options from the Whole Foods buffet section when I’m out for the day and need lunch. On the days that I was on top of it I would bring a thermos with a meal I’d prepped earlier in the week. I felt better about my choices these days because I knew I was spending less, eating a healthy option, and also creating less waste by using my own containers and silverware. For meals I eat at home it’s, again, really easy to just pull out a microwavable meal from my freezer and heat that up. The thing that really prevents me from cooking at home is that it’s time consuming. The recipes I’m following aren’t difficult, it’s just a lot of chopping up vegetables. It feels harder on the days where I feel completely overwhelmed by what’s going on in my life. It’s become so clear to me though that when I make my meals at home I feel better, because they’re better for me, they give me more energy, and I have a better day because of it. I’m really trying to put in the work and research new tasty and healthy meals to make this year. Plus some more recipes with tofu to make sure I’m getting enough protein, and lentils I guess because everyone recommends that (meaning my mom).

Sticking to my Routine

I’ve been pretty good about this when I’m in LA, but when I’m back home or on a trip I definitely struggle with staying on my schedule. I don’t know what it is about being back home, that it’s colder, that I don’t have as much free time because I’m hanging out with friends, that the gym is a 20 minute drive away, regardless it’s a lot more excuses. And it makes it harder on me to stick to my routine when I come back to LA. For the holiday’s I ended up being home for about a month and it was really easy to fall back into my old habits, staying up later, sleeping in, wanting to just stay in my pjs all day. It led me to feel feel pretty down on myself as well because I also knew I wasn’t eating well with all of the holiday goodies around.