I’ve been thinking a lot about fitness lately, more so than usual. I think because I’ve been trying to identify what I want to do on this earth and how I want to make a difference. And for me, I want to be a great influence. Sure, I cuss a sh*t ton and I have an attitude more days than not, but I want that positive influence to come from how I treat my body, day after day. Because I want others to do the same. I want someone to see my regular workouts, the healthy meals I create, and the confidence I exude because of the choices I make day in and day out.
When we look at social media, we are drowning in images of lean people, strong people, people getting ready for fitness competitions, and so on, and so on. And for me, those images aren’t motivational, they are demoralizing. Because I know I’ll never get there. You know why? Because I don’t have the same genetics, I don’t want to injury my body more than I already have with some of my choices in the past, and I want to continue to enjoy my life with food, drink, and not much stress about being leaner.
When I look at fitness nowadays, sure, I want to be fit and feel fit, which I think are great things to strive for. But what I’m concentrating on even more so now is long term health. That’s what motivates me every day. I want to be able to get out of a chair easily, up and down stairs quickly, and I want to be able to take care of myself as long as possible. When people ask how to find motivation – that should be one of the factors. Your 60, 70, 80 year old self should motivate you to take care of your muscles today. It’s hard to know what the future holds, but working towards a healthier tomorrow will set you up for success.
Let’s work together to stop the obsessing over cellulite and worrying over the place you store fat the most. Let’s work together to prove that health is so much more than physique. It’s hard with social media nowadays, but remember that your healthy eating choices, your tough workouts, and your constant self improvement will pay off long term. Your 70 year old self is going to be hella thankful for the choices you’re making now. I promise you that! Motivate yourself today so you can feel fantastic 40 years from now. That’s what I plan on doing! Now…it’s time to work out! Happy Monday!
Sunday – Rest Day
Monday – CrossFit Broadway Class
3 x 10 Single Leg Front Rack Step Ups each Side – All sets at 90% + of last times 10 rep weight. (13 mins) – I used 45#
Then 9 min Ladder Of:
- 40 Double Unders
- 3-6-9-12-15-18……Push Jerks (135/95)
I got through my set of 21 push jerks + 46 more reps using 55#
Tuesday – HIIT Workout – see movements here
6 rounds of 40 sec on 20 sec rest
- Lateral Lunge into Oblique Crunch (20 sec per side)
- Rotating Mountain Climbers
- Side Bounds
- Burpee to Elbow Plank
Wednesday – Rest Day
Thursday – Lower Body Workout
3 rounds of:
- 15 Hip Thrusts then 10 Pulses
- 10 Single Leg Hip Thrusts (each side)
3 rounds of:
- 10 Box Squats
- 8 Standing Cable Hamstring Curl into Kickback
3 rounds of:
- 20 Walking Open Stance Lunges
- 10 Sumo Deadlift into Sumo Straight Leg Deadlift
Friday – Yoga Sculpt Class at CorePower Yoga
Saturday – Rest Day
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Do we all just not see ourselves with accuracy?
The images that you post of yourself are of a very lean woman with an athletic body and visible muscle (you don’t look like a bodybuilder, but you look like you lift). It’s VERY confusing that you don’t see yourself in the same light as other athletic women who are lean, with a lot of muscle.
It’s a very sad statement about our society that a woman who has done so much with fitness, nutrition, beauty and wellness, and offers an aspirational image sees images of other women and becomes demotivated.
What I love about you is that you actually go out and enjoy life while balancing health.
At the end of the day, dieting down to a certain % body fat is meaningless. It robs you of life. The images you see of women that are cut- my hope is that they do it for a competitive fitness goal, that brings them satisfaction. But when I see the lean women who aren’t competitive athletes, just standing there with abs, I just see a vacant life. I see women missing out on living. On travel. On enjoying food. On being spontaneous.
I grew up obese and I spent some odd 35 years hating my body. Letting that hate and insecurity ruin my best years. Then I spent 6 years as a slave to diet and exercise (and got results) and I’ve seen my world shrink in different ways. The sad thing is I look back, and I think about what people loved about me through the years and it was never about my body. It was my cooking, my smile, my creativity, my humor. My love of animals.
Health is a fine goal! A great goal! And health is what allows us to live our best lives. Our “best life” has nothing to do with not having cellulite in shorts. It has nothing to do with visible abs. It has to do with what we bring to the world. And you bring so much to the world with your talent!
you are so incredibly kind MC! thank you so much for saying that. hopefully all of us can continue to move forward with seeing our worth outside of just the physical.
Thank you for this message. I’m making this transition mentally as well, but dang it’s hard! Thank you for being such a positive influencer in this field. I’m sure it isn’t always easy but it is so helpful and appreciate!
thanks for the love Lauren!!
This is one of the very best posts you’ve ever written!!
awwwww thanks Elizabeth!!
yes!!!
I dont have an instagram but I had to unlike a lot of pages on facebook and youtube who focus too much on appearance and following a “perfect diet.” Ive been gaining weight and have to learn to accept my curvier body so it helps me to not be triggered (be critical of myself) by workout posts or half naked selfies!
I’m with ya on that one!!
This post is what I needed on this Monday morning. I am guilty of comparing myself to those fitness gurus on social media and then remember, I am not them and I am not built like them. I am me and I love me.
Thank you for such a great post!
love that Krystin!! it’s a constant work on for me too!!
It made a huge difference to me when I made HEALTH my goal instead of that “magic number” on my scale or on that clothing tag. I’m turning 53 this month {{GULP}} and right now all I care about is low stress, flexibility, core strength and good, healthy food. I try not to eat too much, but ladies who are older than I am, that have been through all of this, tell me to just be patient with my body right now and let myself have the dang spare tire around the mid section for a minute. I will have time to work on becoming thinner later if I want.
Which is hard. It’s always been really easy for me to drop 10 or 15 lbs …welp, it ain’t so easy now. But, I am in very good health, my “mamapause” as my kids call it, is very mild and the women in my family pass through it without much difficulty, I can eat all the foods (no allergies or intolerance) So, I am counting my blessings and trying to enjoy this mid-life body as much as possible. Actually, that’s my new goal: Enjoy my body and what it can do for me, for the rest of my life .
And you ARE making a difference, Juli!! I love your stuff lady, thanks for all you do 🙂
What an important message + question, Juli! What will our future self thank us for? Eating + living in ways that make us FEEL better – now…as we’re falling asleep at night…tomorrow…and in years to come. Thank you!
I absolutely love your recipes and your approach to health Juli! To be honest I have scaled back on clicking on your fashion posts or checking out your Instagram because I see your amazing body and I compare myself and get down on myself because I am nowhwhere near as lean or muscled as you! It it pretty wild for me to hear that you look at other fitness people and find it demoralizing and think you will never get there because when I see your body I think, wow she must just be so happy to have reached perfection! I am working on focusing what makes me happy now and not comparing or feeling like I will never be truly happy until I lose a few pounds or look a certain way. Your blog has been a big part of my Paleo life for a few years now and you are inspirational, thank you!
it’s so interesting how we view ourselves vs how other view us. i’m sorry if my posts ever made you feel less than. i definitely NEVER want that in any capacity!!
I would be so interested in your perspective on fitness throughout life— from kids to teens to 20s to 30s and beyond.
I think about how I experience fitness as a kid, versus how I want my own kids to experience it. There was both good and bad with sports, play and injuries — Even treating injuries differently with kids/teens now then when we were young (I’m 34 🙂
I’ve been following your blog for years, and I feel like you have learned and grown so much, and have such an interesting perspective both as an athlete and for health, and now moving toward just general life long fitness now as time goes on. I would love to get your perspective!
i’ll share that topic next monday! thanks for the idea jennifer!!