Now that I’m working from home, my workout routine has definitely been switched up. Pre-COVID, I was going to the gym for a strength class every Saturday morning, and my husband and I would go lift some weights a couple of times a week in the evenings.
Now, Aaron and I are generally active people, and we’ve gotten creative with our workouts during the pandemic. I haven’t been inside of my gym since March. While I do miss certain aspects of the gym, like my Saturday morning strength-training class, I like my new routine.
Now, I’ve run a marathon and several half marathons, and strength training has played a vital role in maintaining my running fitness. I was getting minor injuries all the time prior to incorporating weights into my training. So, I knew I needed to keep that up. Luckily, Aaron and I had some weights before everyone started buying them to workout from home. The top three things I’ve incorporated into my routine throughout this year have been:
- Running (not currently training for a race)
- Biking
- Strength Training
Monthly Challenges
I am a big fan of the Apple Watch for a variety of reasons, but I love that I can track my running. The monthly challenges have been such a fun thing to participate in this year. If you don’t own an Apple Watch, basically, the watch picks a different challenge for you each month: maybe it’s to close your exercise ring every day, maybe it’s to complete a certain number of steps for the month, maybe it’s to burn a certain number of calories. Aaron and I are both fans of the challenges, and I’m happy to report that I’m on track to complete all of my challenges for the year. 🙂
Weekly Routine
As I’ve mentioned before, Aaron and I do a long bike ride on Saturday mornings. We typically ride anywhere from 15-miles to 40-miles. It really depends on what all we have going on.
I try to go for a run about 2-3 times per week with an average of 2 to 5 miles. It really depends on how much time I have in the day. I’m trying to go during my lunch hour since it’s getting dark out to early. I love the days where I can get some good miles in – and a good sweat going. I’m not training for a race right now, but I’d love to do one again in 2021.
And, on the days when I’m not running or biking, I get some good full body strength training in. I have been loving the Kira Stokes app. I’ve tried tons of different apps, but Kira Stokes has been a game changer. Her workouts have allowed me to maintain my fitness even though I’m not actively going to the gym right now. Bonus: I can do them anywhere.
Exercise and being outside has been such a lifesaver this year. I attribute exercising to keeping me in a positive state of mind, and it’s been especially nice to get me out of the house now that I’m working from home 🙂
Happy Wednesday, friends!
