Routines should be flexible. Do you understand what I mean? I can explain.
I’m super routine with my workouts in that they will always happen but I’m also really flexible about it. Sometimes I think people associate routine (and people who are really routine) with being rigid and that’s just not always the case.
A routine doesn’t mean being rigid and strong-willed, insistent that things must be a certain way. For me, my workout routine just means I am someone who exercises regularly/daily, preferably in the morning, and nothing is likely to change that. I don’t have to worry about falling out of the exercise habit or losing my routine. That would just never happen, even if I adjust things from time to time. My interests change and evolve but the routine of exercise remains intact.
So some weeks I run more, some weeks I run less. Some weeks I decide to walk a whole lot and some weeks I don’t. For six years I have been all about Pure Barre workouts and then now, quite often, I choose the Lifetime workouts instead. Some days it’s in my head that I will run the next day and then the next day comes and I decide I want to do something else. And sometimes, I choose to run longer on a day that isn’t a Saturday which used to be known as my long run day.
Bottom line is, there’s a workout routine in place, but the actual workout can and will vary. I think this is important though – things shouldn’t always be the same. The mind and body become efficient and bored, needing different types of stimuli. It’s also important to be flexible with your mood and what you want to do as well as flexible with time constraints that may hinder the ability to exercise on any given day.
This all came to mind a little more than usual as I try to figure out what I will do with Pure Barre On Demand which is now Pure Barre Go. I told you I’m annoyed by Pure Barre’s lack of customer support, inability to always log in to my account (WTF?!), as well as lack of organization to the new Pure Barre on-demand menu within Pure Barre GO (when I am able to log in). Do I even want to continue with Pure Barre On Demand at this point? Do I really need the subscription anymore? Can’t I just use the Pure Barre DVD’s if I want to do a Pure Barre workout? How will not having Pure Barre On Demand affect my routine? Will I miss the 5 and 10-minute workouts? Am I ready to move on to other types of strength training?
I really like the Lifetime workouts I’m doing right now. The strength/cardio combinations of Xtreme and Warrior Sculpt offer me something Pure Barre doesn’t. And, since I do run less than I used to, the added HIIT aspects to the Lifetime workouts are really exciting for me. When I was running more, extra cardio was not something I wanted but I find right now, it’s so much fun.
However, I do love Pure Barre and still need non-impact isometric exercises. So, while trying to figure out how to find a balance for everything within my workout routine, I remembered that I don’t really have to figure things out exactly. I’ll just go with the flow for a little while and let it play out. I think ideally, one Pure Barre workout, one Xtreme, and one Warrior Sculpt could be a nice rotation to have in a weekly workout routine. I’m going to keep it in mind but not hold myself to it. Some weeks may play out that way and some may not. I like having a routine, but can’t be tied down to it.
Anyway! I’m done thinking out loud about routines. Moving on to the workouts from the past week!
Monday – 6 Miles
Damp and cold today but I wanted to run. I shock people sometimes with my interest in running when it’s misty/damp outside. Not sure why, but I like it. Or at the very least, don’t mind it.
Tuesday – 5 Miles/5 Min Pure Barre (arms)
The sun was shining so I felt compelled to run again this morning. I don’t always love running two days in a row but I wanted to today, so I went with it. A part of me assumed I would run 3 miles and head home for a Pure Barre workout but then I continued to 4 miles. And then 5 miles.
Threw in a quick 5 minute Pure Barre for arms workout when I got back home.
Wednesday – 45 Min Life Barre/Walk
I have now learned that I enjoy the Warrior Sculpt workouts over Life Barre. I really enjoyed the Life Barre workout a few times already but today, it just didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t bad, but I like Warrior Sculpt and Xtreme better. I went for a walk right after the workout since I had a little bit of time before needing to take a shower.
Thursday – 45 Min Xtreme
Well, I thought I would run today until the rain was much heavier than I expected. I really like the Xtreme workout from Lifetime because it really gets my heart rate up during the entire full-body strength/cardio workout.
I shared my top five favorite races today on the blog. Here’s the post if you missed it.
Friday – 7 Miles
I was so happy to wake up to see that it stopped raining! Although I planned to run tomorrow, I really wanted to run today even if the weather was damp and even if it would throw off my plan to run tomorrow.
Saturday – 5 Miles
Sunshine today! A bit windy but I’m not complaining. It was great to get outside and want to run again today. Side note: Today was the first day I was able to wear sandals this season! If you don’t look too close, the pedicure I gave myself looks decent. But please don’t look too close, I really have no clue how to polish my own nails. Also, I wore jeans for the first time since March. It was time to feel normal again.
Sunday – 3 Miles
So the plan was to do a Pure Barre workout first thing in the morning but then, of course, I couldn’t access my account. I skipped the morning workout and went for a socially distant breakfast date instead. Once I was home, I decided to run 3 miles — see what I mean by flexible routine? I didn’t plan on running nor do I usually run later in the day but hey, why not?
I ran more than usual this past week so not exactly sure what my mood for running will be this week. I’ll just go day by day with it and see what I feel like doing (flexible routine!) — Have a great week. 🙂
