Happy Sunday from a much colder Baltimore than it was in St. Maarten last week. I know I sound like a broken record but WHY does vacation go so darn fast?!?! Not fair at at all! Anyway, at least we are full swing into the Holiday season. Not only was it this way before leaving for vacation but now it is Christmas – with a little Thanksgiving rolled in – everywhere! Just grabbing coffee yesterday got me out of my “I want to be back in the Caribbean” funk! If this blog post reads a little “all over the place” well, you are probably reading correctly (ha). I am trying to get my act together and get organized & situated with being back home. While I did keep my finger on the pulse with work, I did take a big step back from social media to just clear my head and get the creativity back. Something else I took a step back from while I was away were my workouts. SHOCKING! It may sound a little “odd,” especially coming from a health and wellness guru but my body needed it. Work, stress, and emotions x 2 runneth over the last couple months and it started showing up in my physique, my health (hello high blood pressure), and not eating to fuel the workouts I was pushing through. The coach in me was not too pleased. Anyway, this is why I thought I would talk about how I am, slowly, getting back into the swing of things now that I am home, as well as the best wellness gifts for 2021.
There are so many avenues I could talk about when it comes to “getting back on track” but I want to spin it in a different direction and keep it short and sweet. Check out the other company I co-own – 2 Health Nuts – to get more specifics on fitness, nutrition, stress management, behavioral change, and much more!
Yes, while I focused more on my sleep and resting, and chose swimming over intense gym workouts, and tried different cuisine and cocktails that I usually don’t, I would not say I was totally off track.
What I DID chose was a different routine.
What I DID do was finally listen to my body – although there were many times I wanted to fight it – and took a time out.
I like to look at this as a rubber band model. Exercise is a stressor on the body; a positive stressor but a stressor. It is pulling the rubber band in one direction. When you are fueling your workouts properly, staying hydrated, getting ample amounts of sleep, resting needed, the rubber band stops being pulled so tight. Great, right? Besides exercise, the other side of the rubber band gets pulled tight with LIFE. Stress, hormones, weight gain/loss, sugar consumption, alcohol consumption, etc. are additional stressors that start pulling that rubber band in the opposite direction. Focusing on keeping these in check will help keep the rubber band in check too!
Now, what happen when things like chronic stress start to take over, sleep is disrupted, eating is erratic, AND you are working your a$$ of in the gym as a “stress reliever?” Can you visualize that rubber band being pulled tight in BOTH directions? If this continues for some time, what will (most likely) happen?
The point of my description is by NO MEANS saying exercise is such a stressor you should not do it. Omgosh, not at all! Just with everything else in life, it’s about moderation and listening to your body.
It may mean shifting your routine to do something different.
It may mean taking some time out of the gym to focus more on holistic approaches.
In the process, you may learn something new about yourself and how your body responds/adapts.
As for how I am going to get back into my workouts – slow and steady! It’s human nature to want to jump right back in to what you were doing BEFORE you took some time off. While we have an incredible amount of muscle memory, generally speaking, if it takes 2-4 weeks to see adaptations (specifically with strength training) to occur, it will take the same amount of time for your body to get back to where you feel you “left off.” Everyone is different, and everyone’s body adapts differently too. Be kind, listen to how you feel, and take ample recovery, especially if those muscles get a little sorer than normal.
And why not learn a little more about what your body needs than by checking out these AMAZING wellness gifts for this season. From gizmos and gadgets, to staying hydrated, to toting your goods, to even looking fly, these are sure to inspire new routines and new attitudes well into the New Year! Actually, I hope FOREVER!
Hope you enjoy the wellness gifts for 2021 I have put together. As always, if you have any items/suggestions you would like me to check out, let me know!
xoxo
The Best Wellness Gifts for 2021
Higherdose Infrared Sauna Blanket
Hydro Flask Wide Mouth 32 oz. Bottle
Fjallraven Kanken Water Resistant Backpack
Disclosure: While all thoughts and opinions are my own, this post contains some affiliate links in which I may be compensated (at not cost to you). This compensation helps with keeping my blog up and running, and creating amazing content to share! I cannot thank you enough for your support, feedback, and following! You are the best!
