Before Covid, I went to the gym or yoga studio almost everyday.
When we went into lockdown, I had to figure out how to workout or do yoga from home.
When the lockdown lifted, I was probably one of the first people to get to the gym despite the extra protocols you had to follow while there. However, I continued to do about half my workouts at home out of pure laziness of not wanting to take that extra step to leave the house.
Working out from home just became so accessible all of a sudden, something I'm super thankful for and maybe something the world needed.
There were a lot of at-home options that I loved.
I found my favorite Youtube workouts. I recommend Sydney Cummings for challenging dumbbell workouts or The Studio by Jaime Kinkeade for a great dance workout.
I found my favorite Youtube yoga teachers. My favorite has been Yoga with Kassandra, especially her yin classes.
I also got to support my local yoga studios and teachers by doing their online zoom classes. I found this to be a great option for before work or during the lunch breaks when you just can't quite make it to the actual studio.
For the last year and a half, I've been on this hybrid workout schedule.
However, I've felt this need lately to start making more of my workouts happen outside my home.
Like I said, I love the option of working out at-home, but there is something about getting to the gym or doing a group class with other people.
There is this extra motivation that hits me. There is a feeling of belonging, and not isolation. There is this feeling that I'm not the only one pushing through this really hard workout (or any other hard life thing).
Motivation and belonging are things I lost during covid and I want to get them back.
I think working from home, resting at home, and doing just about everything else at home made getting into the workout mindset not easy as well.
It is something about place identity and my body and brain doesn't like doing my workout in the same space I do my work all day or rest at night.
So I’m in the process of doing some "gym shopping" and trying to get to the yoga studio more. I've already had some better workouts and met some new people.
While me going to the gym or yoga studio may require extra time, effort, and money, maybe doing something that contributes to my health and happiness is exactly what I should be spending my energy on.
I want to challenge myself to get out of the house more for workouts as I think it is something that will improve my overall mental and physical well-being. However, everything is a balance and there are days where working out at home is going to serve me more.
Ultimately, I'm very thankful for the multiple options out there to move my body in whatever phase, feeling, or season I am in.
What do you prefer right now, gym workouts, at-home workouts, or a mix? Tell me in the comments below.