November Fitness Update: A New Chapter

Saturday 26 November 2016





What a month it's been! A lot of changes have been made to my routine and how I'm training this November. It hasn't just been about challenging myself, or even the Spartan Race. I've had to make changes this month purely on my own happiness and finding the best environment to thrive in. It's taught me that your fitness journey needs to change and grow as you do. The moment you become bored or unhappy, things need to change. Do what's right for you and find the path that makes you the happiest on your journey to getting fit.


Leaving my gym 

This was a pretty hard decision to make, but I know that it was for the best. I had been going there for a year and a half, and it was the perfect gym for my start in fitness. But over the past few months I had grown unhappy with the lack of guidance, boredom with being in a small area, and over old men staring at me while I work out. It wasn't my happy place anymore and I knew something had to change. I took some time off to see if distance helped, but I still didn't want to go back. Sometimes you simply outgrow your gym, but I'm thankful for everything they taught me and getting me in such great shape.


Joining Crossfit

Carrying on from my last point, I booked in for a free trial class at Crossfit gym early in the month and never looked back. I was still at my gym by this point, and trying these classes was a big factor in my decision to leave. I'll be going into more details in another post, but this has been the challenge and inspiring environment that I have craved for so long. I have been pushing myself through some pretty tough workouts and learning all new skills. The best part is the friendly and truly bad-ass people I have met. Crossfit has such a great community and they keep you going when you want to give up. Can't recommend it enough for anyone looking to take their training to the next level. I had been wanting to try it for a while and I'm so glad I did!


Spartan Race Training 

Entries for the 2017 race on Oahu are officially open now (I'm officially registered, woohoo!) and it's getting real! I've decided to do the SUPER course, which is the middle of race difficulty (16km, 24-29 obstacles.) This month I have increased my running to five times a week doing 8-10kms, and on the weekends we have started running uphill courses. Crossfit is the most recommended way to train for the race because of the endurance and strength combo, so that's all go now and I'm really happy with it. I'm learning to push through that mental barrier that holds you back, which I'm going to need to do a lot on the course.


Setting Up A Home Gym 

After leaving mine, I had toyed with the idea of finding a new gym in my city. To be honest, most of them seem pretty generic and boring. It would also be nice to save money on a gym membership with Christmas and birthdays coming up. Recently my brother has been getting back into his fitness and set up a mini gym in the garage. We have a treadmill, bench press, a few weights, and some bands that I occasionally use. At times I would usually go to the gym, I've been going outside and practicing my jump rope, then heading in to work on my lifts with the barbell. It doesn't sound like much but it covers everything I need at the moment and I love working out on my own.


Running 10km In An Hour!

After we surprised ourselves with a great time for 11km last month, my Mum and me set a goal to complete 10km in an hour. We entered the Summer Starter Fun Run and trained just that bit harder every day. On the day of the run, we faced a little challenge with the wind, my sore foot, and pain in my Mum's hip, but we did it! Our time was 01.13min and we are pretty proud of ourselves. We have a couple of 15km runs next year, so I'm sure we will be setting goals for them too.



Overall, November was quite a big month for my fitness and I'm really confident going into December. Crossfit is helping me progress at such a great rate and I can't wait to see where it takes me. Here's to finishing off 2016 fitter and stronger than ever!

How do you change up your fitness routine?
Steph x.




1 comment :

  1. So proud of you for all this Steph! You are constantly pushing yourself and stepping our of your comfort zone and it's incredibly inspiring and keeps me motivated! :) xx

    Lucy x |~ SweetIsAlwaysInStyle || Lifestyle Blog ~

    ReplyDelete