I’ve been so busy working on what I’m writing for next month’s blog posts that I have slacked in July! Luckily, I have the wonderful Gina Horkey, who has been published on The Huffington Post and is the author of The Horkey Handbook, to write a guest post for this month. So far, Learning to be Leigh has been focused on getting out of health and fitness comfort zones and this post is no different. Gina is taking a personal approach to let you all see why it’s so great to expand your comfort zones and be the healthiest and best feeling version of YOU! See how Gina got out of her comfort zone and improved her body and lifestyle:
Give a big Learning to be Leigh welcome to today’s guest blogger, Gina Horkey!
Getting Uncomfortable: 5 Diet & Exercise Trends I Used to Get Results!
When it comes to health & fitness, how good are you at stepping outside your comfort zone? Change is hard, but it is when you get uncomfortable that you tend to make the biggest improvements. Here are five ways I’ve challenged myself in the last five years and gotten results:
Hired a Personal Trainer
Why I tried it? I was at the highest weight of my adult life & needed to make a drastic change.
What made it uncomfortable? Although I had done group fitness before, this was the first time I worked one-on-one with a trainer. The cost was also a bit uncomfortable!
What I gained from the experience? He really helped increase my confidence with free weights, held me accountable, and made me see myself as strong & powerful.
Bikram Yoga
Why I tried it? I heard it was a great way to detox your body and sweat out all the bad stuff.
What made it uncomfortable? It was 105 degrees and yoga moves weren’t my strong suit.
What I gained from the experience? I feel the mental challenge trumped the physical in this case & helped me to realize that I can do hard things. I also was by far not the best in the class, but I learned to do what I was capable of, rather than assessing my performance against others.
P90X
Why I tried it? My husband & I wanted to get in shape before starting our family. P90X offered a solution with a finite time table for completion and focused on both nutrition & exercise.
What made it uncomfortable? It was 6 days per week of 1-1 ½ hour workouts and the first time I’ve ever focused on a low carb diet.
What I gained from the experience? I felt amazing afterwards. My fitness, body composition, and self-esteem skyrocketed. It opened the doors to other fitness challenges.
Running
Why I tried it? I’ve always wanted to be a runner. It is the most efficient way to burn calories too!
What made it uncomfortable? I wasn’t a natural runner. My endurance & mental strength were my biggest obstacles. I focused on increasing my mileage one mile at a time.
What I gained from the experience? Setting goals and adhering to training plans gets results. I finished the Mankato (Full) Marathon in October of 2012, just one year after having my first child and found out later I was about 4 weeks pregnant with #2. Instead of comparing myself to others, I always try to beat my own times. I may not have been fast, but I became a MARATHONER!
Whole 30
Why I tried it? I needed to clean up my diet in order to finish losing the baby weight after having my second child. I wanted to evaluate if any of my diet impacted my baby’s reflux as I was nursing.
What made it uncomfortable? It was a very strict way of eating for 30 days and a paradigm shift for the way I thought about food.
What I gained from the experience? The focus was totally on nutrition and not on exercise, which tends to be my weaker area. It changed the basis for how I choose foods now, even if I’m not 100% Paleo going forward.
I like to challenge myself to grow in many facets of my life; health & fitness being one of them. Being open to change helps to mix it up and keep it interesting. It also spills over into other areas of my life like being open to trying new things when it comes to my career or how I relate to others. If you’re thinking about trying a new fitness trend, ask yourself the following question:
What’s the worst thing that can happen?
If you’ve enjoyed this post, please hop on over to read other musings of mine at http://www.horkeyhandbook.com.
Learning to be Leigh 