It’s the new year and we’re doing some reflecting here at Fit is a Feminist Issue. This is the third in a series of three group posts.
Nicole: I really want to be more diligent with preparing my meals, especiallly lunches for work. I’m decent with dinner, but I get into a bad habit for long periods of time, of buying my lunch (and coffee, and often breakfast) at work. I think eating home cooked meals more often contributes to overall health and the health of my wallet – the key being I make sure we use leftovers, because we are really bad at that! Also, I think I really need to focus more on stretching, mobility, as I am noticing my joints stiffening up more than usual lately (and they were never limber). Read more articles through. Try not to multitask too much -especially at work – focus on more tasks that require more concentration. Get out of my comfort zone a bit at the gym – maybe work on my handstand, get better at step ups and pistol squats and get faster on rowing machine.
I am, somewhat skeptically, signed up to participate in my office’s “Whole Life Challenge”, which starts January 18th. I figured it might help me stay on track with things like drinking enough water, and preparing more of my meals. But I’m not looking forward to the “community sharing” and point aspect (points for what you should do, not for what you shouldn’t, but still).
Tracy: I’m going to try adding the gym back into the equation when I get back from my three months in Mexico. It’s been a long time since I belonged to a gym (other than a trial membership I had for two weeks back in June) but I think I’d like to give it another go instead of personal training.
Martha: My new thing is aiming for 30 minutes of activity every day. I did a workplace challenge in November that was more fun than I thought it would be. I enjoyed the focus on activity every day and think this might be a useful way to explore other things like skipping and cycling again.
Bettina: I’d like to try a sprint triathlon. The main reason for not making it a longer one: I don’t like swimming in open water that isn’t the sea or a lake at least the size of the Lake of Constance. Small lakes and rivers creep me out. Both the sea and a very large lake are far away from me. With sprint triathlons, a lot of the time the swim is in a pool.
Cate: Our reader ainsobriety wrote a great post about choosing one word for the year and attaching change to that. Her word last year was bloom. I think my word for this year is presence.
Marjorie: I’d like to gussy up the nerve to test my 1-rep maxes on the barbell lifts. I’m not afraid of failing a lift–I do that fairly often as the programmed reps are sometimes more than I can do in the moment–I’m afraid of hurting myself trying to push through to finish a rep. I don’t want the effort to keep me out of the gym or to limit my abilities for a while afterwards. On the other hand, my trainer is often suggesting that the limits I currently have are “in my head,” and I’d like to try pushing against those limits to test to what extent that may be true.
Christine: I’m going to try working with a trainer again. I have worked with a trainer on and off in the past but now I have a better understanding of what I need from them so I think it will be even more useful this time.
Sam: New for me in 2020 and more than a little bit terrifying is teaching indoor cycling. I start in January sitting in in the classes of other instructors and then teaching bits and pieces of their classes for the semester. At the end I teach an entire class and get graded on my planning and execution of that class. I’d also like to set some strength goals and train for them. I’ve been strength training for years but I’ve never had specific targets in mind.
Catherine: I’ve talked about and actually done some strength and weight training in 2019. it started with physical therapy, which I found fun and empowering. My progress was rapid, and my physical therapist recommended weight training. I did a couple of training sessions, but my trainer and I had trouble with scheduling, so it went by the wayside. I purchased a online 12-week strength training program and got started, but quickly lost momentum at the end of the year. My goal for 2020 is to focus on strength training and weight training, to get myself enrolled in a regular regimen (whether by a class or trainer sessions). I want to be stronger and also more agile. This is becoming my co-top priority (alongside cycling).
Mina: The new thing I’d like to try this winter is biathlon—the cross country ski mixed with marksmanship sport. I keep promising myself I’ll take a clinic and then never get around to it. But I sat beside a woman biathlete at the hair salon when I was getting my hair colored, and she inspired me anew. So I’m hoping to finally try it in 2020!
Do you have a new thing for 2020? Share it with us in the comments. Thanks!
Inspired by you, I am taking the plunge to do 220 days of purposeful movement in 2020. I have already started by doing two days so far of Yoga with Adriene’s 30 day yoga challenge. It is the first time in decades I have tried yoga and I am enjoying it, despite my struggles with flexibility.