We’re of mixed minds about new year’s resolutions here at the blog. I’d say that none of us are fans of the “new year, new you” idea, you know, the traditional resolutions where you pledge TO CHANGE ALL THE THINGS RIGHT NOW–spend less, exercise more, lose weight, swear off social media, and so on and so on. But we’re also a thoughtful and reflective bunch and insofar as the new year is opportunity to rethink what’s going well in our lives and what’s not, it can serve as a useful time to take stock. Nat did that in her post about things she wants to stop doing.
With that in mind, in these strange and unprecedented pandemic times, I asked some of the regular bloggers here to do a quick START/STOP/CONTINUE for the new year.
What’s one new thing you want to start in 21? What’s something you want to stop doing in 21? And what’s something that’s working that you want to keep doing in 2021?
Let us know what your answers are in the comments.
Nat
Start a monthly focus for my yoga practice. January is exploring King Pigeon.
Stop looking for external validation/praise for my fitness activities & goals. A bit contradictory for a blogger but is more about understanding my motivations for choosing activities.
Continue daily walking as a foundation activity.
Natalie has been blogging at Fit is a Feminist Issue since 2013 and one of her first posts was Count what matters and make what matters count.
Tracy
START: commitment to get outside every day for either a walk or a run, which is a bit more of a challenge with so much working from home.
STOP: mindless eating (COVID has created a new round of struggle on this — I am not talking about dieting or weight loss; I am talking about stopping eating on auto-pilot, without paying attention and without any relationship to either hunger or pleasure).
CONTINUE: my combo of running for cardio, Superhero workouts for strength and conditioning, and yoga for strength, balance, and flexibility. I’m loving all of my workouts these days. I also want to continue connecting with my various workout communities (Superhero Training Team, 221 in 2021 group, Fit Is a Feminist Issue regular bloggers group) for inspiration, a sense of camaraderie, and encouragement.
Tracy co-founded the blog with Sam back in 2012 and one of her first posts was I ran 20 min in a row and it felt fabulous!
Sam
START: I want to add small chunks of movement during my day, and avoid sitting for hours and then working out.
STOP: Hanging about in bed using my phone in the evenings before sleep and in the morning after. Staying up too late and needing the alarm to go off several times in the morning.
CONTINUE: Zwifting, fat biking, spending time outside, dog walks with friends and colleagues, weightlifting with son, yoga and stretching
Sam co-founded the blog with Tracy way back in 2012. One of her first posts was Fat or big: What’s in a name?
Marjorie
So, I’m more or less constantly setting goals for myself, reevaluating them, and ditching what doesn’t seem to be a good fit. These are some of the things that have come up recently, but certainly aren’t specific to it being January.
START: Focusing on balancing my meals, especially making sure I’m including plenty of fruits and veggies and a serving of protein at each
STOP: Expecting myself to get an “A+” on everything I do, a “B-” effort is still going to keep me moving in the direction of my goals. I need to be nicer to myself and focus less on how I could have done something/everything better.
CONTINUE: Lifting 3-4 days a week, daily walks, jogging on the weekends, weekend food prep for the week ahead, weekly trauma counseling, sleeping over 8 hours a night, regularly hanging out with my kitties and sweetie on the sofa
Marjorie has been blogging at Fit is a Feminist Issue since 2019 and one of her first posts was Doin’ My Part to Keep the Gym a Safe Space for Men.
Nicole
Start: Be more committed to stretching and yoga. It’s my weak spot (unless it’s something like 108 Sun Salutations and then I’m all in). Thanks to a post made by Tracy, I have signed up for Yoga by Adriene’s 30 day start to the year and that should help me with consistency in that area.
Stop: Going for a long run or spin class or long walk, and not stretching after. Drinking 4 or 5 coffees a day. Trying to limit it to 2 and then have matcha for the rest (I do drink a lot of water already).
Continue: I already run every week, but shorter distances. I plan to sign up for the Run Around the Bay’s Virtual Race (more on that in another post) as I’d like to use it as a guide to longer runs. Weekly park conditioning and strength workouts. One other strength and conditioning workout (virtual)Two 45 min-60 min spin sessions on my bike.Long walks with my husband (20,000 steps today for example, although most days it’s more like 5,000 steps).My husband and I have been eating a lot less sugar and I like how I feel. So I plan to continue with that.
Nicole has been blogging at Fit is a Feminist Issue since 2019 and her first post here was Sweaty, Sore and Slow.
Kim
START: keeping a food + drink journal. I’ve been far less mindful thanks to COVID and it’s beginning to irritate me (OK: IS irritating me). I think just reflecting on the fact that I’ll be reflecting on my food and drink choices later will spark some mindfulness about them. I’ve already started (I have a nifty bound journal I bought at a Christmas market – remember those? – in Konstanz three years ago that needs some filling).
STOP: worrying so much about my changing middle-aged lady body. Things are shifting, and so be it because that is the way aging works. If I continue to do what I’ve always done in terms of nutrition and exercise I’ll remain healthy and that’s most key. I can always buy new pants.
CONTINUE: my EMDR therapy with my wonderful person Annette. It’s been so valuable so far and I know will continue to strengthen me as we keep going.
Kim has been blogging at Fit is a Feminist Issue since 2013 and her first post was called Supporting each other makes us all better! (Guest post).
Catherine
START--1) commit and adhere to a regular schedule for physical activity. For me this means reserving times to get outside during daylight for walking or riding or skiing, and then actually leaving the house. Leaving it to fate or my whims or the end of the day wasn’t resulting in consistency for me in 2020, so a purposeful change is in order. 2) more regular cooking with more veggies (fruit, too) that feels better for my body (I have acid reflux and some other GI issues, and want to be nicer to myself around this).
STOP— 1) self-shaming about, well, everything (body, food, work, movement, to-do list, etc). Yeah, that would be good.
CONTINUE— my daily meditation and almost-daily yoga practices, regular safe social contact with friends and family, compassion for myself, my friends, family, students, colleagues, and all the sentient beings. We can all use it. Oh, and wearing my damn mask, as long as it takes!
Catherine has been blogging at Fit is a Feminist Issue since 2013. One of her very first posts was Facing Fears of the Group Ride—One Cyclist’s Saga.
Susan
Stop: interesting that I have nothing I want to stop. Nothing at all. Really.
Start: cooking more yummy things in my Dutch oven.
Continue: workouts with my trainer, all the yoga
Susan has been blogging at Fit is a Feminist Issue since 2014. One of her first posts was Fitness as a Relational Activity (Or, Only When You are Watching).
For more bloggers’ START/STOP/CONTINUE check in tomorrow!
