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Fitness inspiration?

Roxanna

Veteran

Greetings Fabbers

I have been a bit MIA here because with work and two little ones at home, it has been a busy time for us.

I haven't been shopping very much. In fact, I've been noticing how much I have - almost everything I need, I can find represented in my closet in one way or another. And I am loving wearing my super casual clothes. I am realizing that while I love my clothes, the amount of clothes I have is stressing my out, rather than giving me joy. Which has convinced me to keep to my low-buy resolutions this year.

Instead, I've been putting my energies into getting fit. I call it the COVID kickstart I might as well spend these months getting back in shape, so I can feel good in my clothes when I go back to work, instead of buying new ones. My daily workouts have been great so far - I'm stronger and more lean and fit than I've been in a long time.

But - I notice that when I am working out, I can tend to get overly focused on body image and live too much in my own head, to my unattainable expectations. For this reason, I'd like some inspiration and role models that are my age, not overly skinny or chiseled, who are just strong women who work at staying strong. Do you have any instagrammers or bloggers that I should follow?

I'm actually not on social media much, but a media personality I love is Tracy Moore. She is fit and strong but loves her curves:
https://www.instagram.com/thetracymoore/?hl=en

21 replies

Latest reply was from Laurie

Anonymous

This is a tough one , I agree . But this very post of yours is reminding me that I could be focusing my energies on things other than the state of my wardrobe . I get so wound up in my own head I lose track of what’s really important . I’m so stressed out by work and lack thereof , my husband’s job situation , and everything else that my fitness is falling apart . Working out at home sucks, but I need to persevere . Any of the fitness people I follow tend to be younger and super-fit , so I have no recommendations there . Looking forward to seeing what you come up with .

Roxanna

Veteran

Lisa - thanks And i think we are ALL struggling with that, me included - nothing like a worldwide pandemic and the anxiety of job loss to screw up your focus and mess with your priorities! Sigh.

I just find that working out every day has given me one thing I can control, and I am needing to have a little control these days. But given my propensity to compare and despair, I'm trying to not get carried away in fitness comparisons if I can help it

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Ah, good point. I don't actually follow fitness people on social media because of what you say. Unlike outfits, I cannot translate their bodies onto mine. Will be following this thread with interest.

Jessikams

(website)

Veteran

I am biased, as I am a yoga teacher myself, but I think any yoga program really helps participants to become familiar with their bodies, and honor its strengths and limitations. Adding a yoga video or two into the mix could boost your positivity and perspective!

Runcarla

Veteran

Not on Instagram, but I do pick up sport specific magazines (running, triathlon, yoga) that feature athletes or practitioners ‘of a certain age’ or have articles aimed at ‘older’ athletes. The focus tends to be on performance rather than appearance - but form follows function.

After a certain age it becomes more about maintenance or dealing with loss (loss of strength, loss of speed, etc.) and possibly injuries, so you aren’t going to get upbeat posts about ‘gains’ like you might from an enthusiastic newcomer.

Helena

Veteran

Roxanna, I absolutely love Tracy Moore. I saw her first assignment on the news and she was such a go getter, when they tried to throw back to the newsroom she literally said "WAIT", and grabbed the person she was hoping to speak with to get her scoop. I thought, this woman is IT and was soooo happy when she got Cityline!

Anyhow, on the actual topic, if you're a yoga person, if highly recommend yoga with Adriene. Yes she is skinny, young and gorgeous BUT her practices are always reminding us to ground through how we feel, honour our bodies as they are, etc. I only do her free videos but I believe her membership programs features additional instructors of diverse body types.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

I've been a little too much on the exercise in these quarantine times. It's kind of my fallback when I need to work off some energy/excess of frustration.

I am doing yoga and pilates classes via zoom, with instructors I already practiced with, in groups with people I (mostly) know. So the instructors range from 45-65 in age and the class participants even wider. I enjoy seeing everyone's pets bothering them when they are in downward facing dog or whatever on the floor. And it feels like a communal effort to keep bodies and life moving.

I also have a peloton bike, and of course those instructors look all perfect even if they are on wfh lately. It's easy to look at them and be like, I will never in my life be able to wear a cropped sports top. However, the classes push hella lot harder, so I get good results from that perspective.

I also walk my dog twice a day, and while that can be an awful slog when it's cold and windy, now that the weather seems to be improving a little, the walks will probably turn into the best part of the day.

Preppy Pear

Veteran

It is so hard for me to get enough exercise and work with being a wfh parent (dh is only home part time when I do most of my work), and I applaud you for making it a priority in a similar situation. Like you, I’m focused on getting and staying strong. I love that I can still comfortably carry my five year old. She’s getting big fast so I have to get stronger!

I’m trying to feel good about doing the best I can without studio classes and limited time. I am fairly obsessed - I love working out, so this is hard. FWIW, I think it’s pretty healthy to have fitness aspirations and it sounds like you are already being very smart about it.

My main inspiration is my friends who have stayed fit and active well into their sixties. There have always been women In my life and in my activities who were older and who who could put me to shame with their strength, flexibility or endurance. Someday I’ll have to be the oldest and put the younger ones in their place!

cindysmith

Veteran

I don't follow fitness people on social media, and I don't even read a lot of fitness magazines/e-zine articles. I do like popsugar, because they have a lot of fitness themed posts that often seem like they could work for even me. I'm one of those people who went to the gym so I could eat cake

I had just started seeing results from a year of weight training, then the coronapocalypse shut down the gym. Living in an RV makes it hard to work out at home, but I've recently begun working with my resistance bands that came with my pilates video.
I don't know why I'm telling you all this, since it doesn't directly answer the question you asked, other than the fact that I'm 50 years old and weight training helped me look at things differently. The weight training was born from 2 rounds of physical therapy for an old shoulder injury, and as I felt my shoulder and arm getting stronger in p.t., it made me want to strengthen all of me. At the current moment, I'm wanting to get back into regular strength training to undo the damage the coronapocalypse has caused (sheltering in place + cupcakes = fluff around my middle). What I'm doing is focusing on how good it felt to notice I was getting stronger and ignore how icky it feels to have extra fluff built up. Being able to keep up with the increased demand the coronapocalypse has brought us at work? Definitely motivating me to keep up as best I can in the absence of my gym and trainer. Way more motivating than staring at my muffin top in the mirror.
Hopefully, you can find a way to focus on the positives instead of any negatives that your brain tries to sell you, and you and I can journey towards stronger bodies together XOXO

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Nice to see you chime in, Roxanna

Working from home has its advantages and disadvantages for sure. It can be hard to focus, but soooooo lovely to be together as a family!

Personally, I have zero fitness goals other that to make sure that Sam is thoroughly walked, do a vinyasa yoga class a few times a week (although I am only doing PT exercises at the moment post my fall), and make sure my energy is spent since I have a lot of it.

I would like to suggest you follow Alison from Wardrobe Oxygen on Instagram who has been on a hectic fitness journey for 2.5 years. Make sure you watch her Insta Stories too. She is 5 ft 2, age 44, and weighs 194 pounds. She is extremely strong, fit and dedicated! Very impressive. Her mantra:

Your size does not determine your strength

Your weight does not determine your worth

THAT is stylish to me. Enough said.

elpgal

Veteran

I really love @trainwithjoan on Instagram. She made fitness changes in her 70s and is such an inspiration. Her humble motto is ‘if I can do it, so can you’.

JAileen

Veteran

I wish I were having your inspiration instead of my bread baking one...

Jules

Veteran

Lafemmestrong and thepinkstudiotoronto are two local workout studios with body positive and age inclusive messaging and images. I’m more of a gym/strength training person than a dance class attendee but appreciate The Pink Studio’s joyful approach to movement.

Anonymous

Well, thanks to you, miss, I hit the floor with weights and bands this morning . I berated myself last night - as I always do - for not setting out routines and schedules for myself. So I decided I'd try this: morning coffee while reading my online stuff (usually takes 90 mins to get through everything ) and work email , then a daily home workout. Daily , Lisa. Afternoons are for actual work . I feel that I"ve lost all the gains I made through a lot of hard work in January and February , and am disappointed in that ..

Roxanna

Veteran

Lisa! That's so great! And I'm glad i inspired you. Honestly, i thought, if I'm going to have 8 weeks stuck at home, at least I can focus on getting myself in shape and come back stronger and fitter. I always ask for time to focus on something, and now I've actually got it (relatively, anyway.) I forgot about the mental and emotional toll something like this can cause...but exercise is actually helping me through it.

I also find that gains I've made (and lost) often come back more speedily than I thought they would - because I'd already laid the base. So I'm sure you will feel your strength from Jan and Feb in no time!

For everyone - thank you so much for all the suggestions and all the kind comments and thoughts! Honestly, you have such great mindsets around exercise.

It also occurred to me that after posting this that I am looking for better representations of fitness - on visual mediums! But fitness is not a look. It's a lifestyle, and my goals are to gain strength, balance and agility so that I can lead an active life with my kids. So maybe focusing on other forms of inspiration - like podcasts, or and Carla suggested, runner's magazines - would be more helpful.

Jessikams and Helena - yep, I love yoga and Yoga with Adriene too and do both a lot

This time around I am doing Beachbody on Demand again and really loving it. I did 2 rounds of 21 day Fix and now i am doing a more intense 4 week program called The Prep. I really like how it focuses on a different aspect of fitness every day (strength training, agility, balance, HiiT etc) so it's aimed at making you stronger all around. I am not a sales rep for them, but I do like BB and their range of programs for me.

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

I love Meg Boggs:

http://megboggs.com/

elpgal

Veteran

LisaP, I hear ya. I don’t do well with schedules but if I don’t schedule, I don’t do it at all.

Anonymous

The people that inspire me are people I know- like my age 70+ longtime friend/karate sensei! I like to focus on how I feel when I work out, the feeling of pushing past resistance, getting stronger, or the joy of being in nature.

I was doing some guided workouts on apps, but abandoned them. They're ok for getting ideas of new moves, but I don't want the structure. Hours of conference calls, webinars, and online meetings during the workday has made me resist any structure in my off hours!

Roxanna

Veteran

I hear you elpgal, Lisa and Suntiger. Even though I know schedules and structure are good for me and help me achieve my goals, I somehow resist them. Or I stick to them when they are shiny and new and then fall off when they get hard or boring. I love and embrace change - but I am realizing that I somehow need to stick to some structure around self care too (like exercising, meditation and walking) if I am to be my best.

Angie - thank you for the thoughtful post and recommendation - I never would have found Alison on my own!

I am so loving these recommendations - please keep them coming! Jenava, thank you for introducing me to Mel Boggs!

Jules - I am in Toronto so I’ll have to check out the pink studio!

Anonymous

I quite like Beachbody too . I recently dug it out of the archives ( though maybe it had expired but it hadn’t ) and did one day of the 21 day fix . Lol. Not sure what happened there - but you can bet I’ll do it again tomorrow . You can act as my check in person

Laurie

Veteran

I used to work out - running primarily - to control my weight, or so I thought. What I was actually doing was controlling my stress as it turned out.

Now I work out to minimize my back pain, and to build and maintain a durable foundation of strength for daily living and activity. I've talked about my fitness routine several times on YLF, which is in-home, with resistance bands, etc... The point I want to make on this thread is that I have been surprised, and obviously pleased, to get aesthetic benefit from my daily efforts. But,since that was not my goal or my reason for doing the work I have not beat myself up about how I look. It's been all about how I feel. I feel much, much better. Looking better has been a bonus, and sort of a surprise. I feel good about the priorities. Getting out, and staying out, of pain is pretty strong motivator.

Even if you just do 10 minutes of exercise a day, it's better than 0 minutes!