I’ve never been someone who’s described herself as “sporty” – maybe once in awhile aspirationaly, but I never really believed it. There’s a certain perception of what makes someone an athlete, and I never felt like I totally fit the bill. I was never super sporty growing up (I played volleyball a little bit, and considered show choir a sport!), but I wouldn’t say that I was a top tier athlete by any stretch of the imagination, or that I really had any athletic abilities to write home about. And since I didn’t think of myself as an athlete, I mostly wrote off my ability to excel at working out, or doing group classes (I was far to embarrassed to go to a group workout class for many years), or really being “good” at anything active.

But last year when we went into lock down, I realized pretty quickly that my somewhat active lifestyle of walking everywhere and commuting to work everyday was no longer really a reality, and I had to find some more creative ways to get active. I started going on long bike trips with my dad during lock down, doing more virtual fitness classes (where I could embarrass myself privately!), and became a bit more invested in clocking classes in my Peloton, which had been a little neglected since I had originally bought it.And slowly but surely, I started to see myself as slightly more athletic than I had originally given myself credit for, and build confidence in my small but mighty athletic abilities. While I’m not the strongest, fastest or most athletic (by ANY means!), it’s been fun to see myself get a little bit stronger, and a bit more confident on surviving an intense work out class. My favorite workouts currently involve taking masked up group classes from Studio Three (I go at least 2-3 times a week) and doing a Monday evening Torch45 class taught by our friend Diggy, and some early 7AM cycle classes or Torch classes during the rest of the week. It’s been interesting getting more into group classes while we’re all still in a pandemic, but Studio Three does an amazing job making sure classes are at limited capacity, everyone’s wearing a mask, sanitizing and social distancing during class. It’s nice to feel safe and get an amazing workout in a few days a week, and it’s definitely helped lift my mood throughout the busy weeks too!

I’ve also been trying to find more ways to go outside and workout now that the weather is nice again, whether it’s biking on the Lakeshore path, taking Milo on an extra long walk, or learning a new active hobby (I’m attempting to play tennis more with friends this summer too!). And of course, my trusty Peloton is always coming in clutch for middle of the day workouts, and is definitely less neglected these days than when I originally bought it a few years ago. Baby steps…Anyone else getting more into a workout routine these days? Now that the weather is starting to cooperate, I’m feeling a bit more motivated to get my butt in gear, and feel better in the process too – both mentally and physically. Would love to hear what workouts and fitness related things you all are doing that’s been making you feel a little more refreshed these days too!

A special thanks for Kate of Lincoln Lane Photography for the photos of this post!