Athleisure and the Gym

I like to tell this story every year because it reminds me of how this all started. When I started my blog I had a totally different focus. I really wanted to write about food and meal planning and healthy eating with kids. I have always loved fashion and since I was writing about health too I decided to publish a post about what to wear to the gym when you don’t have time to go home and change before running errands.

Boom. Just like that the post blew up and I started focusing my writing on fashion and shortly after opened my bigger blog We Five Kings.

Two years later and I still find myself rocking looks like this on the regular.

I need to be in the gym. At my age and with my family history being in the gym isn’t just something I am doing for a superficial look. I need to add muscle to my body and work on my cardiovascular system because I want to be the active mom my kids need.

Going to the gym and then having a full list of things to do means that I don’t always have time to change. Finding gym attire that I am comfortable wearing to the store, park, school or even to meet clients is important to me. It’s ok to be relaxed but I don’t want to look sloppy.

Outfit Details {This contains affiliate links}: Top // Pants // Shoes

Some Truths About This Last Year…

This last year has not been easy for me. I had a long term major weightloss journey that flipped into a major weight gain. I made bad choices in both the way I was trying to lose weight, keep the weight off and the way I was eating. I wasn’t taking care of myself or my thyroid issues and everything snowballed into me being miserable.

August thru October last year was a really low point for me until I finally found a doctor who realized how bad my thyroid levels were. Finding a reason you aren’t feeling good is awesome but it doesn’t mean that things get fixed immediately. I would say at this point I am about 75% of where I would want to be with my exhaustion and anxiety. It’s managed but it can always be better.

What Helped?

This makes going to the gym my job. I don’t break appointments with my boss and I am not going to break an appointment with myself. Through everything I have done these past few months to feel better the gym has been one of the best. It makes me feel strong and confident and unlike just eating healthy I feel like I am watching the results in the mirror as I workout.

Building muscle was a priority so I went right to my trusted trainer Christine White for advice and a workout schedule. She keeps my workouts short but heavy and minimal breaks. I am really getting the most out of the thirty minutes I am in the gym. ***It is important to know that Christine and I worked on this routine for ME and MY BODY. I want to be clear that I am not advocating that this routine is right for everyone.***

This is my weekly routine…

• Monday: Barre Class
• Tuesday: Upper Body (shoulders, back, biceps)
• Wednesday: Legs (squats, calves and deadlifts)
• Thursday: Off or spin (depending on how I am feeling)
• Friday: Upper Body (chest and triceps and some biceps)
• Saturday: Legs (lunges and calves)
• Sunday: Off or walk the neighborhood with the kids

Resting.

The second thing I have done to help myself is resting. I used to put a lot of guilt on myself when I rested. I would think of all of the things that I should be doing and why I needed to stand up. Allowing myself to rest has been imperative. My body was cryting out for me to stop and all I was doing was blaming it for not doing more. This is so backwards. We need rest. In fact as we age we need more rest especially when we are in the thick of a stressful season like raising three small kids.

Rest doesn’t make us weak. In fact it makes us strong.

I will always struggle with my weight. I will always struggle with my thyroid. I can’t change that but I can change the way I feel and this is a start.

XO,

Tippy