Fitness: From Novelty to Routine

I’m a lady of extremes, in case you haven’t noticed. I go balls to the wall about things I’m passionate about. Once that interest gets sparked, I need to learn everything I can about that subject, almost to an obsessive degree.

Flying trapeze. American Idiot on Broadway. Green Day. The TV show Roseanne (I wish I was kidding). And yes, fitness.

But with that extreme nature also comes burn out. It’s impossible to keep that kind of intensity up forever. Okay, and also because there’s only so much to learn about Roseanne…

When I first started writing this blog, the fitness scene was new and shiny to me. I had never taken a SoulCycle class. The boutique fitness scene in NYC was just starting to boom. Athleisure wasn’t even a thing yet.

I wanted to try EVERY class my gym (whatup, Crunch!) had to offer. My to-do list included taking class at Soul Cycle and Physique57 and Flywheel and ALL the fancy studios.

I obsessively started reading other fitness blogs. Remember RateYourBurn? The website used to review various studios and instructors. RYB was like a bible to me and I used it to learn the top players in the fitness industry and what studios were trendy. RIP RateYourBurn.

Yes, I was obsessed. And worried that the obsession would fizzle out like so many of my obsessions do.

My relationship to fitness has certainly changed since then and while I wouldn’t say my passion for fitness has fizzled out, it’s definitely different.

Almost 5 years later, fitness no longer feels like a novelty to me. Instead of being this new, shiny, hobby, it’s become an integrated part of my life.

When I first started blogging, working out in the morning was totally foreign to me. I remember the first time I worked out on a Saturday morning while Jeremy was still sleeping. It felt SO weird to wake up early on a weekend and go to the gym. Now Jeremy’s shocked when I don’t work out in the morning before he wakes up.

Earlier this week I did my first two-a-day (when you do two work outs in one day) in a long long time. A few years ago, working out more than once a day was a fairly common thing for me. Not like an every day thing, but certainly a once a week kind of thing.

In college, I’ll admit, I was bored and lonely. Fitness and going to the gym was easier than maintaining a social life. When I didn’t have anything to do on a Friday night, I’d go to a yoga class. And I don’t say this to make you feel sorry for me. Fitness became a hobby and a past time.

This new love of working out also filled me with new anxieties. I would never categorized myself or past Kayla as an exercise addict, and don’t mean to discuss this very serious topic lightly. But looking back, I did everything in my power to work out 6 days a week with one rest day. Even if I was traveling or on vacation.

Now, I don’t have time for two-a-days. And when I do, I’d rather just veg out or work on blog stuff. Sometimes I do still work out while I’m traveling– I love checking out new studios when I go to LA. But if I can’t squeeze in a work out, whatever.

Fitness is now just part of my routine. Like reading before bed every night and going to Starbucks every freaking day of my life.

So maybe it’s no longer new, exciting and shiny to me like it was. But it’s obviously still a big part of my life and now I’m more interested in motivating others to fall in love with fitness and wellness as a whole.

 

Photography by Lydia Hudgens