11/09/2023
Keep reading for my biggest takeaways⬇️
1- As someone in recovery from orthorexia, (an eating + exercise disorder) this experiment would have led me into past disordered behaviors if I wasn't confident in my recovery status. This didn't mean that some old diet thoughts didn't try to creep up, but because of my long healing process, I had the tools to deal with any thoughts. Taking back the gym space from diet culture felt like a huge win!
2- For this experiment, I didn't have an exact program I was following but I did have some planned workouts I wanted to try. However, I first made sure I was mentally/physically/emotionally ready to complete them before I started. On a day when I wasn't feeling up to it, I either skipped it altogether or implemented something else. In this way, I still worked toward my goal of getting stronger, but not at the expense of my mental or physical health.
3- I was only able to be flexible with my workouts because I had unlearned shame and arbitrary rules diet culture places on exercise. When I had to skip or modify a workout I did so with understanding and grace for myself. When past me would have had me blaming myself for not being able to follow my workout exactly, current me adjusted and kept moving with ease.
4- I made adjustments, including having a backup day scheduled, modifying to a walk at home, or adding some simple stretches at the end of the day. Over a week, my habit already started to assemble as I created a new and fully stocked gym bag, found pre & post-workout snacks I enjoy, and refined my goals.
5- I had the general intention of going back to the gym to get stronger, but no specifics. Being a certified personal trainer, I knew I could best maximize my time in the gym if I did exercises that specifically aligned with my goals. However, like many of my clients starting out, I still needed to learn what that meant. I was able to do that by trying a variety of exercises throughout the 7 days. Finding exercises that best align with my client's needs and goals is something I focus on when developing a training program. In this case, I needed to apply this same process to myself!
More in a blog post coming soon!
