NINE Years.....

Daily workout spot

Y’all, we are in a global pandemic. A REAL GLOBAL PANDEMIC! I am not writing this for you, my Dear Reader. I know that you know that we are in a pandemic, because almost every single person on this planet life has been impacted by this pandemic. But, I am writing this for the person who finds this blog 100 years from now. Yep, we are definitely in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC, AND

Today, is the 9th Anniversary of me working out the greatest personal trainer in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD, Berhane.

Pre-Pandemic when folks could breathe on each other. 

March 16th, 2020 was the first Monday that I did not have to go to work. So, I got up like I always do and got on the elliptical before I ate breakfast. (Berhane advised me to do thirty minutes of light to medium cardio before I eat every morning: FAT BURNING AND MOOD ADJUSTING.) Then I tried to create some normalcy by reading, walking, not quite eating on a schedule, and reaching out to folks.

However, the next day, the gym in my building was closed, and so I started walking four to five miles with my neighbor, and then I would eat my breakfast when I got back home. However, I was noticing that I was not getting that boost of energy from walking. I would come home tired but not necessarily energized.

I talked to Berhane, and he reminded me that NOW is the perfect time to work on my health. He told me that I needed to start back doing thirty minutes before breakfast to get my heart rate up, and then I could walk. He reminded me that there was nothing wrong with me walking, but I needed to remember that walking is mainly for me to clear my mind and be outside. Walking was not causing my heart rate to go up the way that it needed to in order to burn fat and boost my mood. Also, he wanted to know about my diet, and I sort of told him about how I was NOT necessarily on my regular eating routine, and he sent me a new meal plan to follow. (YIKES!)

I am definitely no expert on how to get through a PANDEMIC, but as for me and my house, being discipline and on a routine has help me to stay sane in a really insane situation. We are in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC!!

Every, single, weekday morning I get up around 6:45 put on my coffee and watch Good Morning American until around 9. Between 9 and 11, I get on my stationary bike and I listen to a podcast. (Y’all there are soooo many good podcast out there.) Then, I cook and eat my breakfast, shower, read, do things for my job, I may go for a walk, I take naps, I cycle outside for hours when the weather permits, I read more, I may watch something on TV, AND I do weights two times a week like always. On the weekends, I sleep a little later, but everything else on my routine stays the same....AND, I feel happy, strong, healthier, purposeful.....

I do miss happy hours, and book club meetings, and book festivals, and bike rides with other folks, BUT, THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

It has been nine years of working out with Berhane, and if nothing else, he has confirmed and reconfirmed, even during a GOLBAL PANDEMIC, the power of being disciplined if we want to see lasting changes.

Not sure how other folks are coping, but I am praying that everyone finds something that works until we get to the other side.

PEACE AND LOVE!