Gym Time, Run Time, What Time? My Time…

I have always been an early bird. Wake up at 5am, go to the gym -lift for hours, sauna, shower. Be home by 8am to tackle the day. That all came to a crippling halt in 2024, when I moved to Brooklyn to start a life with my now fiancé. My routine turned upside down. I went from a morning person, to a sleeping in til 7-8am girly (which meant no more gym). I started staying up late waiting for my partner to come home from a long day of work so we could have dinner together. This shift in my schedule may have brought us closer together, but it took a big toll on me physically.

I didn’t realize how quickly I could lose the strength, motivation or shape that I had spent almost a decade maintaining. The gym became a foreign place to me and less of the domain that I thrived in. I suddenly dreaded the weights area feeling exposed and vulnerable so when I would go to the gym, I’d stay in the area I deemed safe: the treadmills. I went from taking occasional group classes several days a week to going weeks without using my membership. When it came down to it, I listened all the reasons my mind told me no to go: no time, bad time or just not in the mood.

In January of 2025, as a part of my pre-pregnancy prep I decided to start working out again. I'd set an alarm every morning to train at the gym in our complex. I followed a 5-day split, rebuilding the strength I had loss from my lifting hiatus. By May, I had worked up the confidence to start going to the gym. I cut out the noise in my head and focused on a program that I created for myself. 5 lifts, 3 sets -10 reps each. 45 mins to an hour tops, that’s it! That’s all I need. And no, I’m not exactly lifting heavy. But I am lifting consistently -and that’s what matters.

As we age, our ability to build and sustain muscle weakens. We have to protect every bit of muscle that we have. As women, we also need to be conscious of things like cortisol which spikes insulin when are bodies are over stressed and contributes to things like stubborn tummy fat. As much as we may be believe more is more, the more doesn’t always have to be more weight, more time or more reps. The more can be more sleep, more recovery more grace.

My days of spending hours in the gym are over. I don’t have the energy, or the time. And I’m okay with that. I’m okay with meeting myself where I’m at. I’d rather focus on form, light hypertrophy, and a system that’s sustainable. Over the course of 3 months what has that resulted in alongside some other key practices? 10lbs of fat down and up 5lbs of muscle. Slow growth that I can sustain.

Now where is my partner in all this? Well, we don’t have the same sleep schedule anymore, but 3 days a week, he wakes up early with me and we go on runs. For the last 3 months I’ve been following a running program from the app 5k runner. Over the course of several weeks, the app guides you through walking/running intervals until you reach a point that you’re running nonstop for 35 mins.

I want to preface by sharing that mine is a true couch potato to 5k runner journey. I am not a runner. I do not have the anatomical build of someone who would be ideal for running. I didn’t grow up enjoying running nor am I particularly fast OR good at running. I did however see something at the beginning of this year that caught my eye. It said:

Run more than a Lifter and Lift more than a Runner

I immediately knew that that was going to be one of my goals for 2026. I can only imagine how hard it gets to be -to walk while pregnant, or lift or stand or sit or pretty much do anything, So if I can become better at doing the hard things now, what’s hard later may feel easier. For me running has been as much about strenghening my mental fortitude as much as my stamina or endurance. It’s about doing the things that come natural to me like lifting and mobility and also doing the things that are hard.

My latest obsession has been podcasts, specifically, ultra running podcast. Watching athletes like Courtney Dauwalter run up to 250 mile marathons, and listening to her talk about mental fortitude and simply putting one foot in front of the other. There’s been so many times when I’ve been running and I’ve wanted to give up, where I feel like I can’t go further. But then I think of all the things I want to do, all the lengths I want to run or hike. And I remind myself that I will never get to those points, if I don’t get past this hard moment. The mind is so strong and it can push the body to amazing limits and it has pushed my to complete my program and become a 5k Runner.

I was listening to a podcast with Rich Roll and the epic David Goggins and he was talking about making time for what’s important. He emphasized that we all have the time, we just need to find it. One practice he does is journaling. He writes out the details of his entire days as a resource to look back and see where he could optimize. I started doing this back in May as well, using my Comma-Comma note book which is not just a daily journal but also stickers so that you can set goals and track consistency.

What’s worked for me is making the time early. That means going to bed early, setting my alarm, and pulling myself out of bed at 5:30am. As hard as it was in the beginning, once I got to the gym I never regretted going. Now three months into my gym routine, it’s truly become second nature and something I look forward too. Minimizing decision fatigue also helps. I don’t over complicate my wardrobe or my workout routine. I find clothes that I like and feel good in and I buy multiples. I alternate my workouts between 3 main compound lifts and about 7 accessory options, focusing on improving form and increasing weight. The body likes routine. Because lifting causes stress on the body, I try to include habits and routine to the minimize unnecessary addition stress of the mind.

All Peace & Blessings are Due the the Creator. Most Merciful, Most Kind.