Tips for returning to the gym after a (long) break

returning to the gym deadlifts

I will confess, I was already a gym slacker before I got pregnant. I wasn’t going as often as I used to and was generally looking for a change. Then I spawned a person, and at my very first doctor’s appointment, I was told that I couldn’t lift heavy weights while pregnant. It was a disappointment, but also sorta a way of letting myself off the hook.

Fast forward 2.5 years, and I’d gained quite a bit of weight and hadn’t been in a gym for years. Sure, I did yoga for a while, and I was constantly carrying around a 10kg (22lbs) human, but I was out of shape. When we moved into our new, awesome home, we joined our local gym and I returned to weightlifting at last. I’m still in the early days, but I’ve learned some important things. Continue Reading

3 Comments Fitness, Health

I don’t have any 2018 goals yet

Last year, I was pretty determined and clear about what I wanted from 2017. I made a list of three clear, ambitious goals, and somehow I managed to pull them off. The biggest and most transformational goal was moving from South Africa to the US, and in many ways, it feels like that move is still impacting my life and hopes for the year ahead.

But this year, I haven’t made a list of goals like I did in 2017. I’d say that I want to lose weight and get fit, but that’s a process that I actually started last month thanks to moving to a new place and joining a local gym where I’m able to lift heavy again. My other goals are based on the move – getting settled into our new home, making friends, etc. And for a while today, the lack of goals left me feeling like I don’t have focus, like I’m adrift. That isn’t the case though. Continue Reading

5 Comments Rambling

2017 – Looking back on the year that was

good mom

I know, these are totally cliche, right? Looking back on how the year went and all that can be a bit lame. But so much happened this year, and it’s nice to have one place where I can think about everything that happened, and also start to think through what I want to do in 2018. Looking back on the year that was can help me figure out what I want the year ahead to be like.

I did this last year and used a rather deep diving set of only 10 questions. It helped me to formulate my 2017 goals, which I somehow managed to achieve this year. So, I might as well use the same questions and see where it gets me. Continue Reading

5 Comments Rambling

2017 – How I achieved my goals

caught, not taught

At the beginning of the year, I set myself three main goals. I figured three was enough, that I didn’t need to strive for a million different things, and wow, three was more than enough. But seeing how I achieved my goals, I’m still pretty proud, especially considering how massive my main goal was. The three things I was striving for were:

  • Emigrate to the States
  • Feel like myself again
  • Reconnect and grow

Yeah, I was rather ambitious. But I think I was fairly successful. Continue Reading

4 Comments Fitness, Rambling, South Africa, USA

Moving to the States – the first four months

four months

I know we all talk about how time moves so quickly, especially when we have kids. This is still totally true, but moving has just highlighted this for me. Four months ago, we got to the States. Four months ago, we left our life in South Africa behind. So much has happened since moving to the States, I thought I’d at least try to pause and look back.

On the one hand, I keep talking about all the things I want to do, to buy, the ways I still need to settle in. And yet, in just four months, we’ve gotten all our American admin sorted and set up our home. Sure, I still need certain things around the house and I’m still getting used to it all, but at the core, we are up and running here in the States. Continue Reading

4 Comments Rambling, South Africa, USA