Getting Back in Shape

TRX at In-Shape Health Clubs

If I could give just one piece of advice to people in their 30's and 40's it would be to stay active, work out weekly and keep building muscle. Because as you get older it's really important to have muscle mass and getting back in shape is really hard. It hurts. A lot. My muscles hurt for days sometimes because the muscles are nonexistent. Had I been working out all this time this wouldn't be happening. But I didn't. So here I am.

I have also learned that all that hiking and walking I was doing is great. But it did nothing to build my core strength and upper body. It would have been much easier to have been doing some sort of strength training all along.

The good news is it's not too late to start. You can get back in shape at any age and it doesn't take that long with a little bit of focus.

Here are the things I'm doing to get back in shape.

Working out at the gym/club
Lucky for me I work for a chain of health clubs called In-Shape Health Clubs. I love the club because I like having a variety of things to do (strength, cardio, pool, tennis) and I like working out with people. I now work out in the club 2-3 times a week doing different things.

Working out with friends (aka, find your people)
I definitely prefer working out with friends. Because let's face it. Working out is hard. I need my friends to keep me from quitting. Because I really do want to quit. No one wants to do another round of planks. When you're with your friends you realize you can do it. Plus all the laughing adds another element of workout for your core.

Trying new things

I have found that I love strength training classes. I was always a cardio/dance kind of workout person. Now I really love a class called Les Mills BODYPUMP. And I love working out on TRX. This is what I'm doing in the picture below.

I know if my friends read this they will say "You don't love TRX, you hate TRX." because I'm always complaining. TRX is hard. It hurts. But it works. And I need results so I love it.

I am here (in the pink shirt) with Sara on the TRX.

Tobias (blue shirt) showing us the exercise.

Working out with a trainer once a week
A trainer will help you reach your goals and will show you how to use all the equipment in the gym. We have an amazing trainer at our Antioch club named Tobias Young. He works us hard. Puts up with all our chatter. And has the patience of a saint. Plus, he's the real deal. You can check out his website here. I may have to do a whole separate blog just about Tobias. He's kind of amazing.

You can work out with a trainer one-on-one or as a group. Our marketing team works with Tobias every Thursday as a group. We are all levels of fitness. Me being the oldest and weakest and most annoying because I complain all the time. The rest of the team is quite a bit younger and in much better shape. The great thing is we can all work out together because everyone uses different weights based on their strength. So we all get a great workout.

Set goals 
My goal over the next 6 months is to build more muscle and lose 10 pounds.

So there you have it. I would love to know what you're doing to stay in shape. Leave a comment below telling me your favorite exercise or tip to stay motivated!