Happy Monday! (I hope).

I’m sort of still in denial that I am, indeed, back in Kansas (so to speak).

Oz (a.k.a. the Gaylord Opryland Hotel) was such a fantastically over-the-top land of soaring glass ceilings, labyrinthine hallways, $3 Diet Dr. Peppers (I resisted somehow), crisply-made beds, and multitudinous atriums (complete with elaborate live foliage and palm trees) that “real life” pales a bit in comparison (especially since I can longer just toss my towels on the ground and have them magically replaced with fresh ones).

The sheer fantasticality of it all made it a bit hard to leave.

Of course, having this be the first sight I saw when I got off the plane after the flight home made any loss of luxury more than worth it:

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(I’m just glad that the tornado and the plane are so far away from each other).

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In true feminine form, Adelaide was happy to have Mama back, but she was even more interested in checking the bags for loot!

Okay, so what does any of this have to do with Move-it Monday?

Well, I must admit that the vast majority of the time, my exercise last weekend consisted of lugging around my purse when I chose to bring it with me.

Fortunately, I didn’t usually have to, thanks to Mandy, who gave me this adorable Fossil wristlet when we got on the plane for Nashville.

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(Hooray for “free” Diet DP!)

But we did manage to make it to the gym one of the two mornings we were there (hey, 50% ain’t too bad), and I ran the first three miles that I’ve run in…a year (more?).

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Here I am in our lovely cleaned-for-us bathroom after my run. Quite sweaty and apparently happy.

Actually, it felt glorious to do something different and challenging.

I exercise all the time, but I rarely do anything other than the Les Mills classes I teach/take, and even though those moves vary quite a bit, they all fall into the same basic categories.

Let me tell you…running is a different animal—one that felt like it had put a serious smack down on every muscle in my body.

Sure my legs were a little trembly/sore. But what was up with the pain in my rib cage every time I turned around?

But that’s kind of the point.

No matter how active you are, shaking things up a bit can be an ideal way to get out of a fitness rut, blast a plateau, or just revive an interest in exercise.

Do you usually run?

How about a strength-training class?

Are you obsessed with cycling?

Kick-boxing would totally get you revved to hit (groan) the gym even harder next time.

A fan of the weights?

Try the elliptical for 20 minutes.

Whatever your level of fitness or routine, a change is hardly ever a bad thing (which is a roundabout way of saying it’s almost always a very good thing!).

I personally love (and kind of hate) sore muscles because they mean that I’m breaking down my body so I can then rebuild it into a fitter, healthier version of me.

Even if you love your current routine (or don’t have one yet), I encourage you to choose one thing you normally wouldn’t try or haven’t done in a while (or ever).

You’ll be amazed at the soreness results!

(I must say that I’m ashamed to admit that I got in such a hurry to get changed and get to breakfast that I made the rookie mistake of forgetting to stretch after my run, which contributed significantly to the stiffness/soreness of my muscles afterwards).

So, if you’re a veteran exerciser, what move/style would you like to tackle to shake things up a bit? And if you’re brand new to fitness, where would you like to start?

I’d love to hear your ideas!

P.S. (I think “P.S.”—in parentheses, of course, would be a great alternative name for this blog).

P.P.S. I’ll be giving you more details from Blissdom this week, so stay tuned!

15 Comments

  1. Love the sign they made…so cute. Question: loving the phone. Which one do you have?
    I have done (prior to splintered leg bones and need to get back to it soon *sigh) Power 90 In Home Gym…which is the first installment that will eventually get me to P90X…eventually.

  2. I take the Bodyflow Les Mills classes at my gym. I can’t do the more high impact stuff because of dance injuries and do mostly flow, yoga and pilates. I started taking yoga from a new instructor and it’s been kicking my butt! I took a class last night that I don’t normally take and I am SOOOOO sore, but it hurts so good ya know?

  3. Glad you had such a great trip, Abbie. But that greeting when you go off the plane…it doesn’t get more precious than that (as you know)
    I love following your blog. Looking forward to hearing more about Blissdom.

    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

  4. so cute that your kids made that sign! I get tired of doing the same workout too! I no longer have a gym membership which makes it harder to change things up, but I like doing a combination of running on my treadmill or outside and then different workout videos. I wish I could take classes at a gym!

  5. I work out 4-5 days a week and since we moved, I go to a bare bones gym with no classes. I always stay so much more motivated when I have someone making me do the things I hate (squats), so occasionally I will sign up and take a boot camp class for 4 weeks or sign up for a half marathon and start a training routine. I must say, sometimes I end up just doing the elliptical for 45 minutes just so I can watch a (new to me) episode of 19 Kids and Counting!…whatever, it’s something!

  6. Ah!! Awesome that you get to hang out in real life with people whose blogs I follow!
    As for move it mondays, I was a cross country runner from Jr year of high school to jr. year of college, but I ended up having to stop because of my knees. Since then I’ve mostly cross trained in the gym, but I recently volunteered to help coach at the middle school where I work, so I get to (veerrryyy) slowly add running back in! Yay for mixing it up!

  7. That is adorable. I’m also happy that the airplane and tornado weren’t closer! So cute!

    I’m a runner, but I also love biking. I hope it warms up soon. I really miss the fresh air blowing in my face.

I love hearing from you guys!