Wellness: Through & Through - Pilates and Running Update
Hello friends!
This week I'm going to return to the beginning of my health and wellness experiment that I started last year and talk about pilates.
To the people who know me and who read this blog please forgive me because no I cannot shut up about pilates, but I seriously can't stop.
It's been one year since I began practicing pilates and I am completely embedded in the cult-like practice and seriously can't stop talking about it.
But in any case, I've been doing pilates five times a week for the last 12 months and I've noticed amazing results in that time both mentally and physically.
Since the start of this experiment I have done a lot of things to improve my health and general wellbeing, but pilates is the one thing that has stayed in my routine.
In celebration of this, I've decided to really challenge myself over the next three weeks and run a half marathon while also completing a 5x5 challenge being done by my pilates studio.
If you're interested in my plan and current progress, keep reading here!
Ok so, like I said, I've been doing pilates for 5 days a week every week (except for the period between July - September when I was of course, travelling), and to say I haven't noticed the difference in my body would be a huge lie.
I have said it before and I will reiterate it now, I don't believe in exercising for only aesthetic reasons - I think it's a dangerous way to exist and can easily spiral into disordered eating and other problematic behaviours that can negatively affect health. However, I have noticed a huge difference in my body since beginning pilates. When I started the practice I was in a really bad mental state, I had put on weight and was doing next to no exercise at all. I needed a shock to my system. When I saw my body in comparison to what I looked like a mere eight months prior, I was shocked. Flabbergasted. Taken aback by how much I had let myself go mentally that I didn't notice the physical change in myself. It was like looking at myself with clear eyes again.
I got a really good deal at my studio as they had just opened and started going a few times a week. I slowly upped the days I would go until now where I try to get there at least 5 times, if not more. I have noticed that I am not only stronger, more lean and definitely slightly more muscular, but I have also dropped a significant amount of bloatedness and weight around my stomach, back and arms.
The more important factors of difference for me however, have been the mental health changes I have noticed. I am happier and more focused and have so much more clarity in my daily thoughts and tasks. My sleep is much deeper and of better quality and in general I am just a much more healthy person.
I enjoy the practice of pilates as a whole and the instructors at my studio are amazing, which definitely makes a difference for me.
On to the half marathon.
I began running properly in the Covid lockdowns, despite a lifetime telling myself that I hated running and that I was bad at it. Now I'm fully in the cult of running as well. This year I made a resolution that I would run a half marathon, and I decided to finally bite the bullet and sign up for one in the last month of the year.
I will be running 21kms on December 3rd in Melbourne and I have started training properly (a bit later than I should have but better late than never) while also doing a pilates challenge, which means I'll be doing two types of strenuous exercise twice a day.
I've been attempting to run most days now for two weeks. This hasn't gone off to the best start but I've been trying!
I definitely have had to up my food intake and water intake and I'll be purchasing electrolyte jellies to try out before the big day.
I'll update you all as I go along and if you want to get in the moment or more consistent updates, head over to my instagram and tiktok!
Otherwise, I'll be back next week with another blog post and as always please let me know if there is anything specific you want to hear/read about, I want this blog to be like a conversation with you all.
Which season is your favorite? I'm feeling really over winter right about now. @uniquevintage #uniquevintage #pinup #melbourneblogger #australianpinup #americanstyle #ootd #whatiwore #polkadots #girlsofinstagram (at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0x69mxjG12/?igshid=g04bvlmafb95
A main reason why we are addicted to our smartphones is because we can no longer think without them. It’s important to understand that we are addicted to the Internet, not our phones. Try to think about how important WiFi is in a foreign country. As a tourist I feel lost without connectivity, except ofcourse when I have one of those wonderfully large tourist maps you get in places like Rome or Paris. Ahhh, wanderlust. How awesome is Instagram without connectivity? Exactly. We have become irreversibly addicted to this, interesting connection, that we have formed with the Internet. Origins of a Cyborg era for humanity? Try this experiment out for me: All you have to do is sit on your couch when you are alone, and think about something you’re interested in, and then notice how long it takes until you’re reaching for your phone to enrich, capture or share the thought. We are intellectually reaching higher states now that we think symbiotically with the Internet. And I say symbiotically because something tells me that the Internet is the seedling of something much greater. Just like the great captain of the USS Enterprise, who in truth couldn’t be the great ‘Jean-Luc Picard (A name that cannot be spoken without an French accent), without his crewman: Data, we are addicted to being the best versions of ourselves.
Exercise - Good for the mind and body. 🧘🏼♀️I always feel better during and after a good workout which I haven't been able to do as often as I would have liked these past few months. I've started getting into a great fitness routine lately and it feels great to get back into the groove. That post workout muscle soreness feels great seriously. 😄 As you know I haven't been posting much in the last few months as I've been busy following my other passions with studying and I wanted to give it my full attention. I've been dealing with heath issues and have been in hospital 3 times in 2 months which has made a school/Blogging/life in general a juggling act and during the worst of it I wasn't able to do my favourite things that I do to relax and centre myself which is keeping fit. I'm on school holidays now which has given me more time to spend on IG and I certainly missed getting creative with styling and photography. I have a upcoming operation but the recovery time on that should be fairly quick so I can get on with life and hopefully put these heath issues behind me.🤞🏻Going forward I'll be going back to School soon with assignments due 😜 and recovering so I may not be posting as often as I used to. But whenever I do have some time I'll be blogging as often as I can and try to keep you updated on my Instagram stories. I really appreciate all the support over the years on both my blog and Ig especially to those that have been here from the start. 🤗 Enjoy this beautiful weather that is coming up and Stay Gold .💛🌟 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ____________________________________ • • • • #melbourneyum #melbournefashionblogger #activewearfashion #melbourneblogger #yogainspiration #runningoutfits #styleandfitness #runningbare https://www.instagram.com/p/BnpatIYBMtC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1sawfcddbj0vd
