fall

Full Fall Blah

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I was hit with a serious case of the Fall Blahs yesterday.  I can’t even “blame” it on the weather, after three days of downpours and gray skies it was, in my mind, the perfect Central Virginia fall day; warm but crisp, bright and colorful.

The change of the seasons can be hard on the body and this time of year often leaves me a little under the weather and at least a little unmotivated.  What’s a girl to do to shake off the blahs?

  • Get Outside

Rain or shine, cold or hot, night or day, fresh air always shifts my mood and perspective.  Yesterday I racked leaves, pulled weeds, and harvested salad greens from my fading fall garden.

  • Find a Project

If I’m already feeling a little low and unmotivated the best project for me to dive into is one that’s super easy to follow through on.  Yesterday this was pulling out the napa and green cabbages that I bought last week and finally turning them into kimchi and sauerkraut.  When I was done I felt accomplished and satisfied.

  • Embrace the Blah (or Check Out)

Sometimes a second cup of coffee, breakfast in bed, and an episode (or three) of Top Chef is just what the mood calls for.

  • Check In

Once that coffee kicked in and I got my ass outta bed I took a moment to check in with myself and figure out what it was that I needed to make myself feel…better.  Two things I came up with was to connect with other people and to dance, which brings me to my next two…

  • Exercise

Just like fresh air, exercise, without fail, turns that frown upside down.  At 10:30 yesterday morning I found myself in a dark studio with the music blasting and the disco lights flashing.  Do y’all know about this BodyJam class?  It’s a Les Mills (think BodyPump) class, which I’ve been lukewarm about in the past.  It’s great fun!  As with any class I’m sure the teacher makes it or breaks it but Brooke was great and about a dozen of us learned a club/hip hop-esque routine.

  • Connect with Others

This one happened spontaneously and really made my day, I ran into a good friend who I hadn’t seen in a few months as I was leaving BodyJam.   Hearing about her life, work, and adventures made me inspired and even talking to her about my Fall Blahs made them start to fall away.

Do you ever feel this way?  If so, what tools do you use to shake yourself out of it?

Lastly, and a pretty damn good solution for any situation;

  • Practice Gratitude

Fall is phenomenal and has it’s own unique energy and quality that is pretty awesome, even that blah that it can bring out isn’t all bad.  Plus, look at it!

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Happy Friday!

 

Full Body Fall Workout

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I’m a year round trotter but fall is my favorite season to run.

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Fall slows me down in general, I often get a mild cold that sticks around for about a month and the decrease in daylight combined with dropping temperatures makes me ready to go into hibernation. Running in the fresh fall air energizes me and refreshes my spirit.

I love the simplicity of running; lace up and go. Today I was craving something a bit more full body though so I combined running with high intensity intervals.

This workout is great; it works your entire body in 10 minutes or can easily be repeated 2 or more times to cover more miles. It’s so simple, just three exercises, so no need to even write it down.

Alternate 2 minutes of running with 30 seconds of burpees/mountain climbers.

The burpee/mountain climber intervals provide strength work for your core and upper body while keeping your heart rate elevated (or maybe increasing it depending on the intensity of your running!  Burpees…!!!).

Here’s what my workout looked like:
0-2 run
2-2:30 burpees
2:30-4:30 run
4:30-5 burpees
5-7 run
7-7:30 mountain climbers
7:30-9:30 run
9:30-10 mountain climbers

I repeated the whole thing once for a full body, heart pounding 20 minute workout followed by about 5 minutes of walking then stretching.  My body felt well worked but not worn out, just what I was looking for!

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