Lifting & More Thoughts On Fitness


Boy, did that flu do a number on me in terms of my lifting strength and stamina! It’s been a little bit since I have talked strictly about fitness on the blog. I also don’t think I have talked about it since getting over the flu a couple of weeks ago. You can read about what we did and how we survived the flu here.
We all know that I am passionate about fitness. Even more so as someone who battles Multiple Sclerosis. So, getting taken down by the flu is a huge deal. I am really lucky that it did not cause issues with my MS because that would have made things a million times worse. I wholeheartedly believe that the reason my bout of the flu was not much worse was because of my commitment to fitness. Having my body closer to optimal health than I have in the past is making things much, much easier.
Moving forward
It is has been quite the lesson in keeping my ego in check to be back to my normal routine since the flu. Before I got sick, I was lifting heavy (for me) pretty consistently. In fact, I was making plans to buy heavier weights. As you know from our debt free journey posts, that is something that needs to be budgeted. Now, I feel like I have taken huge steps backwards in my progress. My stamina and strength have gone in the crapper. Cardio has been an absolute joke for me the past couple of times I have attempted strictly cardio workouts. Lifting, my heaviest weight has been about eight pounds. Sometimes, I can use my 10 pound weights for lifting.
To say that I am frustrated with these setbacks is probably an understatement. I actually told Aaron yesterday afternoon that my workout was horrible because I was barely able to lift compared to before the flu. I was actually mad at myself for not lifting heavier, which is just ridiculous. So, instead of wallowing in the frustration I made a plan.
The Plan? Lifting.
The plan? I am starting another round of LIIFT4. This will be my third full round of the program. You might be asking why I am doing so many rounds of this program when Beachbody has over 600+ programs available. Well, it’s because it fits perfectly into our busy lives. It’s only 30-40 minutes a day and 4 days a week. It is a combination of lifting weights and high intensity interval training (HIIT). I love lifting weights. I have a love/hate relationship with HIIT. As in, I hate it during the process and love it once I have completed it because I feel like a beast.
The most important part of the plan though? Nutrition! To be completely honest, my nutrition has been absolute garbage since I finished 80 Day Obsession last year. The only thing I have been consistent with in regards to nutrition is drinking my Shakeology super-foods shake. At least with that I know I am getting some much needed nutrients every day.
Lucky for me, each Beachbody program comes with a nutrition plan. This will take some of the guess work out of the equation. The other piece that really helps with meal planning? Pinterest! It is such a huge help when needing inspiration or quick, family friendly recipes to throw together. You can find the recipes I’ve saved from others and meal planning tips here.
One of my goals with nutrition right now is to add more vegetables. That is part of the reason I went so crazy with seeds this year for our vegetable garden. I am determined to at least partially eat my way to better health. Making sure we get more veggies in our diet is going to help us tremendously with a lot of things in this house.

Want To Work With Us?
Both Aaron and I are coaches with Beachbody. We love helping people reach their goals in both health and fitness. I am currently studying towards my Certified Personal Trainer cert with NASM and plan to complete more nutrition training in the future as well. If that is any indication on how much health means to me. Aaron specifically loves helping busy Dads find a way to make fitness a bigger part of their lives and use it to become better hunters.
Just fill out this form and we can help you get started on your journey to better health through fitness!
Fitness and overall wellness have become a big theme in our lives in recent years. Believe it or not, this does tie into our huge dream of owning our own homestead. How would we be able to keep up with those challenges if we don’t take care of ourselves. Just some food for thought!
- Barbara
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