Summertime Living

Summer is under way! We officially began our summer this past weekend, with some lake action. My husband has been enjoying his family’s cottage since he was a little guy and I have been enjoying it with him for over twenty years now. We love it. The action, the relaxation and the down time.

Down time has been a bit of a prevalent theme for me the past couple weeks. While I HAVE been working out, it has not been with the intensity I had before the Spartan Sprint. My hip has been really acting up.  In fact, I went to a chiropractor about it and it has been confirmed I keep “locking up” in

my lower back, if you will. The chiropractor also discovered some other issues along my spine that may potentially help explain some of the other symptoms I have experienced in recent years. I have agreed to a care plan with him, in hopes of correcting some of the issues identified.

Fortunately, the practitioner I have chosen is BIG on nutrition and stress relieving techniques, along with a balanced program of strength training and cardio. He agrees my current lifestyle and regimen of working out and eating clean can only help in the realignment process. It will certainly be interesting to see how my overall body alignment improves over the coming months.

Speaking of coming months, what is my plan? I am still marching towards a Spartan Super in August, which is just ten weeks away. I’m not real sure why, but I am a bit intimidated by it. I know I can complete it, especially if I keep my training on point, so that is what I am going to do. I am also focusing on brining my body fat percentage down. When I was prepping for a July competition, I was more aggressively focused on this goal. However, once I decided to not compete, I grew a little lax. I don’t want to do that. I still want to bring my percentage into a healthier, fitness level range. So back to journaling and keeping track of my macros I go.

I realized a bit of a shift in mindset with the onset of warm weather and my kiddos getting out of school. I took on the “it’s summer, time to chill and not be so worried about everything” mentality. It was sort of nice for a couple weeks, but I really missed my routine. I missed the clean eating regimen, workout routines, yoga and prayer sessions, and my daily devotions. I’m glad I missed it. This says to me that I have in fact settled into a new lifestyle and new habits have formed,  while old ones have fallen away.

My mind and body both seem to be craving the new lifestyle. This is awesome, because what once would have been viewed as a “reward” or “good” (the break), no longer is. The “reward” is the daily routine of staying on point with an “optimal” lifestyle, and experiencing the increased energy, solid rest, clear mind, and balanced emotions – just to name a few benefits.

I hope everyone is well and here’s to a great summer!