Consistency Over Perfection: Fitness Spin
A month ago I came across one of those exercise videos where they showed an epically amazing move saying something like:
Before I could do this...
And then they switched to the warm up exercises you needed to do before you could would be able to do that move. I thought this was fantastic and, I believed, saved it for later... as I realized I could do something similar but instead of the warm up show the consistency it took to get there over the years. Then I postponed it a bit, couldn't find any video similar to what I remembered, and kindof lost my motivation... but figured let's push through.
Before Consistency
Back before kids I signed up for a cardio kickboxing class at the end of university and a FemSport class after (both with a friend hi!) but both classes were limited to a weekly schedule and had breaks between sessions... including over the summer. At home I loved the Xbox Kinect justifying games as exercise and binging all the Zumba related ones... I tried to work out harder once with TurboFire (through Groupon) but my knees told me to stop by one month in.
Overall my workouts were mainly when the mood struck and not really consistent. I wanted to do more but also was fine not.
Starting Simple
2014-2017
I then had two kids 22 months apart with an international move from Canada to the United States in between. At times, with my first in Canada, I started walking outdoors but the weather would shift and the area itself wasn't really walkable. After the move I lived in a much more walkable area... in fact within a 15 minute walk from downtown... so I started using nearby parks, the library, and maybe a quick lunch as an excuse to get out and about.
At this time I wasn't thinking of it as exercise but more getting out of our apartment, getting some sun, and mainly hoping to meet other people.
Finding Consistency
2018
After getting out of the baby fog I started trying to find myself both with friends (playdates), my own project (started this website as a blog), and with an ad I saw for a Balanced Life Pilates (now called Lindywell). I did the challenge, joined the yearly membership, and started working out consistently. This started with simply finishing the calendar (5 days a week with a 10-15 minute workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and a longer one on Tuesdays and Thursdays). This gave me consistent movement beyond the daily schedule without the guilt of skipping if life got too busy. It gave me a valid base which I'm still grateful for.
Keeping Consistency
2019
With consistency found I started realizing I felt better whenever I had a chance to workout which fed back into me making more time for it. On days we stayed home I found the first open time the kids were happy to do my workout. On days we had a playdate or outing I made it the priority when we first got home giving them a snack at the table (something I knew they'd play with and could handle eating) and did my workout nearby. Yes the workout was often interrupted and yes potty training made it more complicated... but I found my consistency and recognized I felt better for it.
This realization affected our vacations. I had always woken up early to have a shower before my family got up and found I tried to get up a bit earlier so I could get a standing workout done in the hallway (once) or in the bathroom (hence standing workout) right before or after my shower. If I didn't get a chance (Legoland for instance) I might optimize a stretch when we had some quiet time mid-day.
When we were in the middle of a move I made sure to keep my pilates mat handy and a space open to lay it out. My kids had dropped their naps early but in the midst of chaos I implemented a half hour quiet time. They got a moment of quiet and I got time on my mat. If I lingered a bit past that half hour mark they got mad... but looking back that time was precious and needed.
Listen & Increase
I continued to be consistent with Lindywell and although I may shuffle up the workouts found myself completing the monthly scheduled workouts while also looking for more. At this time, in their Facebook group, I heard about Sarah Beth Yoga and tried first her Youtube page and then later her app for a year or two. I also enjoyed FitOn (app was free but later I dropped it because of the ads) and PopSugar on Youtube. And if that week I was tired... I defaulted to only Lindywell. If I was full of energy... I added more.
In the Lindywell Facebook group there was a sisterhood of the traveling plank... and several people had included their version on paddleboards. I'd been seeing it for a bit so this summer I decided to break out and signed up solo for a class at our local lake. It was a blast! So the following winter, when they had an advent calendar contest, I signed up every week hoping to win more lessons or, preferably, a paddle board rental to help justify going. I didn't win that... but I did win a year of windsurfing BUT I needed to first sign up for a two day class...
2020-2021
I figured why not I can do this... and signed up for the first class they had available in early February of 2020. And I was the only person who had signed up in the cold. It was fun, cold, and tough. But the instructor was impressed I kept getting up and I knew I could credit pilates for my strength. The second day was supposed to be even windier so we started an hour earlier and I ended up passing with a higher level on my card than the default when done. That said, I never tried it again. I kept second guessed each weekend when Matt was home with the kids on whether I should go or not and whether the wind was too strong or too light that day... and then the pandemic hit and I never did use that free year. But I can say I did try windsurfing... and he did take a short video and a couple photos for me that first day.
During the rest of 2020 and 2021 I turned to at home workouts exploring what was available and used its movement along with sewing, friend text groups, and bubbled with another family for playdates to get me through. I continued my consistency with Lindywell while layering it with what I felt like in that time which included more weights and a spin bike. Movement became more about survival than optimization and I'm glad I had it.
Kyra
I shared who I worked out with here and after the post went live I found cardio dance workouts with MadFit and loved it enough to go back and edit it into this post.
2022
With Zoey entering kindergarten and schools being in person again I could find myself again. I'd started to really focus on Simply Customize It but also wanted to meet more people while getting out more and found Bay Area Adventure Gals (B.A.A.G.). This was a general meetup group but I chose to optimize the exercise-based ones (mainly hikes and in hindsight had started off with the biggest one) while still keeping Lindywell for my consistent base movement.
Early 2023
At the beginning of this year we debated moving away from the Bay Area. I recognized time was limited so alongside Lindywell, packing, and my app I put my time and exercise towards more hikes, scootering or walking to the farmers market almost weekly, and bought a blowup paddleboard from Costco. While choosing where to move to I'd pointed out I'd love to paddleboard and decided to buy it early so I could explore the local reservoir and although I'd hoped to explore the bay I didn't feel confident by myself and didn't find anyone to go with in time. Plus now my paddleboard has a little California license plate on it!
Late 2023
Once we moved we spent the rest of the summer unpacking, got the kids to walk to our local swimming lessons, and I found any excuse to go paddleboarding... and loved that the kids were just small enough that I could take them to one of the local ponds and get buy with one kid on the front and one on the back while still getting us to move slowly but surely. By the end of the summer we'd add a family "party" board but by then my youngest decided she hated paddleboarding along with hikes.
Before moving and knowing that groups like B.A.A.G. existed I'd gone looking for local hiking groups. I never did join one of the group events but through a group I found a mom (hey!) that also wanted weekday hikes and understood canceling because of a sick kid. Together we explored some bucket list day hikes (previously shared Tolmie Peak and Cascade Pass) and, in the winter, met up for other smaller walks close by and as far as Seattle and, once, Vashon island for the Northwest Trolls.
By October I wanted more... at this time everyone online and in person seemed to have tried Poo Poo Point but no one wanted to go. It was close and finally I figured why not and headed out myself. I'm so glad I did because it's populated enough to feel safe and became my solo happy place where I first started going on weekdays after the bus run, then moved it earlier to attempt the sunrise (Matt can you do bus?) and then (next year) on weekends before the parking lot got full. In my entire time I only went there once with someone else (hi!) and the remaining 20 times over the next two years by myself.
2024
I branched out at the beginning of the year and joined an REI Snowshoeing trip so I could enjoy the snow and be taught how to use them. It was incredible. I kept hiking (previously shared Emmons Moraine, Blanca Lake, and Silver Peak), did the odd spin bike, and kept consistent with pilates. Then close to the summer a Pilates studio opened near me with a pre-opening unlimited discount... I'd been wanting to try reformer but it always seemed out of reach and so I took a chance... gave myself permission to go all in and absolutely loved it. It had community and with my own business I could technically make my own hours and started out going when the kids were in school, weekends when we had no plans as I could just walk over, and then all their 6 am classes (they started with three a week then upped to five) which gave me just enough time to get home and wake the kids up freeing the school hours to code. I quickly realized it was too much with Lindywell and gave myself grace to drop the schedule and I could always open the app up when I wanted it which I did when we lost power, I went on vacation, or I was sick (stretch pilates then). Hiking became less often but I still enjoyed it... while paddleboarding was mostly dropped.
Return To Simplicity
2025
This year we chose to move again so I upped how much I was going to Aya to fully take advantage of it before leaving... I knew I'd miss it. By the end I was going 7+ times a week and the Friday before moving went four times that day alone. This was not planned and happened because I loved the 6am class, scheduled my first private that ended up that day, and there was an evening class and social hour that I couldn't miss when it was my last... and then I figured if I'm there for the private anyway there's that other class right before that I want to go to too.
During this time I also started going more to Poo Poo Point, when time allowed both, to say goodbye and breathe amidst the packing. I still miss it and want to share about it but not sure how to organize all the photos or justify the time.
From the activeness of both hiking and Aya I next found myself in a new place and returned to the simplicity and consistency of the Lindywell calendar while unpacking.
This move gave me my own office so I mindfully left half open for coding breaks and turned the unfinished part of the basement into a workout zone putting the equipment we already owned down there... with consistency reset I started thinking about what else? I knew even if I bought a reformer it wouldn't be the same and instead started to notice calisthenics online. We bought some outdoor calisthenics equipment, I found ShellyFLEX online and tried a trial but they weren't up front with the pricing so I left and later found Yogi Flight School for live Saturday classes. It's yoga based and focused on arm balances.
Listen & Increase
2026
But with the new year I found myself diving into a MadFit four-week program while keeping on top of the weekly Yogi Flight School classes and decided to once again drop the Lindywell schedule. Doing all of it felt like too much while trying to keep on top of SimplyKyra too. The Lindywell app is there when I want it and I keep renewing so I have my default to go back to.
Recently I found a Calisthenics with Kaylee program with exercises focused on what I want to learn that I'm excited about... but I've also learned that I prefer following workout with videos I can follow over a set of exercises. That said, she has a lot of what I want to learn so we'll see how that goes.
Now
Some days I feel on fire and able to do it all! While other, most, days I question it all. Today I'm continuing this blog post idea I had when I was on fire. Right now I feel out of sorts, tired, feel like I'm backtracking... but also knowing there is progress there. The funny thing is this sentiment could be said for other things too like friendships, family, work, hobbies, or whatever.
And like always I hope you’re having a great day. 💕
I'm Kyra. An indie Apple developer and founder of SimplyKyra where I build calm tools that reduce mental load. If you’d like to keep up with future posts like this, I usually share them on my Facebook page and Instagram account. If you become a free member on the site you can sign up for my newsletters and join the conversation on any of my posts.
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