Yesterday, as I was signing up for the group fitness classes I want to take throughout the week (Btone, Barry’s, a yoga class, spinning), it dawned on me how completely different this is from what I was doing a year or so ago. It was last June when the company I worked for laid off a bunch of employees (what an AMAZING blessing in disguise!), and I made the transition into blogging full time and pursuing a career in fitness.

While some things have stayed the same—I still don’t have a gym membership and try to spend as little money as possible on working out—the career change has had a huge affect on my workout routine. Ultimately, I think the best workout routine is simply one that you stick to—there is no wrong or right. I think switching it up as my life has changed has helped me hold on to this crazy love I have for fitness.

My Workout Routine while Working a 9-to-5 Office Job

While I definitely relate to the struggle of finding time to workout while holding down a 9-to-5 office job, I have to admit I was spoiled at my old company. We had a small gym space in the building complete with machines, kettlebells, med balls, jump ropes (all the things I love!) that we could use at any time, and a group HIIT class was offered in the cafeteria twice a week for employees.

Every morning, I would wake up at 5:30AM and go for a run—nothing crazy, just 3-6 miles around Castle Island or the Charles River (depending on where I was living). I’d make myself breakfast, do a little work on the blog, then I’d commute to work. On my lunch break, I’d make up a workout for myself and head to the office gym for a sweat (most of the P&I workouts posted in the first year of the blog were made up on these lunch breaks!). If it was a group HIIT day, I’d skip my lunch break workout and do the class after work if I didn’t have any plans that night.

On the weekends, I’d run and workout in my apartment one day, or maybe just run. And on busy work days when I couldn’t take a gym lunch break, I’d do P&I workouts in my apartment after work. I really tried to limit the post-work workouts though because I had such a hard time motivating myself to do much of anything after working all day and commuting back to my apartment through Boston traffic. The best way to make sure I got a workout in was to do it all before work or on my lunch break (or, as was usually the case, a little of both).

And that was it! Running and P&I workouts. I honestly couldn’t afford to do anything else. I would take the occasional class at fitness studios if they were running a special on Groupon or Gilt, but that was rare. And back then, this totally worked for me!

My Workout Routine Now while Blogging from Home & Teaching Fitness Classes

Fast-forward to today and I work from home/coffee shops/libraries as a blogger and teach nine Lagree Fitness classes at Btone throughout the week. Talk about a 180! It has impacted my weekly workout routine in several ways:

I take a Lagree Fitness class at Btone 3(ish) times a week.

I do teach there, after all! I am so passionate about this workout, and in addition to instructing nine classes each week, I try to take three or four classes. Not just because it’s an amazing class and free for me, but also because I really do think it makes me a better instructor. Knowing how different exercises and combinations make your body feel, helps when planning classes for others.

And I should probably clarify that I’m not actually doing the workout when I teach—just demonstrating and then walking around the studio helping/adjusting/torturing/etc.

I take more group classes in general.

When I spend the day at home working on the blog, the last thing I want to do is also workout there—get me out of the apartment! And as a fitness instructor, it’s nice to be told what to do for a change. Instead of focusing on motivating other people, I can let someone else push me through the workout. Similar to what I mentioned about Btone, I also think taking other instructors’ classes (regardless of the mode of fitness) makes you a better instructor—you pick up on techniques you like and don’t like and incorporate them into your own classes.

The workouts I post to P&I are less frequent, but more effective.

I am still such a huge believer in high-intensity training and the short-but-sweet workouts I post to the blog each week, but I’m not doing them every day like I used to last year. I’d say I do them two-three times a week, and I think the smaller quantity is balanced by improved quality.

I remember when I was making up P&I workouts on my lunch break, maaaaaybe one or two out of five would be keepers and make it onto the blog. The others would, well, suck. I’d finish them and feel like I didn’t get a good workout in at all. So sure, I was doing these types of workouts 5-6 days a week, but I was probably only benefiting from them a couple times a week.

After years of practice and fitness certification courses, I am so much better at putting together a workout routine that will kick my (and your) ass. I can’t remember the last time I made up a workout, did it, and then thought eh, that’s not good enough to post on the blog.

Working out is now, literally, my job. So I do it…a lot.

When you get paid to do what you love, you do a lot of it—whether that’s painting, managing stocks or working out. For years, working out has been my favorite part of every day, and now I (directly and indirectly) get paid to do it. “Blessing” doesn’t even begin to describe it. Every morning I wake up excited for all I’m going to do that day, and I’m filled with so much happiness and gratitude.

I, of course, listen to my body and still take rest days and don’t overdo it, but I definitely workout more now than I used to. Between my flexible self-employed schedule, frequent free classes (a perk of blogging and being an instructor!), and an ever-growing motivation to reach new professional and personal fitness goals, I am more active than I’ve ever been.

Dangit I always do this!! I intended this to be a fun, quick post, and instead I’ve written a novel.

Has your workout routine changed over the last couple years? How so?