New Year, New Old Me

What I like most about starting a new year is how it resets my mindset. Every January 1 starts a new clock, giving all my past failures a fresh opportunity to become this year’s success story. As always, I begin the year with renewed confidence that this will be the year I successfully stick to a better, healthier routine.

As per my annual New Year’s Resolution to get into better shape, I attended my first Strength Circuit class earlier this week. This class is described as a functional, full-body workout that focuses on increasing strength and building lean muscle, with some cardio included. I hadn’t been to a fitness class since before the pandemic, so my body was ripe for a rude awakening.

I used to be dedicated to attending fitness classes regularly. For three years, I went to a Body Pump class every Tuesday morning. My instructor’s name was Phil, and I would privately call him a robot because that man was such a machine. That class got me into the best shape of my life. Unfortunately, I slipped a disk and had to take a break. Then the pandemic hit and closed access to gyms. I started working out at home, but it wasn’t as effective as going to the gym. As a result, the pandemic caused me to become lazy, and I lost most of the progress I had made during those years of attending classes.

This year, I’m motivated to get back into shape. I want to eat better and lose some extra weight. I wasn’t fully aware of how much I had been cheating myself over the past year. I’ve been going to the gym but have mainly been sticking to cardio. Occasionally, I would use some universal weights, and I always jumped into the pool for a few laps. However, none of that was quite enough to really get my heart pumping.

Well, my heart definitely pumped during that Strength Circuit class. I could immediately tell that I had gotten rusty, and my stamina wasn’t what it used to be. I had eaten too much beforehand, filling myself with carbs, which left me feeling heavy. I could feel the extra pounds I had put on since the pandemic, and I wanted to leave after only ten minutes. My instructor, Olga, seemed tireless, and she became my new inspiration. My official New Year’s Resolution is to be like Olga.

I will make the Strength Circuit class my new Tuesday routine. On Thursdays, I will attend a Body Balance class. Additionally, I want to fit in a yoga class occasionally throughout the week. I realize I’m not getting any younger, so I want to focus on getting healthier now to ensure a better future for myself.

I’m writing this post after attending my first yoga class of 2025. It felt good to be in a room full of like-minded people who were there because they didn’t want to do yoga at home. I thought the pandemic had taught me new routines, but it actually led me into bad habits. I was getting away with doing only 20 minutes of yoga at home, but being in a yoga studio added another hour to that practice.

I want my old body and stamina back. I vow that 2025 will be the year I achieve that.

My books Memory Road Trip (e-book or paperback) and Time Traveled (e-book or paperback) are both available! You can also find them at most major international book sites.