Movement: A Game Changer for Mental Health

Jun 16, 2023

In the last 6-weeks I've made my physical health and movement a priority above everything else, and it's been a huge adjustment but also a game changer.

The Realization

A few weeks ago I was in Atlanta for my birthday trip, a gift from a friend last year, and it was just what I needed. There are going to be pros and cons to every city, but the energy there is undeniable. Having previously lived in Atlanta for a few years before moving to San Antonio this was my first trip back and was definitely a cause for reflection.

Sitting at Henry's in Midtown for an after hour cocktail, I told my friend that one of the things I've missed in my life was being active. When I lived in Atlanta I was running a few times a week, going on long walks with my pup Chupacabra, and doing weight lifting classes 3-4x a week.

It wasn't just the weight lifting, but it was also the social aspect. Knowing my people would be there, listening to music together, pushing, encouraging and celebrating each other's wins. I wanted that.

Commitment to Consistency

We had previous discussed trying using ClassPass, which is an app where you pay one membership fee but then you have access to multiple gyms and classes. It's built on a credit system, so you get credits each month and then you can use them for classes. Classes that take a lower amount of credits are beginner or less attended classes and higher credit classes being during peak times or highly attended.

I feel like you always have such a shift in perspective when you travel, so luckily he was on the same page so we committed to trying out ClassPass for 12-weeks and just seeing how it went. We synced up our schedules, picked a few gyms to try out after work and set the goal to simply being consistent.

Now here's the real talk, because that is just how we do things. My approach to health is wildly different from when I was a young adult and would often be extreme and unhealthy when it came to "losing weight." Now it is incredibly important that I am focused on consistency, mobility and mental health versus weight loss. When discussing my commitment to health, it's important to know that it comes from a place of wanting to be happier, healthy, energized and strong.

The goal was consistency and the commitment was 3 classes per week and 3 days per week of weight lifting at home for 12-weeks. I’m personally a huge fan of the Iron series on YouTube by Caroline Girvan.

Reflections At The Halfway Point

Now that we are six weeks in, here are overall thoughts:

Feeling Stronger: I love weights because there is something that just feels do damn good about increasing your weight lifting capacity! Love it!
Having More Energy: Definitely having less sluggish moments/feelings.
Increased Creativity: I've felt more inspired to not just be more productive, but also start writing and recording podcasts again.
More Social Interaction: The fact that you can add your friends on ClassPass and invite each other to classes in the app has created more opportunities for me to spend time with people outside of work or more scheduled social events.
Decreased Anxiety: Being more active 100% helps work out some of that nervous energy.
Time to Process and Be Inspired: Science back it, but during those times of movement I am processing things in the background and often walk away with new perspective or ideas.
ClassPass Review: Definitely a fan for now. I could see after time maybe committing to one gym, but it's an easy way to do yoga, cycling and TRX all in one week. There aren't as many gym options in all cities, but I'll be using it for a while. I didn't like that you couldn't attend gyms 2x during the trial period, but I could get how that makes sense from the small business perspective.

Actionable Steps:

If you are feeling inspired, find a way to add a little more movement into your day. It doesn't have to be anything hardcore, it's all about the small and consistent actions. 15-minute walks in the middle of the day, 10 minutes of yoga in the morning. Find a friend for accountability and take care of you! There is always going to be more work to do, but when you can create a strong foundation of mental health first, it often comes hand in hand with physical health.

Thank you for being here and sharing this journey!

Besos,

Sharon