Photography by Megan Tsang Hand

On January 1 I vowed to walk for exercise every day for 366 days in 2020.

Then on January 24, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I must confess that when I got the news one of my first thoughts was, “Crap! Is this going to mess up my plans to walk for exercise every day for 366 days?”

I should have seen this coming.

For weeks I pushed you to the brink, getting an average of 4 hours a sleep each night, not making time for exercise, eating whatever was most convenient.

I should have seen this coming.

It's all in the hips, Alex Morrow told me. And, no, Alex isn't a salsa dance instructor. He's the founder of Resolute Running Training Center in Birmingham and president of the Birmingham Track Club. 

This year I hope to run three half-marathons, begin training for my first full marathon and I hope to log 1200 miles by December 31. When I first had a chat with Alex I asked what I should do to avoid injury since I plan to run so much this year. 

"A lot of recent research says that 90 percent of injuries no matter where they occur are related to imbalance in the hips," he explained. 

Think of the hips as a bowl of milk, Alex said. If that bowl doesn't stay balanced milk will spill and wherever it lands you can expect an injury. 

That metaphor gives a whole new meaning to the idea of crying over spilled milk, huh?

Dancing to Shakira songs in my living room (Just Dance for Wii, anyone?), unfortunately, is probably not enough to keep my hips happy. 

My running coach, Ann Thomas of Resolute Running, recommends the Myrtl routine. The Myrtl routine was developed by Jay Johnson, a coach based in Boulder, Colorado. The Myrtl routine gets its name from its focus -- your hip girdle. All the exercises in the Myrtl routine either strengthen or help provide greater range of motion in this area. 

"The Myrtl routine helps ward off injuries by maximizing flexibility in the hip girdle area and strengthening the glutes," Coach Ann explained. "The routine was also designed with the assumption that most of us spend a great deal of time sitting, and it should address any asymmetries in your hips."

The video below will help you add the Myrtl routine to your workout regimen. 

I often tell people that it is physically impossible for me to run without listening to music. I usually say this with laughter but I'm not actually joking. There have been times when I've been out on my favorite trail and I ended my run early simply because my iPod's battery was drained. But yesterday I did a 5-mile walk/run with no music. All I had was the sound of my breath, the wind, the nearby cars, and the occasional notification from my RunKeeper app that was helping me keep my pace.

And this is no April Fools' Day joke.

As I finished my run I began to think about other things I've once declared I couldn't do -- either jokingly or not -- and I decided that April would be the month I declared that all things are possible. I'm challenging you to do the same.

Turning my calendar to a new month has always given me a sense of new power and new hope. I wish the same for you.

What goal will you conquer this month?

***

Do you have big plans and bold dreams but you're not quite sure where to start? Let me help. I am now offering one-on-one consultations via Skype for WriteousBabe.com readers. Get a one-hour session for only $97. Email me at javacia@writeousbabe.com for details. 

When Resolute Running clients achieve their personal best time during a big race they pin their bibs to this wall at the fitness center. This year I'm determined to see my name on the PR wall!

Yesterday I ran 9 miles and afterward actually didn't feel as if I'd been hit by a car. And I really do know how that feels, but that's another story for another day. For a little over a month I've been following a training plan developed by Coach Ann Thomas of Resolute Running Center. Yesterday's run was a strong indication that Coach Ann's plan is actually working. 

Sure, I've run more than 9 miles before. I've completed two half marathons. But each time I pounded the pavement for those 13.1 miles I felt terrible by the time I crossed the finish line.

My hope is that after my next big race I'll be able to enjoy a celebratory brunch with my hubby (who's always waiting for me at the finish line) instead of just collapsing in his car.  

When Coach Ann gave me my first running plan I was confused. You see when it comes to running I am definitely the tortoise, not the hare. I'm so slow that sometimes I feel like I shouldn't even call what I do running; it's more like jogging or better yet slogging. 

So imagine my surprise when Coach Ann told me she wanted me to run slower! In fact, she wanted me to run at a pace that's even slower than my walking pace! 

We need your body to make certain physiological changes that only occur when you are running at about 65-79% of max heart rate," Coach Ann said when I asked her why she wants me to run slower even though I'm already slow as molasses. "Running slower (sometimes, substantially slower) than race pace elicits this response.  Muscle cells increase in number, size, and distribution of mitochondria.   Your body also builds more capillaries in the exercising muscles which distribute more blood, meaning more oxygen.  Both of these changes enable the muscle to fire efficiently, so you can run farther and faster with less effort." 

Coach Ann constantly says to me and other clients that she's not just training us so we can run a race this year. She's training us so that we will be able to continue to run 10, 20, even 30 years from now. 

"Runners often think that if 5 miles is good, then 10 is better, and that if running at a 9min pace is good, than 8min pace is better; this is not necessarily true," Coach Ann said. "Increasing mileage too quickly greatly increases the risk of injury.  High mileage can yield great results, but the increase needs to be done slowly and with care.  Running all of your runs at race pace just burns out your legs.  For best results, you need a variety of paces, including slow runs to achieve the cellular adaptations and speedwork to increase VO2 max (a measure of the maximum volume of oxygen that an athlete can use)."

If you're a runner in the Birmingham area looking for a coach to help you train for next big race (and a running lifestyle), visit ResoluteRunning.com to find the right trainer for you. 

Have you ever heard of suspension training?


Yeah, I hadn't either until last week when I had my first TRX workout. 

TRX Suspension Training is a type of workout system that was born in the Navy SEALs and focuses on using bodyweight and gravity to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability. 

Last week I did some personal training with my running coach, Coach Ann of Resolute Running. After doing some warm-up exercises and throwing around a kettle bell in ways I didn't think possible, we moved to the TRX Suspension Trainer. 

How harmless the TRX Suspension Trainer appears as it innocently hangs from the ceiling. The kid in you even wants to try it out. You think it will even be fun! 

Then you slip in your feet and suddenly you're convinced that the T in TRX stands for torture. 

Just kidding. (Not really.)

With TRX, which really stands for Total Body Resistance Exercise, you'll do exercises you've probably done before but in a way that will feel fresh and new. We did, for example, squats, lunges, bicep curls, tricep extensions, push-ups, planks and more. I've done all these moves a countless number of times, but never before had they felt so challenging. 

With TRX you can get a full body workout without picking up a single weight. We worked my arms, legs, glutes, and core. I think even my toes got a workout! 

When driving home it took herculean effort to lift my foot from the accelerator to the brake because my quadriceps were so tired. The next day I was limping around my classroom and down the hall of my school. I was grunting and groaning every time I had to pick up something on the floor. My core was so sore that it hurt to laugh, sneeze or even take a deep breath. 

But don't let all that scare you away. It was the good hurt. Seriously. It was as if I could feel my muscles getting stronger and more defined as they recovered throughout the day. And the best thing about TRX workouts is that you have control of how much you challenge yourself. If an exercise seems to be too much all you have to do is adjust the position of your body to decrease the resistance. 

And TRX suspension training is great for runners. 

"TRX Suspension training focuses on total body strength, balance, flexibility, and stability," Coach Ann explained.   "The emphasis on single-leg training and constant core engagement helps prevent injury and is an invaluable tool for runners.  Plus, the side benefit of a trim and toned stomach for swimswuit season doesn’t hurt."

Resolute Running is the only TRX qualified facility in Birmingham. If you're interested in trying out TRX Suspension training at Resolute Running, click here for a class schedule and to register.  


Disclosure: I attended this personal training session free-of-charge for the purposes of reviewing it for my blog. All opinions are my own.

Monday night I had my first workout session with my new running coach, Coach Ann of Resolute Running. It was a core strengthening class with about a dozen other lovely ladies. 

I knew the class would be tough because Ann is a superhuman. (Let's not forget that she qualified for the Boston Marathon when she was 4 months pregnant.) But for some reason I actually thought the class wouldn't make me sweat. And I mean that literally. I walked out of the house without a towel. Fortunately, Resolute Running had plenty of towels on hand to mop up all the perspiration on my brow, back and chest by the end of the workout. 

I should have known better. If Jillian Michaels' 30-minute 6-Week Six Pack workouts have me looking like I got knocked in a swimming pool, then why didn't I think this core class would get my heart pumping, too? 

Oh, and did I mention that the class was an hour long?! If you think this means I was doing crunches for 60 minutes, think again. This class was about strengthening not just abs but the back, hips, glutes, and oblique muscles. Even my quadriceps are sore as I type this. 

Monday's workout included planks, squats, lunges, push-ups, and a host of other moves so tough that when we did do crunches it felt like a break. 

Why is my running coach helping me strengthen my core? 

"Running is a balancing act—placing one foot after the next and allowing the body to make the adjustments needed to keep moving forward," Coach Ann explains. "A strong core is vital for good posture, stability, and balance for everyone, and more so for runners.  Runners that maintain proper running form are more efficient, which translates directly to running farther and faster before fatigue sets in.  Improving muscular strength by developing the postural muscles also reduces the risk of injury. This is why I stress core strength to all of my clients." 

Working out with Ann was great. She's the kind of coach who really pushes you to be your best self. She offers different levels of difficulty for each exercise but urges you to try the level above what you think you can do. She wants you to challenge yourself, but she wants you to be safe and smart. She'll encourage you, for example, to try a move with ankle weights but let you know you're free to take them off if they start to compromise your ability to do an exercise properly. 

She's also hilarious. 

During the class Ann said to us, "If it hurts to laugh or sneeze tomorrow -- you're welcome!"

And I've been saying "Ouch" after every laugh today.


If you're interested in trying out this or other classes at Resolute Running, click here for a complete class schedule


Disclosure: I attended this class free-of-charge for the purposes of reviewing it for my blog. All opinions are my own.

Last month I launched an e-course on time management. I launched this e-course because people constantly ask me how I manage to do all the things that I do. And people ask me because I do A LOT of stuff.

Last year I decided that I really wanted to get serious about building a business and so I started working with a business coach. And I chose this coach because she makes $10,000 a month when business is slow!

My point is if you want to do something you could struggle and strain and try to figure things out on your own or you could find someone who does what you want to do and does it well and ask that person for help.

This year I want to walk/run 1200 miles and next year I want to run a full marathon. I could struggle and strain and do this on my own and end up injured or I could ask for help.

Meet Coach Ann.

Ann works with Resolute Running fitness center in Birmingham and she is my new running coach.

Coach Ann and I met for the first time last week just to chat about my running goals. I was nervous but her bright eyes and big smile eased my fears. Sort of.

Already I can tell that Coach Ann is very nice, very understanding and a great listener. But she's also a freak of nature.

She can finish a full marathon in the time it takes me to finish a half-marathon. She ran the Hot Chocolate 15K in Atlanta last weekend despite the fact that she got sick just before the race. She actually threw up during the race! After throwing up she not only kept running, but she finished 3rd! Oh, and the year she qualified for the Boston Marathon she was four months pregnant.

Go on and let all that sink in for a moment.

Today I'm meeting with Ann for our first workout session. We'll be working on core strength. This means on tomorrow laughing and perhaps even breathing will hurt. But that's the good hurt, right?!

What are your fitness plans for the week? 

Here are three things you should know about me:

1) This year I am striving to walk/run 1,200 miles.
2) I must listen to music when I run. My body is incapable of making the motions one must make in order to run without music playing in my ears. Seriously.
3) The last time I updated my running playlist the United States hadn't yet had an African American president.

OK. That last statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but Nas' song "Black President" (which was released during Obama's first campaign) is on my playlist.

My point is this -- I desperately need some new music to run to!

I'd love a list of girl power anthems to listen to as I run the Hot Chocolate 5K in Atlanta on January 25.

Can you help?

Here's a list of some of songs I currently run to so that you can get an idea of what I like:

"Run the World (Girls)," Beyonce (I'm probably never replacing this song.)
"Fergalicious," Fergie
"4 Minutes," Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake
"Bang Bang," will.i.am
"Boom Boom Pow," Black Eyed Peas
"Countdown," Beyonce
Everyone Nose" Remix,  N.E.R.D. ft. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Pusha T. (No, that's not a typo in the song title. Yes, this is a song about using drugs.)
"Eyes Like Yours," Shakira
"Headsprung," LL Cool J
"Hero," Nas
"Lights Camera Action," Mr. Cheeks
"Street Lights," Kanye West
"Streets on Fire," Lupe Fiasco
"Stronger," Kanye West
"Tunnel Vision," Justin Timberlake
"Yellow," Coldplay

What songs should be on my new "Run Like a Girl" playlist? 

I exercised every day for 365 days. And now I shall rest.

"10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

With that Jillian Michaels counted down the last ten seconds of level 2 of her 6-Week Six-Pack DVD and counted down the seconds to me completing a fantastic feat.

At the start of this year I announced that I planned to exercise every single day in 2014. I even made the declaration on WBHM 90.3 FM and all across social media. And guess what...

I DID IT!!!

I exercised for at least 30 minutes every day for 365 days!

As I've stated before, I wasn't challenging myself to do this so I could lose weight. 2014 was also about me learning to see my body as, to borrow the words of Caroline Heldman, an amazing vehicle for moving through the world, not a project to be constantly improved.

Thus, I didn't care about my weight this year. Numbers I did care about, however, were my cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist-to-height ratio -- all of which I was told were perfect at my physical last month.

But achieving this fitness goal also taught me a lot about writing, blogging, and business.

To achieve your writing and business goals you need support at home. My biggest supporter this year as I worked to exercise daily was been my husband Edward. Because of my crazy schedule hubster's biggest fear was that I would one day simply forget to exercise. So he made sure to remind me every day. One night he forgot to ask me if I'd exercised that day and the next morning he panicked and sent me frantic text message to see if I had. Fortunately, I had indeed exercised that day before he got home from work. But this anecdote shows just how supportive he was of this quest.  He was as committed to this goal as I was. And just as he's always waiting for me at the finish line when I run half-marathons, he stood by listening to Jillian's countdown and ran into the living room to congratulate me when my final workout of the year was complete.

Each time a run a half-marathon my hubs is waiting for me at the finish line -- with flowers!

My husband is just as supportive of my writing, blogging and career goals. At most See Jane Write events you'll see him right there helping me carry in refreshments, taking pictures, and tweeting out highlights of the event.  It's important for any woman in a relationship to have the support of her partner -- even if this simply means your significant other is willing to pick up more household chores so you have more time to work on your writing.

To achieve your writing and business goals you need a community of like-minded gal pals. Along with the support I had at home, I also had the support of faithful friends. Going for walks, running road races, and attending group exercise classes with friends was a great way to stay on track. Accountability is important, too. I've had attempted 365 days of fitness in the past and failed. But making the declaration to so many people motivated me to stick with it.

Fitness is more fun with friends...

...and when covered in brightly colored paint! 

It's important for female writers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs to have community, too. You need someone who understands why you bother blogging in the first place, someone who doesn't think you're crazy for quitting your day job to try out your small business idea, and someone who will encourage you to write that novel or send that pitch.

To achieve your writing and business goals you need to keep things interesting. If I working out daily only meant spending 30 minutes on a elliptical 7 days a week I probably wouldn't have made it through January. But I made fitness fun! My workouts included: running, spinning, walking with friends, dance classes, the fitness mode of the Wii game Just Dance, Pure Barre, yoga, boxing, Jillian Michaels DVDs, Shaun T DVDs, weight lifting, and more.

Likewise, you have to make sure you keep things interesting as you work on your craft as a writer. If you're bored with your blog, your readers probably are too. So keep things fresh! Try a new topic, introduce a new feature, or revamp the look of your site.

To achieve your writing and business goals you must challenge yourself. Another way I warded off boredom throughout the year was by occasionally giving myself a more specific fitness challenge. For example, in June I challenged myself to walk/run 100 miles and I did! Inspired by that feat, I've decided that my fitness goal for 2015 is to walk/run 1200 miles -- that's 100 miles a month for 12 months.

100 miles in June!

Don't be afraid to challenge yourself in your writing career or business either. Perhaps you'll strive to publish a new blog post every day for a month, self-publish your first book, see your byline in your favorite national magazine or earn $100,000 in your business.

To achieve your writing and business goals you must stop telling yourself that you don't have the time to go after your dreams. The biggest lesson I learned from my year of everyday fitness is that I do have the time to exercise. Always. And if I have the time to exercise every day I also have the time to blog, write, pitch, network, plan, market and do whatever else I need to do to achieve my writing and business goals.

If you're thinking you don't have the time to exercise or chase your dreams, I ask you to consider signing up for my time management e-course, How To Write and Have a Life, which will launch tomorrow. Sign up for my new newsletter for more details.

What great thing did you accomplish this year?

Today is an important day.

It marks the end of my GirlTrek challenge to walk/run 100 miles in June and...

Exhausted after a 6-mile walk/run but still smiling as I pose with my GirlTrek mile-tracker calendar for June!

I did it!

I laced up my Nikes and pounded the pavement of my favorite trails all month long. Some days I walked two miles; some days I ran six. But in the end it all added up to 100 miles!

Today also marks the halfway point of my yearlong challenge to exercise every single day in 2014. I haven't missed a day yet!

Exercising for 181 consecutive days has taught me a lot about myself.

I've learned that I need both variety and routine. I get bored very easily. In fact, boredom pushed me to take on the GirlTrek 100-mile challenge. Believe it or not, exercising daily has become easy to do. M workouts are now as much of my daily routine as taking a shower or brushing my teeth. So I needed to spice things up a bit with an extreme challenge.

Yet, I still like the sense of routine that a challenge offers. I knew to meet my goal I needed to walk or run most days of the week and so there wasn't much wondering about what my workout of the day would be. So I learned that I like routine but I like to change up my routine every month or two.

I think I will apply this to my writing. As I said, I get bored easily -- even with my blog. Every month I come up with an idea for a new blog that I'm tempted to dump this one for.  Instead, I think I will set a routine of blogging three days a week and do a different blog series every month or so in order to not get bored.

Variety truly is what helped me get through these 181 days of exercise.

I've spent many days walking and running on my favorite trail and even in community races such as the Color Me Rad 5K and the Girls on the Run 5K.

I've exercised at a boxing gym, a spin studio and in my living room.

And I've had fun every step of the way. Six months down. Six months to go.


Are you a fitness blogger in the Birmingham area? Then you don't want to miss the See Jane Write Bloganista Mini-Conference, a one-day conference for fashion, fitness, and lifestyle bloggers. You can get more information and buy tickets at thebloganistaconference.eventbrite.com. Use the code WRITEOUS for $5 off your ticket. 

I hope to boast this badge soon!

At the start of the year I announced on this blog, on all my social media channels and even on WBHM 90.3 FM that I plan to exercise every day for 365 days. I haven't missed a day yet. But in May I started to get a bit bored. Exercising daily was no longer difficult because it had become a regular part of my day, as normal and as necessary as taking a shower or brushing my teeth.

I needed a new challenge and I found what I needed in GirlTrek.

GirlTrek is a national nonprofit organization striving to inspire black women and girls to live healthy lives simply by walking. GirlTrek launched three years ago and through social media campaigns has grown to include over 20,000 women who are lacing up and logging their walks online. (Last year I wrote a story for WBHM on the Birmingham chapter of GirlTrek. You can read it here.) 

GirlTrek recently challenged participants to walk 100 miles in the month of June. I knew taking on this challenge would keep me motivated for the rest of this month. I've been going for a 3 to 6-mile walk/run most days of the week. And if I do walk/run 100 miles this month I'm going to reward myself with some GirlTrek gear!

I recently learned, however, that this challenge could make me a better writer too.

Earlier this month USA Today reported that a new study from researchers at Stanford University suggests that taking a walk could boost creativity.

From USAToday.com:

"Walking opens up the free flow of ideas, and it is a simple and robust solution to the goal of increasing creativity," write authors Marily Oppezzo and Daniel Schwartz in their paper, published in this month's Journal of Experimental Psychology.

To test the influence of walking on creative thinking, Oppezzo and Schwartz divided study participants into four groups: Those who walked then sat; those who sat then walked; those who only sat; and those who walked indoors vs. outdoors. Participants were given two different tests, both widely accepted by the psychological community as valid measures of various aspects of creativity: Guilford's Alternate Uses test, or GAU (people were asked to come up with alternate uses for everyday objects in a short period of time), and the Compound Remote Association test, or CRA (people were given three unrelated words and asked to come up with a fourth word that connects with all of them. For example, upon hearing "cottage, Swiss and cake," a correct response would be "cheese.").

Overall, Oppezzo and Schwartz found, walking enhanced the performance on these creative tests, particularly the GAU: 81% of participants showed an improvement in test scores while taking a walk, regardless of whether they sat before or after. The researchers also noted that the effects of walking lingered: Even after returning to their seats, people who had taken a stroll showed a residual boost in test scores. "When there is a premium on generating new ideas in the workday, it should be beneficial to incorporate walks," they wrote.

I've blogged before about how GirlTrek helped me approach my writing goals in a new way. When I wanted to run my second half-marathon but my body objected to the high impact training I decided I would walk the 13.1 miles instead. This new approach to one of my fitness goals urged me to think outside the box about my creative aspirations as well. 

I've also blogged about how completing challenging fitness pursuits can encourage a person in her writing pursuits as well. If you can finish that marathon, you can finish writing that book. If you can stick with that Insanity DVD for 60 days, you can stick with your blog. If you can bench press all that weight, you can press send on that pitch letter to your favorite magazine. 

But now this study makes the connection between my writing and my workouts even stronger. 

So talk a walk, writers. Of course, you should check with your doctor before starting any exercise program, but even as little as 10 or 15 minutes a day, two or three days a week can be a good start. If you need motivation to get started join a group like GirlTrek. 

Now excuse me I need to go walking.

On January 1, 2014 I announced via this blog and social media that I would exercise every day this year. It's mid-April and I haven't missed a day yet. 

For my workout on Saturday I walked 3.1 miles while people threw handfuls of brightly colored cornstarch at me. Yes, that's right, on Saturday I participated in the race known as Color Me Rad. 

Color Me Rad is a 5K that "fires off in a blaze of color bombs, color cannons, color mortars, and multi-toned courses." In each city Color Me Rad is held a portion of the proceeds from the race is donated to a local charity that partners with CMR. Birmingham's race benefitted the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama. 

Despite the heat, the hills and the itchy cornstarch my cousin Tasha and I had a blast during our trek around the Hoover Met on Saturday. My cousin is still recovering from an ankle injury so we chose to walk, not run, the race, but we got in a great workout nonetheless and had a great time.

I'm always telling my friends that exercise should be fun and Saturday's race reminded me to practice what I preach. I wasn't concerned about how long it took me to complete the race. I wasn't checking my Polar fitness watch to see how many calories I'd burned. I was just having fun.

Here are more pictures from the race:

I think Big Foot came to the race too!

A conga line broke out at the after party!

This is supposed to be my tough girl face, but it's hard to look mean when you're having so much fun
(and wearing pink boxing gloves, which, of course, I requested).

I have yet another reason to love Jillian Michaels.

Today I took a boxing bootcamp class at Juarez Boxing with about a dozen members of the Birmingham Girls Club. It was one of the best workouts I've had in a long time and I left the boxing gym feeling like I was Laila Ali. I plan to start taking classes at Juarez Boxing at least once a week. (Birmingham babes, let me know if you'd like to join me for a class.)

Before today I hadn't taken a boxing class in years, so as gym owner Martin Juarez helped me with my boxer hand wraps I felt a bit of trepidation in my belly.

Then our warm up began. Jumping jacks! Quick punches! High knees! My heart rate began to elevate, but as I repeated these exercises for our warm-up circuit I was able to do each move with relative ease. Though I hadn't boxed in years, for my body, this warm up was nothing new as I often do the same exercises when working out with Jillian Michaels DVDs in my living room.

Jumping Jacks! 

After the warmup we gloved up, found a partner, and did a series of workouts around the gym punching heavy bags and speed bags, working on our foot work, jabs, and cross punches in the ring, and jumping rope. And every now and then Juarez would yell, "Stop, drop and give me 10 push ups!"

And I could do it all! In fact, the only time I even had to take breaks was when I was jumping rope and that was due to joint pain, not because I was out of breath.

Martin Juarez (left) demonstrating some punches for us.

Exercising every day and suffering Jillian Michaels screaming at me through my television have really improved my endurance. Don't get me wrong; my skin was still glistening and my clothes soaked with sweat halfway through the bootcamp. This workout was tough, but made me realize that so am I.

This couldn't have happened at a better time. I had been feeling a bit discouraged regarding my goal of exercising every day this year. I haven't missed a day, but when I stepped on the scale at the doctor's office recently and saw that I hadn't lost any weight since my last visit, my heart sank. I know I said I wasn't taking on this 365 Days of Fitness challenge to shed pounds and I meant that. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope weight loss would be a side effect.

But today's workout reminded me that weight ain't nothing but a number. My clothes fit better. I feel better. And today I would have made Jillian proud.

Last night I let someone walk on my back.

Kao Lee, massage therapist at Vitalogy Wellness Center

Yesterday at the Vitalogy Wellness Center Open House Party I got an Ashiatsu massage from massage therapist Kao Lee. The massage was so wonderful I wanted to ask Lee to marry me, but I figured my husband wouldn't like that very much.

At first I was a bit reluctant to try Ashiatsu, figuring that having an adult stand on my already aching back would be pretty painful. But Lee explained she wouldn't be stomping on me as if smashing grapes, but instead using her feet to make long, gliding strokes across all my aches and pains. Lee also   would not be using all her body weight. By holding on to bars in the ceiling, the Ashiatsu massage therapist can control how much pressure is used during the massage. 

And so I faced my fear and I'm sure glad I did. The tension in my back and shoulders melted away during the massage and the dull ache I'd had in my low back all day was gone. And I got these results without even having a full hour-long treatment!



I attended yesterday's Vitalogy Wellness Center Open House Party as part of the B-Metro Blog Team. It was our job to cover the event live through social media outlets like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

The B-Metro Blog Team having too much fun

Massage therapy is just one of the many services offered at Vitalogy Wellness Center, which opened in Homewood last month.

Dr. Farah Sultan, the medical director and founder of the center, said she opened Vitalogy hoping that it would be a place to inspire Birmingham residents to be more proactive about their health and wellness. In addition to spa services like facials and nail care, Vitalogy also offers fitness and nutrition programs. 

While talking to Dr. Sultan and touring the facility at Vitalogy I began to think a lot about the importance of self-care. 

We women are often not proactive about our health and wellness because we convince ourselves we don't have the time to do so. 

We say we don't have time to exercise; we don't have time to try the yoga classes at Vitalogy that begin on March 18. But Vitalogy yoga instructor Lisa Bridges said it was after the birth of her fourth child that she became dedicated to the practice. As a mother of four Bridges could have definitely determined she was too busy for yoga, but she says it was yoga that helped her relieve stress and balance the demands of motherhood. Today Bridges has 1,000 certification hours in yoga.

Vitalogy yoga instructor Lisa Bridges shows shows B-Metro blogger Lauren Lockhart a few yoga poses.
Photos by Kelli Taylor of Kelli + Daniel Taylor Photography

If you're interested in starting yoga but intimidated by the idea, Bridges can certainly help you with that. Through a program called Body Work, Bridges will meet with you to first evaluate your posture, strength, and flexibility and then will develop a yoga practice customized to fit your needs and teach you how to continue this practice at home and even how to take these methods and modifications into group yoga classes. 

Oh no! Lauren and I need to detox!

We tell ourselves we don't have time to eat right. At the Vitalogy Open House Party last night I took a quiz that would help me determine if I needed to detoxify. 

According to the quiz you should consider a detox if you answer "yes" to four or more questions on the survey. I answered "yes" to nine! 

Personally, I've always been against detox diets as they often require you to starve yourself and drink disgusting concoctions. But Karen Bishop, the registered dietician who helps with Vitalogy's nutrition programs, informed me that when you detoxify with Vitalogy you are not asked to fast. Instead they focus on helping you replenish your body with the nutrients you need and they help you learn to make healthful eating a lifestyle, which, of course, is much better than trying some fad diet. A detox, Bishop said, shouldn't make you feel sluggish and sick. It should make you feel energized. 

When I left last night's event I had one thought reverberating in my mind: Self-care is not a luxury. 

As I've written before, yes, I do believe exercise is a privilege. It's a privilege to have a body that can move about. It's a privilege to be able to afford yoga classes and even fitness DVDs. And these days it's a privilege to have access to healthy foods. We who have these privileges should not take them for granted. 

But don't misunderstand this to mean that wellness is a luxury. It is not. Wellness is something we all need and deserve. And the key to wellness, I believe, is self-care. 

So take the time you need to exercise. Do what you must to change your diet. And if you can afford it, pay someone to walk on your back. Massage, Lee said, can not only help relax your mind and muscles but can even boost your immune system. 

Remember you can't take care of your loved ones if you don't take care of yourself first. 

Did you catch me on WBHM today discussing my everyday fitness challenge?
If not, hear an excerpt of the interview here. 

This morning on WBHM 90.3 FM, Birmingham's NPR affiliate, discussing my 365 days of fitness challenge. As I announced at the start of the year, in 2014 I plan to exercise every single day. I am a guest blogger for WBHM's website and for my latest post -- Strong Is the New Skinny -- I explained why I'm embarking on this challenge and had a chat with fitness professional Kelly Creel for some guidance. Creel, who is the co-owner of Inspire Fitness Birmingham, actually doesn't think I'm crazy for planning to work out daily. 

"The human body was engineered for movement, so moving it every day in some form, even if that’s at a light intensity, is a wonderful goal,” Creel said. She did, however, give me some tips on how to prevent injury during my challenge. She recommended light workouts such as restorative yoga or a leisurely walk outside once or twice a week. She also said I should let myself off the hook and take a break if I’m sick.

At this point I've been exercising daily for a month and I'm loving it! If the idea of working out every day sounds absolutely miserable, you probably need to change your idea of exercise. If I were on the treadmill (or dreadmill, as I call) every day or the boring elliptical 7 days a week I would absolutely hate this and probably wouldn't have lasted one week. But for the past month exercise has meant going for a run on my favorite trail, going for a walk with a friend, and grooving and moving with the Wii game Just Dance. It's meant Spinning classes and yoga. It's meant building strength with Jillian Michaels DVDs.  

When I was in college I taught group fitness classes and each time I laced up my sneakers and put on that microphone headset I was in a zone. There was no care or concern that my Funk Aerobics class couldn't dance away. 

But somewhere along the way I started viewing exercise as something that I had to do to shed the extra weight I picked up over the years and tone up muscles that were no longer as firm as they were in college. 

This month, however, I have rediscovered the joy of exercise. Exercise is a privilege. It's a privilege to have a body that, for the most part, moves when and how I want it to. It's a privilege to be able to afford Spinning and yoga classes, running shoes and even $10 Jillian Michaels DVDs. It's privilege to have free time that I may use to do things I love to make my body feel good. Working out isn't something I have to do; it's something I get to do. 

If you missed my interview this morning, I believe it will air again this evening around 5:30 p.m. Tune in! 

To kick off my 365 days of exercise, my girls and I took a class together from my favorite spin instructor Gabe Rios. 

In 2014 I plan to exercise every day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I’ve challenged myself to work out for 365 consecutive days before and each time I failed. But I think the clean slate of a new year will give me the motivation I need. There’s something about hanging a new calendar that makes me feel as if I can do anything.

As I mentioned in my list of resolutions, I’m not exercising daily in hopes of one day being skinny. In fact, I don’t plan to weigh myself all year.  I’m exercising daily because I want to be strong.

I’ve written here and for See Jane Write Magazine about how exercise (specifically my Jillian Michaels obsession) helps me as a writer.  But I believe fitness is a feminist issue too.

As Dr. Caroline Heldman says in her TED Talk, “The Sexy Lie”: 

We raise our little boys to view their bodies as tools to master their environments…We raise our little girls to view their bodies as projects to constantly be improved. What if women started to view their bodies as tools to master their environment? As tools to get you from one place to the next? As these amazing vehicles for moving through the world in a new way?

I want to work out every day because I believe doing so will help me see my body in a new way.  I believe daily exercise will help me begin to see my body not as something that needs to be fixed but as an amazing vehicle for moving through the world. And I wish the same for you.

It’s time for feminists to reclaim fitness.

I’ll be sharing my workouts on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtags #feministfitness and #everydayfitness. I hope you’ll join me and share your workouts too.