We all have those periods of life when our best intentions to exercise (and do obé) go awry. Maybe work got busy, you got ill or injured, or a new baby (or puppy!) came into your world. Whatever the excuse, it’s perfectly normal—and totally okay—to take a break from working out.
For me, this fall was like that. Nothing major disrupted my life, but I was settling back into a regular routine, commuting to work again (hi, obé HQ!), and over-scheduling my social life (Libra birthday season!). As my personal and professional to-dos kept mounting, exercise fell to the bottom of my list. And I felt the effects: my energy was down, my anxiety was up, and I genuinely missed it. For whatever reason, my motivation was simply MIA.
Here’s our definitive guide to breaking out of a fitness rut.
Toward the end of October, I happened across a post in the obé fam Facebook group about a #75daysofobé challenge. These members were doing obé every day till the end of the year (any class, any length of time). Suddenly, I felt inspired me to get back to it—and I knew I needed to, for my physical and mental health. Even though I wasn’t quite committing to 75 days, I decided to commit to 30 days of obé for the month of November.
I’ll be honest: At first, I didn’t feel totally confident in my ability to follow through. While I’d been a faithful obé-er for a year and a half, I’m not a numbers person, so I’d never kept track of my classes or my consistency. Could I actually do obé every day?! Here’s how it went—and what I learned from it.
1. The biggest takeaway from obé: I can do it—and it felt really damn good.
Spoiler alert: I did it! I’m pretty proud of myself—and I honestly underestimated the mental boost that completing this challenge would give me. Like many people, I’ve been having some “down” days as this pandemic continues to drag on (and on)—and at the same time, winter’s creeping into New York with its colder, darker days.
This challenge turned out to be a way to not only keep myself active and make exercise a habit again, but spending time with our inspiring, positive instructors cheered me up on days I felt down. It helps that I know many of them IRL, so it truly felt like spending time with my friends—something I looked forward to every day! I wasn’t expecting a huge physical change, but I definitely did feel like I started to stand up straighter and saw a little more definition in my arms (thanks, Sculpt arms!).
Another key to my success (besides my own determination) was obé’s Streaks feature on the web. It kept me accountable as I knew I would want to screenshot and prove (to myself—and to you!) that I did it. This also added a fun challenge to figure out how obé would fit into my schedule when I did an off-app activity, like a hike, pickleball session (my new favorite sport), outdoor run, or the occasional class at the gym. An Express Stretch or activation from the Runner’s Hub turned out to be a perfect companion to all these activities, or I would do a 10-minute Sculpt session to get a little upper-body work in. It was a fun way to see how obé can integrate with other ways to sweat as the world starts to open back up.
Proof:
2. A simple obé stretch session totally counts—and is more powerful than you may think.
I went into this challenge knowing that I was not going all in, full out each day. This was especially true on Monday, November 1, aka the day after Halloween and the first day of this challenge. I woke up exhausted from a weekend of fun, so to start the month off on the right foot, so I did a 10-minute heart-opening Yoga class with Beth C. And I didn’t want it to end! Remind me why I hadn’t been doing this every single morning?!
Overall, this month reminded me that sometimes a Stretch session is just what your body (and mind) needs. On busy days I would just press play on an Express Stretch or Yoga class—and always felt better for it. (Friend me on obé to see my Collection of my top stretches—I do these over and over again!)
Another example of stretching to the rescue: One of the toughest days to fit in obé was when I spent a full day traveling for Thanksgiving on very little sleep. It was so tempting to just climb into bed when I reached my destination, but I pressed play on a Lower Body Stretch with Mary W. My tight hamstrings and hips from sitting all day were incredibly grateful, and it helped me mentally reset after the stress of holiday travel.
3. The “hybrid” workout model is actually ideal for me.
As Well+Good reports, the “hybrid fitness” model is here to stay—meaning that as gyms reopen, many people are doing both at-home workouts and in-person workouts. And a ClassPass survey found that 65 percent of people plan to maintain hybrid workouts post-COVID. I’m definitely part of that trend—and this month helped me figure out my “sweet spot” of mostly at-home workouts, with a few gym (or outdoor) sessions sprinkled in.
Of course, there’s no denying that having your gym in your living room is incredibly convenient—and that works great on busy days. But over the course of the month, I found that I really enjoyed heading to the gym that I’d recently rejoined for longer sweat sessions. I also liked to be around other people working out and a change of scenery after a year-plus of exercising at home.
My favorite at-the-gym routine was doing a 15 or 20-minute Ride, followed by a 28-minute Sculpt or Strength class. I’d find a space in the accessory area at the gym and prop my phone up—and I feel like I got most in the zone for those sessions. It also made me look forward to doing the Gym Program when life slows down a bit.
Heading back to the gym? Here are Kat E.’s top tips to avoid gym-timidation.
4. There’s truly a workout for every mood on obé.
When I did have ample time and energy to exercise, I had the pick of the obé menu. And as we all know, it’s a fairly extensive menu! After nearly two years on the app, I’ve done pretty much every class type, so I know what works for me—but this month solidified how different workouts are just right for different moods and different days.
Looking back at my history for the month, I mostly stuck to Sculpt, Yoga, Strength, Pilates, and Ride—with a few Dance classes sprinkled in! Strength and Sculpt always left me feeling sweaty and strong. Pilates or Barre brought the burn when I was feeling up to a challenge. Overall, I avoided Power and HIIT for the most part—my body just didn’t need that impact as I eased back into a routine.
As for Dance or Bounce? I’ve come to the conclusion that these are the absolute best mood-boosting workouts when I need a little pick-me-up. I don’t do either of these classes very often, but when I do I always have a blast (even though, let’s be real, I can never keep up with the choreo). If I was short on time, I would put on this Express Bounce class with Dorian at the end of a long day. Or if I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, a fun Dance Cardio or HIIT class with Mary, Ana, Leslie, or Kat B. (my go-to’s) would always brighten my day.
5. There’s a real reason you start to “crave” a workout: It’s called “entrainment.”
After a few days of doing obé consistently in the morning, a funny thing happened: I started to crave moving my body first thing. Turns out, this is a real scientific occurrence called “entrainment”—a new-to-me term I happened to come across during the month.
As neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. explained on Instagram, physiological entrainment is the idea that your brain and body starts to get habituated, or synchronized, to certain actions at certain times. In turn, your brain and body expects and anticipates them, which improves your likelihood of completing them.
There are three main activities that trigger our brain’s “anticipatory circuits”—aka cells and chemical systems that entrain (synchronize) to certain activities: sunlight viewing, eating, and yes, exercise. After three to four days of doing those activities at similar times (within 15 to 20 minutes, Huberman notes), our body begins to learn to anticipate them. No wonder working out in the morning with the sun coming up has that addictive-like quality!
Now, I’m no neuroscientist, but I also am sure you can easily “entrain” your brain to stop expecting these good-for-you habits. But isn’t it kind of cool that our brains and body really need only 3 or 4 days to start expecting—and anticipating, hopefully with excitement—a workout?
6. In the end, I’m grateful, above all.
As I look back at the month of November—as well as the fact that I’ve done obé for a year and a half!—I mostly feel gratitude.
I’m grateful that I truly love exercise (even if I take a break from it sometimes). I’m not always the picture of perfect health—I love wine, fries, and a good burger, but working out is something I’ve always been relatively consistent with. This month reminded how much I love it—in the moment, and how I feel after.
I’m grateful I’m able to move my body—whether it’s every day or every once in a while. During this month, a family member dealt with an unexpected—and debilitating—health issue. Seeing him not being able to walk was a jolt to the system, and made me feel more grateful than ever for my ability to even take obé. To quote Alex S., I don’t have to work out—I get to work out. And as Walter reminded us in his Alter of Walter gratitude class, we get to move our bodies for those who can’t.
Finally, I’m grateful to this obé community. I’m thankful for the members who inspire me with their #SweatySelfies, their wins, and their challenges on Instagram and the Facebook group. I am a fairly silent lurker in the group, but trust me, I am there reading just about everything and am constantly in awe of your commitment to obé!
I’m thankful for our fantastic instructors who show up every day in the Box and put it all the field to not only give us a good workout, but also words of wisdom and plenty of laughs.
And I’m thankful for my obé HQ coworkers and leaders who keep me excited and energized to work together to #LevelUp this incredible product—and our selves—every single day.
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