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When Intuitive Exercise Doesn’t Feel Good

February 8, 2015 by Hillary 16 Comments

I’ve got not one, not two, but three weeks of workouts for you.

I like to maintain a workout dairy for my own personal accountability, but I hope these posts provide you with inspiration for your own exercise regime, too.

Since injuring my knee (over two years ago), I would classify my style of fitness as “intuitive exercise.” Most of the time, this feels good – as I listen to my body’s request for rest, and level of intensity for each workout. For example, some days I do not want to do any plyometic/high-impact/jumping movements, so I will opt for a basic yet challenging workout. Other days, I crave all the cardio – a run, then a hike, and then a few thousand additional steps running errands.

There are occasions when intuitive exercise does not feel as great. These are usually the days when I don’t feel ascomfortable in my own skin, and I ask myself why I haven’t signed up for a gym membership yet. My thoughts tell me that if I worked out at a gym, I would kick things up a notch with increased interval training and a variety of classes to mix up my routine. Intensity and variety are the golden ticket to a fit physique, right? Or should I just be satisfied with my home workout efforts. Oh, rainy day Sunday thoughts…

photo

Workouts | Week of January 19

Monday – Arms & Abs Superset Workout + 30 KB swings

Tuesday – 60-minute yoga class/Rest

Wednesday – 20-minute Tabata Kettlebell Workout (25lb.) + 5 x 12 burpees

Thursday – Rest

Friday – Dumbbell Chipper Workout + 5-minute Total Body Workout (2x)

Saturday – 5 mile run + this kettlebell workout (2x)

Sunday – 3 mile run + 20 step-ups / 20 lunges / 10 jump squats (3x) + 10 sets of stairs + 3.25 mile hike

Workouts | Week of January 26

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – 60-minute yoga class / Dumbbell Superset Workout (15lb. dumbbells) with 20 KB swings (25lb.) + 10 burpees between each set / Winter Shape-Up Workout #2 (video version)

Wednesday – 60 min. Spin + Strength class at the WREC + 10 min. step machine

Thursday – Rest

Friday – 30 min. walk/Rest

Saturday – 3 mile hike/Rest

Sunday – 4 mile run

Workouts | Week of February 2

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – 400 Reps for Time Workout (+ 40 weighted step-ups) + 20 sets of stairs + 3 sets of 10 reps: chest press / bicep curls / front raises / rows

14,600+ step daily total

Wednesday – 20-minute Tabata Kettlebell Workout + 5 x 12 spinal roll-ups + 5-minute leg workout

Thursday – Dumbbell Superset Workout (10/15lb.) + this workout (2x)

Friday – 60-minute yoga class/Rest

Saturday – 3.25 mile run + 15 sets of stairs

Sunday – No Equipment Plyo Workout + Dirty 30 Dumbbell Workout

Do you exercise intuitively? If not, what type of training plan do you use?

When do you feel your best – exercising intuitively or following a schedule?

Is is possible to exercise intuitively while following a training plan? I think so!

Related Posts

  • Switching Up My Fitness Regimen (Again) + This Week’s Workouts
  • No Equipment Travel Workout
  • Half-Marathon Training // Week 9
  • Half-Marathon Training // Weeks 7 & 8
  • Half-Marathon Training // Week 5

Filed Under: Fitness, Running Tagged With: Intuitive Exercise, Weekly Workouts

« My Approach to Healthy Traveling
Ode to Yoga | Part II »

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Comments

  1. Caroline says

    February 8, 2015 at 6:20 pm

    I’ve been exercising intuitively for the past three years. This is my first time back to following a training plan as I train for Boston. I won’t lie… sometimes I miss just exercising intuitively. As soon as I start following a plan, I overdue it and get injured… like right now. Gah!

    I’m so impressed with your ability to maintain workouts without a gym membership. I’m quitting the gym in April so I will definitely be looking to you for ideas!

    Reply
    • Hillary says

      February 8, 2015 at 6:34 pm

      Just curious – why are you deciding to quit the gym?

      Too much running? What’s injured? =/

      Reply
      • Caroline says

        February 8, 2015 at 7:42 pm

        I’m canceling my gym membership in April because I *think* I’m quitting my FT job in April so I want to save money – at least for the spring/summer. I might join a cheaper gym… we’ll see :)

        Reply
        • Hillary says

          February 8, 2015 at 8:26 pm

          And do photography full time!?

          Reply
  2. jen says

    February 8, 2015 at 6:48 pm

    yes! i always exercise intuitively and NEVER plan my week of workouts. i just do whatever works with my schedule and feels like the right thing for my body that day!

    Reply
    • Hillary says

      February 8, 2015 at 6:55 pm

      Jen – This is great to hear as I often admire your weekly workouts… with an ounce of jealously. I realize your career revolves around the gym/yoga studio, but it’s often difficult not to compare my efforts to yours. “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Thank you for the fitness inspiration, nonetheless!

      Reply
  3. Beth @ Running with the Sunrise says

    February 8, 2015 at 7:26 pm

    But if you had a gym membership you wouldn’t get those lovely views you get from hiking! Beautiful photo! I try to do intuitive exercise to some extent, although a lot of the time I just feel like staying in bed because I’m feeling lazy, so I do have to push through that. I do firmly believe in listening to your body and not pushing through illness or injury!

    Reply
  4. Nikki Fahey says

    February 8, 2015 at 7:31 pm

    I am really struggling with this right now and looking for answers! Ah, so hard. I have struggled with an eating disorder and exercise for 20 years. It is wearing on me lately; I haven’t wanted to go to the gym and just work out at home on the spin bike or in my apartment gym. I do have stress fractures in both my legs which is hard. I am looking for answers on how to deal with injury! Ah. Anyway, thank you.

    Reply
    • Hillary says

      February 8, 2015 at 7:38 pm

      Be kind to yourself and appreciate rest days. I don’t have experience with stress fractures, but I imagine some rest would do you good. Wishing you all the best, Nikki :)

      Reply
  5. Lauren says

    February 8, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    Ironically, I am being much more intuitive with my workouts now that I’m preggo. It’s like I have this excuse, so it’s the perfect opportunity and reason for me to listen to my body and do what feels right.

    Reply
    • Hillary says

      February 8, 2015 at 10:29 pm

      I would imagine that it is a wonderful time to exercise intuitively :)

      Reply
  6. Lee says

    February 9, 2015 at 5:46 am

    Loved everything about this post :D Gym memberships are overrated anyways :P

    Reply
    • Hillary says

      February 9, 2015 at 9:36 am

      Thanks, Miss Fit Foodie :)

      Reply
  7. Megan says

    February 10, 2015 at 9:10 am

    I have been trying to be more intuitive with exercise (and eating). I’ve been working on trying not to feel guilty because I opted for yoga and walking the dog after a long day at work as opposed to spinning or a HIIT workout. Other days I struggle with: “Is this just intuition or laziness, hah!” Always searching for that balance!

    Reply
  8. Hannah @ The Fitbusiast says

    February 11, 2015 at 8:17 am

    I have exercised intuitively for the past year, but found that I wasn’t resting intuitively. Since having my daughter 2.5 years ago, I finally added a rest day after 2 years. If I wasn’t running every day, I was exercising for 1-2 hours. It was a bit intense. I didn’t get burnt out, but found my body not feeling as energized as it used to. Thanks for this post! I will be including it in my Friday Favorites this week.

    Reply
    • Hillary says

      February 11, 2015 at 11:36 am

      Thank you for including it! :)

      Reply

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