365daysofthrift

I’ve been working out since I was 8 years old and my parents- noticing I was getting a little tubby- enlisted me in the local swim team. My whole family is athletic- starting with my dad- who won a national Gold medal with his crew team prior to my inception and used to ride his bike, 30 miles round trip, to and from work every day when I was in elementary and high school. My sister, ran cross country in high school, did crew in college at Boston University and now rock climbs with her boyfriend in between yoga sessions and gym time.  My mom is a vegan in her late sixties and keeps things moving with daily walks and weekly yoga; even my uncle is doing extreme fitness and mountain biking as he enters his seventies.

My swim team was intense- we had several members in training for the Olympic Trials and during our Christmas break- while most 13 year olds were eating pies and watching movies in their jammies- I was participating in “Hell Week” where you do two practices- adding up to 5 hours of swimming every day and totaling 100,000 yards (56.8 miles) in a single week. The very first day you swim 10,000 yards straight (5.6 miles) and are rewarded with a plain baked potato and a hot shower. I made it to Jr Olympics with a relay team and enjoyed many years (starting at 9) swimming the mile competitively during every swim meet- but in my Freshman year I got a bad case of Mono- and my times never recovered- so eventually swimming gave way to costume design and drama class- although I can’t say I’m mad at that.

In my acting school- my teacher noticed me slumped over with terrible posture during a critique- so he recommended I start taking a dance class. I was hooked. At one point I was hitting the gym, doing yoga, dance class and rehearsing intensively for an improv dance show (we were the “wind”- so it was VERY cardio-tastic) and when I totaled my hours- I was literally working out like it was my full time job.

When I moved to Nashville- I kept things moving with Hot Yoga, bike riding and 4-6 mile runs- but then I got hit by a car (for serious- I was on my little scooter at a stop light and got rolled into by a utility van), dumped and just when I was getting my groove back- sprained my ankle, bad, while jogging through my neighborhood. I got back into jogging eventually- but couldn’t get too far without my knees acting up or my ankle hurting- and I should have been doing restorative yoga in my living room- but for a while I was just Netflixing through all my feelings, binge watching Gossip Girl and Battlestar Galactica when I should have been jumpstarting my life.  When all the Netflix feels ended I was just sewing my face off  for a while and not sleeping enough and eventually I found myself eating  gas station vienna sausages (not all the time 😉 ) and candy, 10 pounds heavier- factually just enjoying this muffin-top-curvy-girl-bod for a bit. But as much as I love myself no matter what my body shape or size– I was actually in chronic pain. All my joints hurt (literally, even my fingers) and I couldn’t sit still for very long- because I was always having pain in my neck, back, knees or ankles. I was still moving things right along- but this is not a good place to be physically and I certainly don’t ever want to find out where this ends up.

So a few weeks back I was driving along by the Planet Fitness near my house and I thought- why don’t I just join the gym- that way- if I can get my butt there, I’ll workout- no excuses. Like, you’re not gonna get to the gym and then decide to instead: make yourself a snack, organize your sock drawer and do the laundry, you’re going to get to the gym and workout- plus, my ankles and knees can stand up to the elliptical machine. So I got myself a membership and I’ve been steady rocking for almost a month. I quit drinking coffee daily, I eat better without effort, I can move easier, I wake up with less strain and for the first time in a long time- I’m not in pain. It’s great. I really encourage all of you out there to get fit- not for looks (although that is a benefit that I’m not mad about) but for health.

So… now that I’m dusting the cobwebs off of my old gym clothes- I discovered that I actually needed new ones. There are somethings (like sportsbras and weightlifting gloves) That you can’t really get at Goodwill- and to be honest- I was soooooooo tempted to just break my rules and buy all that cheap- neon workout wear at Walmart; but I kept true to my original post and sent my butt to the nearest Goodwill to see what I could find. I was delighted to get my hands on two fabulous pairs of yoga pants and the coolest (like seriously, like literally, like actually, THE COOLEST) workout jacket ever in the world. The magic of thrifting- is that never- would I have found such a badass gym jacket at a regular store (without paying the mega-bucks)

So here you are- I give you todays workout OOTD courtesy of my local Goodwill.

Jacket: $5 Goodwill, Pants: $5 Goodwill, Shoes: $28 Ross, Sports Bra: $5 Walmart (sorry guys- I had to) Gloves: $9 GoldsGym at Walmart, Bag- Free with my Planet Fitness Membership (yay!) Helmet: Goodwill Outlet: 50 cents, Custom built bike from the lovely Halcyon Bike Shop in Nashville. Water bottle: (It’s actually my Roommates) Lululemon

Total outfit cost: $24.50 (without shoes) #forthewin

Love and Thrift,

Elisabeth