Learning to Take it Easy...

If any of you know me, I am not one to take it easy. I don't know how to slow down or to take things at an easy pace. I am an all or nothing girl. I always have been. 

Any time I've wanted to make changes, I've always been one to either jump right in with both feet or to stop whatever it is I'm doing (my sugar detox, for example). I don't like to dabble with one foot in and one foot out. Once again...all or nothing.

So now as I'm trying to start a family and get (and stay) pregnant, I'm struggling with this all or nothing mentality. 

My doctor has told me to back off my workouts just a bit. Well...what she actually told me was that she'd prefer if I did yoga or pilates instead. But, as I told her, I don't think that would be possible for me. I don't think I could step away from CrossFit and slow it down to the point of doing only yoga or pilates.

So I've decided to focus on my heart rate and monitoring it during my workouts. It's something that I hope will help me slow down. To take it easy. To learn to scale back. To learn that it's okay to NOT push myself so hard in every single workout. 

And this, because it's not my normal all or nothing, is insanely hard for me. 

I know what you're thinking...that this should be easy. I'm a coach and I know how to scale down workouts and movements and intensity. But without being injured, it's hard for me to do it for myself. Like, insanely hard. 

Thankfully I have amazing friends who know my journey and my goals and help me scale it back accordingly. That happened for me on Friday. I, of course, wanted to do the Rx weight for the workout. I was just going to go slower, but still push myself. She told me to back off on the weight and I'm so glad she did. I learned where my threshold is for pushing too hard and raising my heart rate entirely too much. 

On Saturday, I did our normal challenge workout at the gym. But, I scaled it back and still got an amazing workout without overdoing it. I know that my body needs less stress now and through the first trimester of my pregnancy. And learning how to do it now will make everything so much easier when I am pregnant. 

Of course, one of the other internal battles I've had is that this means I will no longer be doing the workouts Rx or being one of the "top" female athletes in the gym. I like to push myself and see where I fall in the daily workouts. I like to aim for the top (yay for that competitive streak!). 

But now my goals have changed. What I want has changed. Yes, I would still like to be competitive and push myself in the gym. But ultimately, I want to have a baby. I want to start (and grow) my family with Nick and Malachi. 

So things will be changing. I will be learning to say no to things. Learning to scale down my workouts (while still getting a good workout in). Learning to rest and take it easy. Learning to lower my stress level (finally, LOL). 

This has been a long time coming and while it will be difficult at first, I know this is what I need right now and it will not be forever.

So here's to learning all these things. Fun times in Double Decker land :) 

I hope you all have a beautiful week! And send me some of your tips for learning to take it easy! 

With love and wellness,
​Whitney