Blog Post
This morning I woke up and did not feel like working out. I had set an alarm for 7 a.m. I had thought of everything: my alarm would go off at 7 a.m., I would get out of bed right away, put on my favorite Lululemon outfit, grab a banana on the go and walk to the Recreational Center to workout.
I had even planned out the session I wanted to do. I would begin with 30 minutes on the treadmill. You know, just at a good pace to get my heartbeat going. Then, I would hit a circuit: 30 squats, 20 lunges, 10 push ups, 50 crunches, 30 mountain climbers, 10 squats jumps, 45 seconds of plank, and repeat this 6 times through.
The reality is… I could not get out of bed.
Deep inside me, there is this need to workout and sweat. I have been active for so long that, my body needs to work out, otherwise my conscience is not at peace. If I do not go for a run, do a yoga practice, or hit the gym, there is this feeling of guilt that grows inside me.
If you read this, you probably know what I am talking about. We all go through that.
In a way, it is amazing that I have conditioned my body that way: I need to move if I want to stay sane. BUT sometimes, our body knows best. I’ve been pushing myself a lot the past couple of days. I think the hardship I faced this morning was my body crying for rest.
Listening to your body is hard. But this morning I did. Instead of walking to the gym, I stayed in bed a little longer. Instead of grabbing a banana on the go, I sat down and drink coffee while reading the newspaper. I still put on my favorite Lululemon outfit, but only for a 45 minutes walk instead.
When I got back from the walk, my body felt energized. I felt awaken. I was at peace in a healthy body and a healthy mind. Sometimes, we need to give ourselves a break. This morning’s walk cleared my head. The fresh air filled my lungs and I was ready to cease the day.
I chose this topic specifically because it is often hard to talk about it. The fitness community is all about going hard all the time. Influencers show only the highs: the tough workouts and the impressive results. However, they do not show the lows: when your body needs rest and your conscience feels guilty. I thought that talking about the struggle in a blog post could help other women better manage their workout schedule and listen more to their body. The blog post makes the message very personal, and this format seemed the most appropriate for my message.
Instagram Stories
A lot of influencers use them to promote partnership with brands, report their daily activities are to share tips. I have decided to share my top 5 secrets on how to live a healthy lifestyle. A lot of people think you need to workout hard everyday and go on crazy diets to lose weight or get in shape. However, the small details are what make the difference. Instagram stories are easy to access and people are able to screenshot them if they want to keep them. It is an easy and effective way to share content with your followers.
Snapchat Filters
I created this filter in Photoshop with the idea that women could share their workouts on social media. Women could capture and share some bits of their workout with their friends and followers. By using this filter, they are showing that they work hard with a purpose. I will use the question “do you even workout?” as a slogan for my content creation project. This question puts focus on what working out really is: it is not just walking into the gym; it is to have set goals and work to achieve them. This unique filter will help bring women with similar interests together.
Memes
I created this meme with the meme generator Imgflip.com. As an athlete, when I go to the gym, it is to workout. Just to workout. I am very serious about it and I don’t want any distraction. Therefore, I created this meme to highlight how hard it is for women athletes to go to the gym without being stopped by a man who wants to talk to us. I chose this example because it happened to me before and because I have friends that have mentioned this too. When fit women workout hard, men usually notice them and see an opportunity to flirt. All women athletes have probably experience this and I thought it would be a relatable meme to share with my audience. I thought this meme was a fair reflection of what it is like in the gym. The media rarely shows this side of the story.
GIF
GIF-original from Catherine Levasseur on Vimeo.
Catherine Levasseur 