Fitness in Barcelona - finally!

I knew it was bound to happen at some point, but it was about four months ago that living in Spain seemed to visibly catch up with my body (I imagine turning a year older didn't help, either!). Apparently one can't drink more often, consume more bread, cheese, and olive oil, and exercise less frequently without there being some negative consequences. 

One of the main things I love about living in Spain is the focus on social life - enjoying food and drinks with friends, staying up late, and basically just living life to the fullest. Unfortunately, this takes its toll! And when commuting almost two hours a day to work, one of the first things to go was consistent exercise.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, one of my favorite things about summer is having the time and the motivation to re-prioritize. With a very open schedule for the past week and a half, I've been determined to make exercise and healthiness one of my top priorities. There is truly NO excuse not to do something every day.

My favorite new discovery has been Beach Fit Barcelona. I had heard about this through a few different people and decided to check it out. I'm so glad I did! It's basically boot camp on the beach. It brought back memories of high school volleyball practice, as well as Half Hour Power with Howard. Imagine lots of sprinting, running in the sand, push-ups, and core training, all taking place from 7-8am. After last Friday's class, I was the most sore from exercise that I've been in three years!  It was physically difficult to get out of my bed on Saturday, but it was such a good feeling. 

This reminded me of just how hard I use to work out at home and how much better my body felt because of it. Although I really appreciate that the Spanish value curves and a more balanced  life than the USA, sometimes I miss the American obsession with weight and exercise. In the Mediterranean, people are generally healthy due to their diet (small meals made of fresh, fresh food) and all of the walking they do as part of daily life. But for someone like myself, exercise is necessary for me to feel good about my body, particularly as I get older. This is a balance I have to personally find.

I look forward to continuing these classes before and after my trip to the states. Not only is the exercise fantastic, it's also a really nice, fun group of people. The trick will be continuing to make exercise a priority when those school hours begin . . .