I’ve discovered working out outside has its perks. 1. My arms and face are getting sun kissed already 2. When I am huffing and puffing in my 30 second rest I sometimes have to pinch myself because of the view around me. 3. It’s made me realize I know more about myself and am more than an elliptical.

Being at Fonte Delle Monache we are in the country, there is not gym down the road (or at least that I can tell) and also I am on a budget. I can’t afford to join a gym in every place Sean and I are choosing to go so I’ve got it in the mindset that I need to use what’s around me. Eventually I want to get a resistance band and jump rope as I know not everywhere we stay in the future will have as much privacy and that I’m not going to want to be huffing and puffing around people doing their everyday things. So those are things that I can do in a room and get my heart pumping.

I’m not working out to lose weight though, it is a factor for me. I do want to lose weight but right now, in this journey losing weight is not a goal for me. I want to taste local delicacies, I want to drink wine that costs a euro and I want to enjoy every single bite. I am working out because it makes me feel a little bit better about having whole milk in my Italian coffee or that extra serving of pasta but also, I want to be healthy enough that I can do the things that I want to do.

I started this blog to help motivate myself to go out and do things, even If I wasn’t sure I could handle them i.e. huffing a way up a mountain for that spectacular view and sometimes, I am aware that I will be limited on a few things but for the next year I want to work towards a goal of doing as much as I can and if that means working out 40 minutes a day to help make it that much easier, then maybe I should do it. It has just been a week but already I feel a difference. Walking up the step hill, it doesn’t take as long to recover.

I was worried I wouldn’t be motivated when I traveled but I was wrong. I look forward to those 40 minutes but also, I realized I don’t just need an elliptical. I use the landscape to my advantage and fuck, I know a lot. I even made Sean start doing them with me and his abs are hurting and my calf’s are dying. My goal before I leave Fonte is to run up the drive-away without stopping, cutting my circuit time by 25 seconds and having a hella good arm tan.  Small goals but attainable goals. Let’s see if I can do it shall we.