Top: Nike – love this fit and the material! TTS | Sports Bra: Nike – my ALL time favorite sports bra | Leggings: Zella – my fav brand | Shoes: APL – love these sneakers but order 1/2-1 full size up! | Sunglasses: Ray Ban | Stroller: Uppababy | Zain’s Shirt: Target | Zain’s Shorts: Nordstrom | Zain’s Shoes: Smallbirds – the easiest to slip on him but they run small too!

Good morninggggggg from Chicago!

How is everyone’s week going? I actually flew up to Chicago yesterday and am loving being back in the city. If I’m being honest, I haven’t missed the city as much as I’ve missed my friends so coming back and getting to grab dinner with Jess, Kelly and Blair last night was so wonderful. 

I have a jam packed day today with meetings, a little work day with the girls and then am swinging by Interior Define in Lincoln Park to finalize our choices for the pieces in our formal living room and I can’t wait. I’ll be sharing more over on Instagram stories about that so be sure to follow along there. 

As for today’s post I thought I would share a little bit about my new gym routine, how I’m liking my Apple watch and some of my favorite workout gear. The past year had been a struggle for me workout wise. I tried my best to make it happen but being at home with Zain full time, running the blog and balancing home life I found minimal time for working out. As much as I like to be in shape, working out is really a mental workout for me. It makes me feel good, releases anxiety and often boosts my productivity. 

I knew when we moved back to Louisville I wanted to make it a priority again and now that Zain is in part time daycare it’s much more realistic. I didn’t really look around at gym’s too much, I took a tour and tried a class and immediately joined my gym. My favorite instructor at Equinox in Lincoln Park had told me an old colleague of her’s worked at Milestone here in Louisville and that the classes were excellent. 

I wish I was someone who could do a workout on my own but I really need a good class to commit too and I can make it happen. My gym is a bit unique in that it has tons of classes and they are all hard! I really recommend joining a gym or studio that challenges you. If it’s not getting my blood pumping I have less desire to continue. When I was in Chicago Flywheel was my go to (their new FlyFit class in amazing!) and Orange Theory is always good!After joining, I committed to going at least 3-4 times a week and have loved it. Yes, some days I drag and don’t want to make it but after I finish a class I feel so much  better.

Which brings me to my next advice, get a fitness tracker! I opted for the Apple Watch Series 3 in aluminum with cellular but a lot of women told me they also loved their Fitbit. I wanted the cellular plan so I could disconnect more as weird as that sounds. Since it has cell capabilities I don’t feel the need to have my phone out during the day. I take Zain on walks, go to the park, grab lunch, take gym classes all without my phone and that feels great. 

It also does a great job at tracking my activity and I love setting goals for my workouts and seeing how I did at the end of class. It’s so satisfying and motivating to see those numbers and I can’t recommend it enough!

After I was in a good routine for about a month I decided to treat myself to some new workout gear. My current stash is sad and old since I hadn’t been using it and it was time to freshen it up! I rounded up some of my favorite brands below and if you have anything you swear by please share it with me in the comments! 

Now, I’m off to my meetings and hopefully a Flywheel class (I missed it so!) and I hope you are all enjoying your week!