it's time to call it quits

no, no no, i'm not quitting my intermittent blogging. don't you worry your pretty little face over that. i will continue to randomly update you on my quest to be a better betsy for a while to come.

what i AM quitting is my monthly membership at the gym. in fact, i already did. today. not that they made it easy.

now, i'm sure you're all thinking, "wait, i thought half of the point of this was for her to get fit and rock at life." which is fairly accurate. it's also accurate to say that the other half of the blog is dedicated to photos of buddy. 

hello, handsome

back to the larger issue at hand: quitting the gym, yet still being focused on a healthier life. it's actually not going to be that big of a change for me.

i've been consistently working out for the past few months - spare my birthweek - but i've probably only stepped foot in my gym about twice. i've noticed that i really enjoy classes that aren't offered at my gym and have started going to them at least once a week. on top of that, the weather is finally changing around, allowing me to spend time outdoors to make the most of it, including in active ways.

dancing is a workout too, guys.

yes, specialty classes are expensive. but the workouts are better than any class i've ever been to at my "regular gym." so my theory was, i'm already paying for these extra classes, might as well take the money i'm spending on a membership i rarely use and put it towards those classes. plus, i get about a million daily deals emails, and there's usually some sort of package of workout classes available at a discount, so i can expand my horizons while getting an awesome workout.

the biggest takeaway i have from this hellacious winter (and spring, given that it SNOWED last night) is that i truly enjoy being outdoors when i can. not only do i live within walking distance to central park - the premier outdoor workout landscape - but i also live along a beautiful outdoor walking/running/fitness path that i have not taken nearly enough advantage of over the past few years.

taken on a commute home on a spring day. hashtag gorgeous

i own simple things like a yoga mat, hand weights, a jump rope and a resistance band, so i could take the things i've learned in these crazy classes and do them outside. and get my vitamin d requirement, which is especially important since i found out i'm severely deficient in it. (too much sunscreen and zero red meat will do that to a girl).

so bring on the bad tan lines and the neon workout clothes to blend in at these special gyms. needless to say, it's not me, large gym system in nyc, it's you. and we're never, ever, ever, getting back together.*

*well, maybe we will when it gets cold again. taylor's always wrong about everything.