If you know me, you know I am all about wellness. I eat right, take supplements, and make sure I drink plenty of water. One thing I have really slacked on throughout my last pregnancy and postpartum is working out. Sure I do a yoga session here and there, but I had not been to a gym in months...until this week. Yes, I am the one who bought a membership at my local gym to prepare for the beach vacation we will be taking this summer. Nothing is wrong with that, but I will say that I have learned a thing or two in my time since, and I thought it would be beneficial for me to share these things with all you readers, so here goes...

1. Don't try to do everything at once

So I walked into the gym Monday night, strolled right on up to a treadmill and hopped up. From there I went through a series of leg machine thingies and then on to abs. Can I just say, I regret it. Don't get me wrong, the gym and workout machines were awesome, but when they say save it for leg day, I should have listened. Having a designated workout for each day at the gym is so necessary, because it helps with time management, and instead of looking around at all of the equipment confused and nervous, you can have a plan.

2. Don't go longer than a few minutes in the tanning bed

I made this mistake. Not to say you can't tan for as long as you want, because if you are an experienced tanner, you can so do that, but if you haven't tanned in half a decade like me and then get in a sun bed for more than five minutes, you will burn. Thankfully, I only stayed in for 5 minutes, but it was enough. I will be doing three next time.

3. Don't worry about others

Thankfully, my gym is super friendly and is all about no criticism (can you guess which gym it is?). It is so awesome to know that you can have a place where you can work on yourself and not feel judged by your appearance. If you are like me and have some unwelcome belly fat around your midsection, this is welcomed.

4. Don't go more than three days without exercise

This one is just plain and simple. If you go without exercising for longer than a few days, your muscles get all confused and it can be really difficult to jump back into a workout. Stay with it and be consistent. You can't go wrong.

As someone who used to workout consistently in college (give or take a month or two in between), I should say that fitness is super important and it is really necessary to live a healthy lifestyle. You may not have a gym membership or a consistent workout, but physical activity is so important, and I hope that for those of you reading this, you will choose thriving over surviving when it comes to your next workout.