This is not me–but it could be. Photo by flickr/lululemon athletica

Every time I try to get back into working out, it always starts out the same way. I’m really going to do it this time, I think. I just need to work out every day—okay, at least three times a week—and eat healthy. Only salads. Maybe with some boiled chicken breast. Or I could try to go vegan. I could be skinny in like, two weeks if I went vegan.

Usually, my attempts are short lived.

Last year, I decided to try Krav Maga, which is basically self-defense with the added bonus of eye gouging and groin kicking (“You want to kick your attacker in the head, through their groin!”), but I think I only went three times in six months, all within my first week of membership. I’ve tried Cardio Tennis (fun, but expensive), Barre Conditioning (painful, even though I never actually broke a sweat), YogaSculpt (the unofficial tenth circle of hell, complete with free weights and dance music) and most recently, CrossCut, which my best friend teaches and, despite his best efforts, ended up being too hard for a wimp like me. (In all fairness, his website did warn that the classes involved “a high level of exertion,” but somehow, I still imagined I’d look like the sweating, smiling babes in this Eric Prydz video.)

I was lamenting about this to one of my friends, about how I hated working out (and more so, spending an hour out of my day being terrible at something in front of other people), and she replied, “Well, maybe tomorrow you should just spend some time doing things you’re good at.” Well…maybe that’s an excellent idea. Why didn’t I think of that before?

I’ve always been so focused on self-improvement and broadening my proverbial horizon that sometimes I skip out on the activities I’m naturally good at, like yoga. Or happy hour. I digress. Even in The Fire Starter Sessions (which I’m currently obsessed with), Danielle LaPorte attests, “Being well-rounded is highly overrated. Your most valuable currency is what comes most naturally to you.”

So, I decided to take up ButiCycle, which is half an hour of cycling, followed by half an hour of yoga, interjected with some good ol’ fashioned booty-poppin’ and hip thrusting. It’s that perfect combination of something new and something familiar. Am I amazing at it? Um, questionable. But I’m pretty damn good at about half of it, which should keep me encouraged enough to keep going. Well, at least for the next two weeks.