I hope you discovered a few helpful tips in ‘7 Tips for Improving Emotional Well-Being: Prioritizing Your Health Part 1‘. Part 2 is focused on the physical side of our well-being and how small changes can make a world of difference!
7 tips to maximize your workout!
1. Motivating playlist | Discovering music you can really jam out to while exercising helps immensely. If I am in the middle of a workout and find my motivation dwindling I scroll my playlist and find a song that all of a sudden boosts my mood and pushes me through to the end and I am left feeling better about my workout than if I had given up just a few minutes early.
2. Compound Movements | Working more than one muscle group at once during a weight lifting session is not only functional, it creates a more effective workout, burning added calories long after the workout is completed. So for example, a bicep curl to overhead press or deadlift to bicep curl would all be time saving, muscle building movements.
3. It All Counts | No matter how little time you think you have to complete a workout, remind yourself, that it doesn’t have to be done all at once. 5 minutes between meetings, 10 minutes during naptime, 15 minutes running errands, it all adds up to 30 minutes. Not doing anything because you think you do not have the time to give to a proper traditional workout should be an excuse you toss out the window!
4. Fuel & Hydrate | Find ways to replenish your body throughout the day and during a workout. Not prioritizing nutrients your body needs to help you through a workout can cause dizziness, headaches, fatigue and an overall ‘sick’ feeling. Keep a water bottle nearby throughout the day, flavor the water with lemon or flavoring drops if plain water is not your thing. Stashing fresh or dried fruit along with trail mixes or granola in your bag can give you a quick pick me up and making sure to strive for eating well-rounded meals, focusing on healthy fats like Omegas found in fish or avocado, lean proteins like chicken , whole grains & vegetables will all aid in energizing you at a cellular level.
5. Enjoy | Do not, I repeat DO NOT, force yourself through a workout that you are just ‘not feeling’. Finding what brings you joy is key to a consistent workout routine. Each person differs in preference, if you like group classes join one! If you like on-line at home find that! Walking the dog around the neighborhood, or getting together with a friend and doing your own things, perfect! Whatever it is, make sure you look forward to it; otherwise exercise becomes another chore on the impossibly long to-do list and the easiest one to set aside.
6. Convenience | Is it an app on your phone? The exercise bike in the living room? Walking on your lunch break? Household chores count! Lugging laundry up and down in my book is an uphill quad & glute workout. I do not discount the days I did not get enough formal working out in if I got it through moving around my by house cleaning or picking up. Steps count no matter how you get them!
7. Rest | Recognize when to take a physical break. You are tough and want to push yourself but you’ve been battling the sniffles or a sore knee. One day off to heal and rest does not throw off the course of progress, in fact pushing through in times of illness or injury could actually be a determent hindering you for longer. Take it one day at a time and check in with yourself regularly.
Bottom line is that small changes lead to big success. Don’t try to do it all at once. When something new becomes routine that is when you can add a little more change. It’s also not necessarily about the scale, it’s how you feel in your skin, inches lost you’ll notice in the way your clothes fit and not necessarily in pounds lost on the scale and if you have one day off don’t let that dictate the course of your progress, give yourself grace for showing up for you!
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