May 1, 2024

Workout Consistency Matters!

January 14, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Consistency Matters!

Find a way to exercise consistently to see best overall results. Consistent exercise means you’ll feel better, look better and just plain function better because your body will have time to adapt to your exercise. Change your workout format or type of workout until you find a method complements and works with your schedule.

Here are a four ideas to get consistent with your fitness:

Monday mandatory exercise. Set a healthy tone to your week by always working out on Monday.

Week at a glance. Every Sunday sit down with your calendar and schedule your workouts for the week.

Tally up the week. Every Friday tally up your workouts. Miss your goal? Use the weekend to make up the missed workout(s).

Commit to a set schedule. Commit to a set workout schedule each month. Doing so leaves nothing up to guessing or trying to fit in fitness last minute.

 

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Get Uncomfortable with Your Fitness

January 13, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Get Uncomfortable!

Part of your fitness journey may be uncomfortable, unsettling or uncertain. Guess what? Feeling uneasy about your fitness goals is common! Physical fitness gains, and mental personal growth, happens when we overcome an uncomfortable feeling. We learn about our inner-strength and realize we are so much stronger than we think. It is through this principle that we feel empowered and confident, and these qualities carry over into all aspects of our life. Fitness is about so much more than the time we log in a workout!

Here’s how to get uncomfortable with your fitness (and enjoy it):

Take a class. Been interested in learning about the latest workout craze at your gym? Show up and try it!

Register for a race. Athletic competition is not just for kids. Enter a race and enjoy the motivation boost.

Master a new skill. Never learned to golf? Take a lesson. Always interested in stand up paddle boarding? Take a lesson.

Join a team. Check out your local recreation center to learn about local adult teams and leagues.

Revisit a old short-coming. Did you fall short of a goal previously and then abandon the goal entirely? Consider revisiting the goal again. Doing so will allow you to work through all the emotions that accompanied your efforts. The outcome may be different this time around.

 

 

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Change Up Your Exercise Routine

January 11, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Change up your exercises!

If you’ve been doing the same workout for months and months, your body (and your mind) will benefit from unaccustomed exercise. Unaccustomed exercise simply means changing up your exercise routine! Doing so every 4-6 weeks means your body has to adapt to a new stimulus (or load), and this means your body will continue to get stronger. Changing up your exercise routine is also a great method to keep motivation high!

What are different variables in your workout to change?

Change out a specific exercise. For example, trade out a squat on the squat rack to holding two dumbbells.

Change the order of your exercises.

Add in a different workout component entirely. For example, add in a yoga class to your week.

Change up your rest time in between sets.

Change the format of your exercise routine. For example, try circuit training or super-sets.

 

 

 

 

 

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Should you consider a fitness partner?

January 7, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Find a fitness partner!

If you’re short on motivation, find a fitness partner. You’ll be less likely to miss a workout when you know someone is waiting for you. What are additional benefits of having a training partner?

Adds support. Who better to know how much effort you’re applying than your fitness partner. He or she is there to provide encouragement when times are tough. Support is key for fitness success.

Provides accountability. Slacking off a little? Your fitness partner will let you know. Have made huge progress? Your fitness partner will let you know.

Encourages unaccustomed exercise. Working out with a fitness partner means you may try new workouts more often due to differing interests. Over time you’re able to introduce one another to your favorite workouts and types of exercises.

 

 

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Train your Mind.

January 6, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Train your Mind.

Doubts about meeting your fitness goal? Normal. Unsure you’ll be able to keep up with your exercise program? Understandable. Anxious about your physical capabilities? Common. The answer is in training your mind by adopting a regular workout mantra. A mantra uses positive thinking to empower your mind, and in turn your body. Improving your mental fitness takes specificity and repetition, and is well worth the effort. Harness your mental power and strength by practicing just a few minutes throughout your day. Here’s how it works:

A mantra should begin with “I am…” or “I have…” For example, “I am a strong, steady and powerful runner.” Choose a sentence or phrase that includes your personal power words, and uses vocabulary in the present tense as if you’ve already reached your goal.  Recite your mantra regularly during your workout and during your day in general. Your mantra will act to silence the negative self-talk, and re-focus your efforts. Consider your mantra as your mental fitness program.

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Logging your Workout: Worthwhile or Waste of Time?

January 5, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:


Log it!


Logging workouts is a great way to stay motivated. Whether via an app, through notes on your phone, laptop or with good ole pen and paper, tracking your workouts gives each workout a focus and purpose. Keeping a detailed workout log:

Offers Feedback. Simply put, are you ON-pace or OFF-pace of your goal? Whether you track workouts based on number of days, minutes or workouts, feedback is clear.

Provides Reinforcement. In other words, workout +workout +workout, builds momentum and motivation to keep it up! Looking at your workout notes reinforces your efforts and in turn your results, or lack thereof. You are getting stronger. You are losing inches. You are making progress.

Reveals Patterns. Through a written log, both positive and negative patterns are obvious. For example, do you tend to skip workouts on Wednesdays? Set yourself up for success and move your rest day to Wednesday. Do most of your high intensity workouts happen on Saturday? Schedule those workouts intentionally, knowing you’re rested from being able to sleep in on the weekend.

Finding what works for you is the key to consistency. Consistency is key to results. Logging is essential to finding what works best for your body, your schedule and your fitness goals, all with no time wasted.

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Connect with Others to Ramp Up Workout Motivation

January 4, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Connect with Others.

If you’re struggling with exercise motivation, connect with others who are also on your fitness journey. For example:

Take a fitness class. Look up the class schedule at your gym. Do an internet search for classes in your town. Visit your local community recreation center. Nothing is more inspiring than exercising along side of others who share in your journey to fitness.

Form a team. Is there a walk, run or bike ride in your town to raise funds and awareness for a cause that’s near and dear to your heart? SIGN UP! Recruit friends, family, neighbors, co-workers to join your team. Making a commitment to a team gives a deeper meaning and focus to your fitness. You’re less likely to miss a workout when others are counting on your participation.

Volunteer! Give back to get motivated. Volunteer for an athletic event in your town. From volunteering to hand out race numbers, to filling cups at a water stop, to working clean-up at a local athletic event, there is a volunteer opportunity for everyone. Simply ASK! Focusing on helping and encouraging others will inspire your fitness. Watching others cross their finish line will increase motivation to find yours as well.

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Start your fitness journey TODAY with walking

January 1, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Get a pedometer.

How do you know how to improve if you don’t know where you are? Head to your local sporting good store and check out the options. There are many! Basic pedometers display total steps only. However, if you enjoy technology and data, the sky is the limit on functions of advanced pedometers. Sophisticated pedometers track not only total steps, but other aspects of healthy living as well. Both categories of pedometers are reliable and effective.

Wear the pedometer for a solid week, then average your steps.  Taking the average offers a great starting point to building your fitness. Remember, it’s the overall volume of your physical activity that’s important when beginning to prevent physical injury and mental burnout. The Surgeon General recommends logging 10,000 steps each day. Your goal is to increase steps gradually to 10,000 steps a day. As always consult your physician before beginning an exercise program.

Pedometers offer motivation to be active throughout your day. Instant feedback takes the guess workout out of your fitness. Simply put on your pedometer and GO!

 

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Your healthiest year yet… By Nicole Bryan

December 31, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Make 2016 your healthiest year yet…
 
Here’s how to do it:

Adapt a current mindset. While you may have had a traumatizing dodge ball experience in junior high, ask yourself how that is relevant to your current state of fitness? Life is full of experiences, good and not so good. You can see the experience as a blockade or obstacle or as a stepping stone. Ask yourself, are you ready to let go of old unpleasant experiences regarding your health and fitness? If not, what do you need to move forward? Consider consulting a counselor if you’re unsure, joining a club or team for support, or enlisting the aid of a Fitness Professional. Being mentally and emotionally prepared for change is the first step of getting healthy. Physical fitness is merely one aspect of total health. Mental and emotional health and well-being are just as important.

Get a tune up. Just as your car needs a tune up every once in a while, so does your body and overall health. So if you haven’t had blood work done in a few years, do it now. If you have skipped the last few age recommended test, schedule them now. Suffering from aches and pains, irritations, concerns? Go see your doctor and check them off your list. The sooner you deal with whatever is nagging you, the sooner you’ll be on to your healthiest and most fit self.

De-clutter your health-related life. Clear out everything from your toothbrush to old sunscreens to old make-up. Donate your old fitness clothes that are tattered and torn. Spruce up your bedroom (replace old pillows) for a better night sleep. Clean out your fridge and stock with water and healthy foods. If you have old exercise or fitness equipment, for example exercise bands that have been sitting around, a treadmill that isn’t working properly, a stability ball that’s been rolling around the backyard, donate the item, recycle or toss it in the trash. Take this time to inject some fresh energy and clean air into your healthy living.

Stay relevant. Just as there have been advances in the fields of space discovery and engineering, there have been advances in the health and fitness fields as well. Pick one journal to subscribe to (many are free) online to stay up to date on new ideas and practices. Add in a few health websites to your current internet surfing favorites such as www.nih.gov and www.mayoclinic.com. Both are reliable sources of information.

Fitness is merely one aspect of overall health. Take a well-rounded, big picture approach to your healthy living for lasting results and benefits to make 2016 your healthiest year yet!
    

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Appreciate your Fitness by Nicole Bryan

December 23, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Do you appreciate your fitness? You should! You’ve worked hard for it. Appreciate how far you’ve come and how fitness and living healthy has enriched your life. A great way to appreciate your fitness is through giving back. And if you’ve enjoyed good health, it’s important to take a minute and acknowledge that as well. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Encourage a fellow exerciser. Encouraging another exerciser costs nothing and requires no time. Everyone loves positive feedback for their efforts. Offer a few positive words to someone you see working hard every morning at the gym, or someone in your class who’s come a long way or go to a spot on a local race course and cheer on the athletes running or riding by. Your positive words really do matter to others who may be struggling to keep his or her fitness focus. Kind words really do make a difference.

Volunteer for a community event. There are many races in many sports that happen year round. Find one that interests you and ask how you can help. Volunteers help at registration, at the hydration stops and at the finish area, there really is a task for every helping hand. Many race directors also need volunteers for several days prior to the event, so just drop a quick email or phone call and ask!

Register for a race. Consider competing in a race as a victory lap to celebrate all your training and hard workouts mastered. And keep in mind, registering for an organized race doesn’t always have to come with hard core expectations. Racing expectations are set by you. In fact, sometimes racing can simply provide a fun opportunity to get active with others who share our passion for living healthy.

Get active for a cause. Form a team and register to raise funds and participate in an organized event for a cause that’s close to your heart. The process is very simple: recruit your friends, family, co-workers, neighbor’s and sign up! The American Heart Association, Alzheimer’s Association, the Arthritis Foundation, the MS Society, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training are all worthy causes to consider lending your fitness to, just to name a few.

Plan an adventure outing. Why not plan an outing and invite others to join you? Consider a hike in the front or back country, a day long kayak excursion or maybe a bike ride is more your pace. Try a new physical activity or a great way to challenge your fitness even more. An outdoor adventure is also a great way to celebrate a birthday or other significant milestone. It’s also a great way for your guests to see the town when visiting you. And who knows, you all may even find a new activity to love.

Often we’re so focused on race to our end goal or even on setting the next goal immediately, we forget to take in the view and celebrate our progress as we go. Stop! Look around you and acknowledge how far you’ve come in your fitness journey. Congratulations!

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