March 28, 2024

Get Visual with Your Fitness by Melissa Kahn

With the new year well under way, it’s normal to struggle to keep up with your resolutions right about now. It’s hard to establish new habits in just a few weeks’ time, so don’t be discouraged. Sometimes, a little help is all you need to keep going. If you find yourself lagging on your goals, consider creating a Vision Board for motivation. Writing it down is a great first step, but actively visualizing your goals every day might be just the boost you need. Here’s how:

1) Fill your Vision Board with vibrant visual expressions: You might want to keep your board small (letter size paper) or go poster size, depending on the size and number of the images you’ve chosen. Cut out photos and phrases that represent your heart’s desire, and feel free to include physical, professional, spiritual, financial, and relationship goals. The more dynamic and exciting to you, the more inspired you’ll feel every day!

2) Keep your Vision Board in a central place: Whether that’s in your office space or framed on top of your nightstand, it’s best to display your Board where you will see it daily. The thoughts you see repeatedly are the ones that will slowly creep into your subconscious mind, and will help you regain focus on the goals that you are intent on reaching. For additional inspiration, add dates for your goals to drive you faster and harder!

3) Actively visualize yourself reaching your goals: Starting a Vision Board is a great time to put your mediation skills to good use. Take 10 minutes out of your day every day to imagine the specific feelings you want to experience when you reach your goals. Picture your success in your mind, including every detail: what you’ll be eating, drinking, the perfume and clothes you’ll wear, and even the sounds you might hear when you know you’ve “made” it. Scientific research shows that the more deeply you connect to your goals on an emotional level, the more likely they are to come to life.

Once you have clear goals, set to visual tangible results, success is much more likely. Don’t let new habits scare you off this year: Get back in the game and make a visual and emotional commitment to living your best life.


Melissa Kahn is a Jenny Craig ambassador and the proud founder of Run, Heifer, Run! —a fun-loving community of fitness enthusiasts dedicated to common sense solutions for weight loss and healthy living. Melissa competes in triathlons now, having lost over 100 pounds, or the equivalent of 45 kilos of fear. She has maintained her healthy weight for more than five years.

Ready to Get Healthy? By Sarah Pace

Ready to get healthy? With a new year comes new resolve to improve ourselves in so many ways, including our health. My advice this time of year is to be consistent with the basics:

Don’t worry so much about what exercises to do and in what order you should do them; just show up.  Set a goal to show up 2 times each week for the first month, then 3 times each week in February. Can’t make it to the gym? No problem: get outside for a walk or take the stairs all day-all intentional activity counts!

Pack your gym clothes, shoes and water bottle the night before to avoid rushing around the next morning. You’ll develop a routine and soon it will become part of your ‘out the door’ mental checklist: do I have my gym bag? Water bottle? Check!

Bring a piece of fruit with you everywhere you go. Having something on hand will prevent impulse eating decisions. Ask yourself ‘am I hungry enough to eat this apple?’ And if the answer is no, you’re probably not actually hungry.

Mark your progress in a calendar or another physical and visible space to hold yourself accountable. When you can see that you made it to the gym 4 weeks in a row, you’ll want to make sure you continue in the 5th and 6th weeks, and even beyond!

 
For more fitness tips follow Sarah on Twitter: @SarahPace_Fit

Share Your Love of Fitness!

Get Fit Quick Tip:
Share your love of fitness!

Sharing your love of fitness with others is easy- simply invite a friend or family member to join you! You never know who will be inspired. Many who wish to begin an exercise program are unsure how to begin. A buddy workout is a great first step! At the very least, those close to you will see how much you love fitness and be happy to see how you spend your free time. Here’s how to make it a positive uplifting experience for all:

Keep it user-friendly. This is not the workout to shoot for your pull-up PR or your sprint interval personal best on the community track. Keep the intensity low, duration to 20-30 minutes and workout mode easy as far as coordinate/agility required.

Keep it interactive. Chat it up, take water breaks, focus on having fun.

Keep it to a small group. A large group or the most popular fitness class at the gym may be intimidating to a new exerciser. Choose off-peak times and classes, or times when the trail is not packed with runners.

 

Motivation…Guaranteed.

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Participate in a Race!

Competition doesn’t always have to be intense, anxiety-inducing and stressful. Racing can, in fact, be motivating, inspiring and fun! Not only does racing yield physical benefits, but many non-physical benefits as well. Here are 3 non-physical benefits of racing and why you shouldn’t automatically rule it out in your athletic journey:

Racing allows time alone with your thoughts. That’s right, if you’re always running here and there, racing allows a set period of time to RELAX, take in the view and gather your thoughts. Or simply blank your mind and don’t think about anything at all!

Racing can be FUN. Remember your care-free days of dashing around the playground at school, or racing through the park with friends? Unless you’re competing for sponsors or qualifications, racing can be pure, easy, adult-allowed FUN.

Racing feeds your spirit. Yes, competition is a great workout. However, racing will also feed your spirit as you witness the friendship among athletes who have just met, the encouragement one athlete offers to another, the support and genuine care volunteers give to competitors. Allow these actions to move you and feed your motivation.

Do this with your exercise once a month…

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Try a new workout or exercise at least once a month.

Muscles like unaccustomed exercise. Mixing up your workout forces muscles to learn a new pathway to work. What does this mean for you? Motivation stays high and results keep coming! Here are a few ideas to get started:

Ask friends what exercises they enjoy.

Get a guest pass to a gym.

Purchase a punch card for an outdoor workout.

Join a community-sponsored class.

Register for a local race.

Take lessons for a sport.

Swap workout equipment with a friend.

Try streaming workouts or YouTube.

 

 

When should you QUIT your fitness? By Nicole Bryan

Everyone who’s been a part of the fitness world for a long time has come to a point or challenge where he or she considered quitting or giving up. The challenges just became too much, or what they thought was too much…at the time. But those that did stick with it and push through to find their fitness again, will tell you that during this period was the time when they learned the most and enjoyed the greatest benefits, and improvements to their health and fitness. Sticking with healthy living is worth it! Finding a way to work through the challenge just takes a little perseverance, tenacity and persistence.

Here’s how to do it:

What if you have chronic pain from an old injury or trauma? Firstly, obtain general medical clearance from your primary care doctor. Depending on what part or system of your body is affected, you may be referred to a specialist for clearance to participate in a physical activity. This is an important step, don’t skip it. Secondly, talk to your friends for a referral in the right direction. Thinking outside of the box, so to speak, may be what’s required if you feel you’ve exhausted all of your conventional treatments. Consider options such as chiropractic care, physical therapy treatment, acupuncture, regular massage or aqua exercise. There is answer out there for you; keep searching. You may not be 100% pain-free all the time, but managing the rest of your body will help ease the physical (as well as psychological and emotional) stress of your condition.

What if you’re not feeling well? How to proceed really depends upon how you’re “not feeling well.” If you have body aches, fever or chest cold, you’re best to rest. If you have a mild head cold without a fever, you’re probably okay for mild short-duration exercise.

What if you are constantly sore or you’re hurting after each workout? If you’re constantly so sore that your daily activities are challenging and even painful, there’s a good chance the load of your workout is simply too much. This means injury or burnout is probably looming just around the corner. Change what you’re doing, immediately.

What if you are constantly fatigued, but are sleeping well each night? If you’re finding exhaustion is a part of your regular routine, you may be over-training. Do you take your rest-days? Do you modify your workout load when you haven’t slept well or unexpectedly missed your pre-workout snack? Do you vary your workout intensity from time to time? Do you allow adequate recovery in between your workout sessions? These are all important points to consider. Constant and overwhelming fatigue is not something to brush off or ignore, and is not a part of an appropriate healthy living program.

What if you’re simply overwhelmed and not able to add one more thing into your day? Yes, this happens to every one at times. The key is to combine physical activity and healthy eating into your day; partnered with tasks you’re already doing. For example, swap out your afternoon sugary drink with a glass of pure water. Add a side-salad to your daily lunch at the sandwich shop. Walk around the grocery store a little more, walk your errands when you are able, jump rope while watching the news, store a pair of free-weights under your couch and pull them out while watching late night television.

So, when is it time to say “I give up?” Never. Not ever. Giving up is not the answer. Adjust, modify, or work around the challenge; that is the answer.

Stick to your Healthy Lifestyle by Helen Agresti, R.D.

How to stick with your Healthy Lifestyle

 

Focus your attention in 3 major areas:

 

1. Work your body!  Schedule 3-5 days of exercise each week.  If you typically hit a plateau or experience boredom a month or two into the New Year, the next few tips will serve you well.

Instead of a mid-week rest day, add in a stretching or yoga class to your routine.  Keep your fitness momentum going while also allowing sufficient rest and recovery for your muscles. Consider including restorative-type exercise into your routine.

Try something new.  Whether it’s a personal training session or a spin class, surprise your body and metabolism with a completely different type of workout.

Be accountable.  Pair up with a friend or family member.  Studies have shown that we are more apt to stick to our workout routines if we have a set time and place to meet someone.  Having a workout buddy to lift your spirits on those days you don’t feel like exercising is an essential motivator.

2. Prepare ahead for the mid-day slump.  Pack wisely for those times of the day when your healthy eating habits are challenged (typically between 3pm and 5pm.) Have a healthy snack packed for that time of the day when you feel like attacking the nearest vending machine or MacDonald’s drive-thru.  Cheese and crackers, sugar snap peas and hummus, and lightly salted pistachios are healthy mid-day snacks and travel well.

3. Reach for the fabulous 5.  Five servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day will keep you looking younger and feeling more energized.  The beauty of theses colorful super foods is that they rotate their deliciousness throughout the 4 seasons.  Take advantage of their power packed nutrients by spreading 5 or more servings among breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.  Make this nutrition goal for yourself and your family: try one new fruit or vegetable every week by incorporating it into a meal or snack.

Helen Agresti is a Registered Dietitian with Professional Nutrition Consulting, LLC.  She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and 5 children.  For more Nutrition advice and healthy recipes follow her on twitter @HelenAgresti and on the web www.pronutritionconsulting.com