April 24, 2024

Your Fitness Team

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Form your Fitness Team

Getting fit takes effort, support and accountability. Form a fitness team by asking others to join you in your healthy living journey. Set a time to meet once a month, or even once a week. Share your top 3 fitness goals, as well as your specific plan how you’ll accomplish each. Ask for regular support of accountability via emails, texts or phone calls. As you work toward your goals together, you’ll be able to share your successes and problem-solve to overcome any obstacles that may come up. Having your team to report progress to will increase adherence and consistency, as well as keep motivation high. Your motivation will soar through encouraging your team members to keep going, stick with it and never give up on their fitness goals. Consider your fitness team as a healthy living mastermind group getting together for the common purpose of creating a healthy mind, body and heart. Who will you invite to join your fitness team?

 

Your Fitness: Keep moving forward!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Keep moving forward!

Moving forward, no matter how slowly, is better than standing still. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep moving forward. If can’t do 5 more reps, do 1 more rep. If you can’t do 10 more minutes of cardio, do 2 more minutes. Find a way,  an opportunity, a will, a motivation to muster up some grit and keep moving your fitness forward.

Take Responsibility for Your Fitness!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Take responsibility for your health and fitness!

YOU are in charge of your workout! If you want to feel better, look better and function better, log consistent workouts. You can have more energy. You don’t have to live in pain. You don’t have to settle for poor posture. You can have strong muscles. Take responsibility RIGHT NOW by:

Get up earlier and log a home workout via YouTube, DVD or App.

Exercise at lunch.

Walk as much as you can during your day.

Sit less, take more breaks during your day.

If you don’t enjoy your workout, or at least part of it, try a new type of exercise. Keep trying new exercise until you find what works for you.

Join a community sports league or exercise class.

Train for an event like running or triathlon.

Schedule workouts with friends, instead of happy hours and meals.

Download a stretching app and do it every night after work.

Commit to a daily practice of deep breathing and meditation.

 

 

 

 

 

Little Bits of Fitness

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Lots of little bits of fitness add up to big health benefits.

You may not have a full 30 minute or an hour to devote to fitness, that’s understandable sometimes. So, do you have 5 minutes? 10 minutes here are there? Did an appointment or meeting cancel? Fitness is cumulative, so every little bit adds up to a stronger heart, lungs and muscles. Look around you during the day, do you notice ways to be active, more active? Take the stairs, park farther away from where you’re going, do balance exercises while standing in line, walk while waiting for an appointment, do range of motion when waiting, practice deep breathing, bike your errands, kick the soccer ball with your kids, romp with your dog. Every minute during the day of incorporating physical activity adds to your level of fitness. Keep moving!

Choose health and fitness…

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Choose health and fitness TODAY! Getting healthy and fit takes commitment, dedication and effort. And it will be worth every minute of your time, effort and sweat. Here’s how to stop procrastinating and choose health and fitness TODAY:

Set the timer on your phone  to signal workouts.

Ask friends and family for accountability.

Set a mini-goal for each workout.

Add a social component to make your fitness fun. Fun workouts mean you’ll be less likely to skip. And when you’re consistent with workouts, you’ll see results.

Learn a new sport or skill to keep interest high.

 

 

All Fitness Counts!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

All Fitness Counts!

Think all fitness has to be about counting reps and measuring heart rate? Think again! All physical activity counts toward a healthy heart, strong muscles and decreased stress. Think outside the box when it comes to workouts and you’ll keep motivation fresh and interest up. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Dance.

Jump Rope.

Kickball.

Adventure Race.

Rock Climbing.

Boxing.

Orienteering.

Martial Arts.

Roller Blading.

Slackline.

 

 

 

Get Social!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Socialize AND Exercise!

Get social! Including friends into your fitness makes living fit FUN! With a quick email or group text, you’ll coordinate a meet up time and activity. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

 

Race! Sign up for a team event or race together. (Costumes optional!)

Softball game.

Ping Pong Tournament.

Soccer game.

Volleyball game.

Scavenger hunt.

Group bike ride to a fun destination.

Basketball game.

Walk or hike.

 

 

 

FUN workout= Consistent Workout= Results!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

FUN is important!

And don’t forget to have FUN with your workout! YES, FUN! A fun workout means you’ll be consistent. Consistent workouts lead to results. Here’s how to add in the FUN:

1. Make it social. Invite friends and family!

2. Set up an obstacle course. Meet at your local playground and make up an obstacle course as you go along.

3. Forget structure! Move, jump, run, hop- get your heart rate up for 20 minutes.

4. Play a game. Kickball works well. So does softball, volleyball or soccer.

5. Revisit childhood. Remember freeze tag? Remember hide and seek? Remember musical chairs? GO!

6. Add props. Jump rope, hula hoop, beach ball all make for a great workout addition!

 

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.

Quality Fitness Time

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Quality Fitness Time

Getting in your workout is not a luxury, it is a necessity.  Quality fitness time is essential for all aspects of health. Whether a 10 minute walk or a 90 minute power class, your body AND your mind will thank you. Here’s how to insure quality fitness time:

Rotate workout focus. Choose a different focus for each workout to maintain mental interest.

Not all exercise has to be structured to count. Choose to live active during each day.

Choose a skill-set to master. Take up a new sport or a new mode of exercise. There is motivation in learning something new.