Live, laugh, love, and sweat! Move your body. Do more. Push harder for one more minute. Perform one more repetition. Add more incline. Grab heavier weights. You can do anything for 60 seconds. But know when to take it down a notch and not do MORE. BE SMART. Opt for lighter weights when your body is speaking to you. Lower the incline when you need to. Run slower to your destination. Rest when your body needs it. When you are feeling great, go for it. When you are not, do what you can and be okay with that. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Seize the day. Intensity is not always the best way to change your body. Maybe today you need a Yoga class, or a long slow run on the trail. Possibly today you need to call a friend, grab a cup of coffee and walk the green belt. Take inventory of how your body is feeling, and workout according to what you discover. Know what you are working for. Set a goal. Have a plan. But also know when to change, adapt, and readjust. YOUR BODY WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU NEED. YOUR MIND WILL FIGHT THAT. BEING FIT IS ALL ABOUT BEING ABLE TO GET YOUR BODY AND MIND TO WORK SYNONYMOUSLY.
DO YOU HAVE A PLAN?
1. Set a goal for the next 8 weeks. What would you like to accomplish with your Exercise Game Plan by October 2nd?
2. How will you track your progress?
Weight? Measurements? The fit of your clothes? Athletic achievement?
Check in with your progress every 2 weeks to see how you are doing with your plan. This will keep you motivated and moving forward.
3. Plan your workouts weekly. Begin the week by scheduling your workouts in your planner. These are YOUR fitness appointments and if you cancel them you take a step back from achieving your goals. THINK ABOUT IT!
4. Write down what you did on the day that you exercised. Take notes on how your body felt through out the workout. Track your successes. Did you lift heavier? Did you run the loop faster than usual? Even track the workouts that just weren't right. A workout diary helps you see the total picture. Then you can make changes to make your exercise game plan more successful.
5. Hold yourself accountable. Piece of mind comes from knowing you are doing the work necessary to achieve what you have set out to do! If you miss your workout on a particular day, then reschedule ASAP. Want to go out for dinner and indulge, get a workout in before you do and also the day after.
6. Have fun with it! We are not perfect. We will not look like the models on the magazines. We are perfectly imperfect! Remember that. Just do the best you can. And yes, your best changes from day to day. So just make sure you are not taking yourself too seriously.
I finally stopped being stubborn and sought help from a physical therapist this week for my shoulder and my hip. I first thought I could heal myself and train myself, but I seriously thought wrong. I just have not been able to get out of my head about these injuries. I am too emotionally attached to them. So Friday I asked for help. I stepped outside of my comfort zone, admitted I couldn't do it by myself, and sat on the doctor's table with opened ears and a bruised ego. Within only 1 hour, my soul once again filled with possibility: I will not be injured forever! It will be a long process - I am extremely tight throughout my body and my hips rotate in and out and even laterally. I am going to have to change how I workout. I HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF ME. But I feel like I have been saved. Dramatically said, I know, but I really do. Sixty minutes is a short period of time, but that's all it took to give me hope, to get me going in the right direction, and to make me smile from the inside out again.
I want to share this one piece of valuable information with you that I - after all of these years as an athlete - finally got through my thick skull.
AN EXERCISE ROUTINE HAS TO HAVE VARIETY IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT YOUR BODY IS PROPERLY BALANCED. AN ATHLETE HAS TO CROSS TRAIN TO PREVENT INJURY. ONE HAS TO KNOW WHEN TO STOP TO PREVENT RECKLESS ACHES AND PAINS.
TRAINER'S RECOMMENDATION:
1. Warm up 10 minutes before you begin your workout.
2. Cool down for 5-8 minutes after your workout.
3. Stretch for 10 minutes a day.
4. Cross train. Repetitive motion will create imbalances.
5. An exercise routine is best when it combines strength, cardiovascular training, flexibility, agility, balance, and rest and recovery.
6. Pushing through pain is absolutely ridiculous!
7. Variety 101: Pure Austin Style
2-3 weight workouts
(Take a Pump or Sculpt class)
3-4 cardio workouts
(Spin, Kick box, Cardio Core)
1-2 yoga class
(Hatha Flow, Restorative, Vinyasa)
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