Although exercise may not be essential for weight loss, it sure helps with a lot of other important things… like STRESS RELIEF to name just one!
Have you ever had such a stressful day or terribly rushed morning at home – that the last thing you want to do is go for that walk, head to your favourite Zumba class, pick up the weights or anything remotely ‘ exercisey’ at all?
I know I have – a lot. And you know? That’s one of the biggest perks of my job – I have no choice. I have to exercise no matter what I’m feeling like! And you know what I’m going to say, right? I always feel sooooo much better after I do.
There are plenty of excuses that I hear in my line of work, as to why people can’t make it to PT, or class, or do what I ask of them … so many, in fact, that I’m going to write a book of quotes!
- “It’s raining”
- “My dog ate my measuring tape”
- “My kids don’t like the food”
- “I wasn’t in the right mood” and this one?
- “I’m broke, and I have to get my lips injected”.
Really? It would be hilarious if it wasn’t true.
On our 3-week road trip to Cairns over Christmas/New Years I was the first one up out of the caravan doing Tabata most mornings. Why? Because I knew darned well that if I did that, my day would be AWESOME!
I mean really, would you rather be sleeping or doing all that fun stuff? 😛 I did get a few strange looks when I whipped out my iPod and exercise mat in the middle of the caravan park, but I just smiled and nodded and got back to my endorphin inducing training session. 🙂 We (I) were as active as we could be on our trip – because that’s how we roll… haha…! Thanks to Chris for the special guest appearance at the endof the video! 😛
I do so many types of exercise every week. Weights, Zumba, Pilates, Yoga, Walking the dog…. and it doesn’t matter what it is, I ALWAYS feel amazing after. I often have more fun/get more out of it, the worse I feel beforehand!
I clearly remember walking to the gym from the Uni car park one afternoon…. I couldn’t be bothered putting one foot in front of the other, actually, it started well before that! I was at home, and didn’t want to take my thongs off and put my Nike’s on! The whole way there I was praying that no one would show up so I could take my socks and shoes off and go home and relax in the pool on my inflatable Australia Day thong. Of course, we had a full house, the music was amazing, we started early, sweat was pouring off us and we even did and extra song at the end… I was singing in the car on the way home (that doesn’t happen very often!)
I ate dinner that night and then slept like a baby. I’m so glad that fitness is my job! And I understand how hard it is when you have to try and squeeze ‘fitnessy stuff’ into your day. I haven’t always worked full-time in the health and fitness industry. It has always been a dream of mine, so I have worked very hard to make it happen. But I can clearly remember having to work, and then exercise, and then fit life in around that. It can be challenging at the best of times
But please know this. Exercise is AMAZING. It feels good, and it makes you look even better 😉 It keeps you looking and feeling young, prevents so many age-related health issues and-and and.. i could go on and on. But I won’t.
I just really want to encourage you to get out there and find something that you love. Anything. And then do it consistently until it becomes habit. Motivation doesn’t last forever, it actually doesn’t last very long at all. Habit is what will get you what you want LONG TERM.
So have a think about starting your ‘fitnessy’ healthy, life-giving habit right now. Let me know what it is and keep me posted on how you go during the switch from motivation to habit 🙂
Caravan Park Tabata
No excuse not to workout… Just use whatever you’ve got. If you’ve got nothing…. Body weight works very well 😉🌴🔆
- 4 minutes per body part.
- 20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times.
- Equipment needed: resistance band.
- Go for a light jog to warm up and then stretch.
Workout.
1. Legs. A combination of jump squats and lunges, deep squats and squat lunge combination.
2. Chest. Resistance band chess press rounds 1-4. Push-ups rounds 5-8.
3. Back. Sea turtles round 1, 3, 5, 7and circles round 2, 4, 6 and 8.
4. Triceps. Stagger push-ups rounds 1-4. Resistance band triceps rounds 5-8.
5. Biceps. Resistance band curls rounds 1-8.
6. Shoulders. Pike push-ups rounds 1-4. Resistance band overhead press rounds 5-8.
7. Abs – 4 minutes blitz.
- Plank hold with a few plank drops for one minute.
- Waist cinching for one minute.
- Waist cinching obliques 30 seconds each side.
- Reverse curl one minute.
8. Yoga stretches.