What Fits

Today, I realized that I definitely am a person who prefers getting my move on in my glitter sneakers in the evening time. For my cardio class (at school) this morning we did a short, practice class on running. To be honest, I've had better experiences running at other times and in other situations. It really drives home the fact that every person is different! There are so many people who thoroughly LOVE their early morning runs and it energizes them for the day. There are others of us (including me) who do better and feel best during the evening time. It's also important to consider how you prefer to do it. Some people can just run forever, some need music, others are more sports or task oriented. Runner or not, this is true for whatever gets you moving. Go ahead and figure out what works best for you and use that to your advantage.

On a side note, next week (April 18-24)  is Screen-Free Week. Check out the website here http://www.screenfree.org or for a quick lick click here: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/index.html

I challenge you, and myself, to figure out a way to participate in this. Let me know your battle plan and how it goes!

Smiley Face

With measures, sometimes we get so caught up with how much more we need to do to measure up. For exercise, this can be very depressing because there are plenty of elite athletes. To be honest, I am not even close to one of those. I am still a healthy person though. My teacher, Jack Chisum, brought up a new way to think about what we do for exercise.

Everything we do is a smiley face! It doesn't matter what it is or how it compares to others because that is not the point. There are people who need to start with very small steps. That's still a smiley face. Whatever exercise you do, in any form, give yourself a smiley face! Here's a few to start you out

Spring Break

Wahoo! It is Spring Break for those dealing with school and it's wonderful. This semester has kept me pretty busy. Being active is great and healthy :) We also need to remember to relax during our days as well. This couldn't be more true with life demanding us to rush everywhere, be instantly available, and schedule all of our time. One important principle in life is balance.
Some relaxation/de-stressing tips (if you've heard it many times before than just maybe it works):
*Smile more!
*Pay attention to your body: if something feels tense or tight try to relax it, you'll feel better
* Imagine a relaxing scene in your mind: psychological effects are very strong in everything
*Turn off one or two electronic devices. I promise that the world won't end if the t.v. goes off for a little while (or if you don't text your friend back right away)
*Take some time to get outside
*Some people find stretching to be relaxing. Please just make sure that you do a small warm-up first to avoid injury.
*Try to clear your mind, just be aware of your surroundings. Don't worry about the grocery list or what you're doing later. Just give yourself a few minutes of a break.
*Show off your "glitter sneakers" ;) Okay that was more for fun. But don't underestimate the power to have fun and enjoy life!
I'm sure that there are plenty more out there! Don't be afraid to try many different ways until you find what works for you. And enjoy the changing of the seasons :)

Think it's gotta be that 30 min a day 3-5 days a week?

Many people are time crunched. And that much of a commitment can sound down right frightening. If you can do that much, awesome! If not then what are you able to do? 5-10 minutes here and there? That's great too. The truth is that even that little bit helps. The important person here is YOU! :)
There are health benefits all along the way. Research has even found that 5 minutes, once a week will help. So yes, all along the way. And the biggest leaps in improvement are seen within the first few increases of physical activity (getting out and moving around).
As a student I have found my schedule to be tight at times. Some days I get home and just feel like collapsing in bed. There are small gaps between my classes and one day I just couldn't focus on homework. I thought about a catnap to be honest, but then my conscience spoke up about how little I've moved around this past week. I didn't have an extra pair of clothes in my car, let alone the interest, to head over to the school's weight room. Instead I strapped on my backpack and went off on my own walking adventure around campus. What will you do with even just a few minutes??

Get Moving! :)

As I said before, working out doesn't have to be some big chore. And it doesn't have to involve a weight room either. The biggest trick is to get moving. That's all. Just move around somehow. So if you like using weights definitely go for it! Taking a walk works too :)

I love playing games and yes I am quite competitive. I suppose that comes from growing up with 5 brothers. One thing that I do is play Ultimate Frisbee with a group every week. There are some weeks that I need my husband to strongly encourage me, but every time I have a blast. And I get the benefits of being active.

Moving around is good for all of us. We might as well enjoy it! Go ahead, put on your favorite tunes and bust your dance moves in those glitter shoes ;) Playgrounds can be for us too, not just the little tykes. Park a little further so you can walk a few extra feet while going shopping, to the movies, your favorite restaurant, etc.

Tell (or show) me how you move.

Resolutions

Sorry for the small break after just starting this blog up!

The new year means new resolutions, right? Let me offer a few tips on making them with exercise since that is a common theme.
*Make your goals realistic. I could state that I resolve to workout 5 hours every day. First off, that's way too much for any normal person (and even for many athletic people). While it sounds awesome, I need something that I know that I can do. Something more realistic would be resolving to be active in some way for 20-30 minutes a day.
*Have a gameplan. Decide how you're going to accomplish your goal. If deciding to workout: how long, exactly when during your day, what thing(s) are you going to do, etc are very good questions to have answers for.
*Use small changes. Humans are creatures of habit and not all of us adapt to changes as well as others. It has been found that people are more successful when making changes to their lifestyle when doing only a few at a time, and smaller changes here and there. This means that Bill (just to have a name) who really doesn't move around much and loves eating out every meal would do better by choosing to go for a 5-10 minute walk everyday than trying to do intense 1 hour workouts and never eating out ever again. Bill could work himself up to that level if he chose to but would be more successful with small changes at a time rather than all at once.
*Stick to it!! No really, stick to the goal that you've made (unless health reasons conflict). Forget for one day? Don't stress about it. It happens, let it go, move on and continue with your goal. This is a part of learning. Did you kick your brand new bike to the curb when you fell off without training wheels? Get back on and ride :)

Motivation

So working out, moving around, eating right is good for me. Yet there have been days that I find myself letting that exercise time (I know, the "E-word") slip away and be replaced by other activities. I've let my excuses slip past my tongue: "I'm in school, working two jobs, married, I want relaxation time, I need to see family, I haven't seen those friends in weeks" and on and on.. Sound familiar in any way?

For me, I've lacked the motivation. But what about the health benefits and preventing problems later? To me that is currently intangible which means I need more than that alone. Yes, they are definitely amazing reasons that should work alone. And yet they were not enough for me despite knowing better. I wanted to start a regular routine of working out, attempted several times, and then realized a better way to go about it. I need to provide myself with my own motivation!! This can work for you too. Yes, you there reading this right now.

Here's where the glitter sneakers come in. I got regular old canvas shoes, used glitter spray paint, and exchanged the laces for new ribbon. My only rule: I can only use them doing "workout time" or that "E-word". This has worked awesomely since I really do want to wear them.

I'm not saying to decorate the world with glitter sneakers. I don't think the men would be very happy about that. But find what works for you! Think about yourself. I know people who still like to make a chart that they get to eat out once all the spots are filled. A workout buddy is a typical motivator. For one friend it was to be healthy while trying to get pregnant. Men, your health is also important in that (at least that initial, crucial role played by you).

I'd like to hear what extra little motivators you come up with!