Work It Out
Even though gyms have opened back up, I have missed it a lot less than I thought I would. My training partner (aka my sister), and I have stuck to a consistent workout schedule since March and I am definitely noticing positive results. Before, I used to do the same workouts every week at the gym and never had the “time” to shake up my schedule. Now we worked it out, and are better than ever, but it got me thinking I might not be the only person that feels this way. So here are some workout hacks to help you stay on track!
1) What’s Your “Why” - Are you just starting to become active after not exercising for years? Are you a weekend warrior? Are you a gym rat that’s stuck in a rut? Wherever you are at in your fitness journey, give yourself a pat on the back for starting in the first place and figure out what you want. Is it for:
stress relief
health
to lose weight
build muscle
this will make a difference in how to plan and structure your your workouts, making them fit you and your needs
2) Gauge Your Goals - A great way to track your progress is to set goals for yourself whether that be working out a certain number of times a week, wanting to lift a certain amount of weight, or doing something you haven’t been able to before. For me, I’ve always wanted to do an unassisted pull up!
3) Mix It Up - After doing the same exercise routine over and over it starts to become a lot easier, which is great at the beginning but after awhile you should try to mix it up. Some ways to do that are:
incorporate different types of cardio such as walking, running, skipping, etc. this can be done as a warm up, cool down, in between sets, or have a whole workout day dedicated to it
ramp up your reps, try increasing the number of times you do your exercise as your workouts get easier
mix n match, swap exercises that you normally do on another day
4) Get Creative - Exercising can be intimidating especially if it’s something you haven’t done before. It also seems like you need a ton of fancy equipment when really there is a lot of stuff you can use at home like: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Stable chair - for a box
Rolling office chair - as a stability ball
Anything with weight - instead of a dumbbell like water bottles, cans, jugs, etc.
Something short and small - to use as a pylon, we usually use shoes ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
5) Stick to Your Schedule - Look at each week and make a schedule that works for you and stick to it! The key here is to planning ahead of time makes life a little easier, and holds you way more accountable. We have been working out at 11 am consistently each week and it’s been working. Now with the new season we may switch it.
Hoping that these tips and tricks help you on your fitness journey, and get you to go out and get sweating!
Xoxo,
Coffee loving chiro
