Constant Encouragement

Getting back to exercise!

How to get your exercise mojo back!

January 3, 2010 By Kimberly Linton

Do you feel like you have lost your exercise mojo? No longer are you jumping out the bed at 5am to get in that workout or remembering to take your gym bag to work? You keep making excuses after excuses. What the heck is going on? What is demotivating you?

Motivation isn’t something that just happens to you, but something you create for yourself. Exercise may be all about moving the body, but you won’t get anywhere until you move your mind first. Reflecting on your mental exercise blocks is all well and good but, while you’re chewing on that, why not take small steps towards a more active lifestyle? You don’t have to turn your whole life upside down. Here are a few tips to keep exercise on the front burner!

1. Just accept it–you have to exercise. There ain’t a pill, diet or nip & tuck that can take the place of being active. Embracing this fact can make doing it a little easier and, the good news is, you’ve got options. Exercise doesn’t have to happen in a gym or take up hours of your time. Knowing you can create your own exercise experience may help you get up and get moving.

2. Make exercise mean something to you. For many people, exercise is a means to an end — a way to lose weight and get that perfect body…or at least a better one than they have now. Future goals are nice, but there’s another part to the equation that, when missing, makes exercise hard to stick to: Purpose. In other words, your workouts need to have value, regardless of whether you ever reach your desired goal. Always working for some future, intangible thing isn’t enough – we need it to mean something now.

So, what does exercise mean to you besides a way to lose weight? Is there any value, outside of your weight loss goals, to working out? For me, exercise guarantees I look good naked! For you, exercise might be the only time you get to yourself each day. Find you’re own value and meaning and you’ll find your motivation.

3. Do what works for you. Too often, the mainstream idea of exercise involves things like health clubs, cardio machines, fitness classes, etc. You can’t get motivated to do something you don’t like, The good news is that you have the freedom to do whatever the heck you want. If you hate the gym, don’t join one then. If you hate boring machines, try something more interactive like a game of tag football, spin class, or race up stairs with your boo:-) If you like to keep things simple, you could take several walks throughout the day or add some laps the next time you shop at the mall. Find out what you like and throw the rules out the window!

4. Identify the excuses you like to use and have a ready made response. If time is an issue, make sure your workout clothes are ready to go. If you have young children, get a good jogging stroller or set up a babysitting swap with other parents in your neighborhood: you can watch their children while they work out and vice versa. Don’t know where to start, hire a fitness professional. They will help you get a solid program in place that fits your lifestyle and is excuse proof!

5. Stop trying to fall in love with exercise. Some people think if they exercise long enough, they’ll wake up one day and suddenly LOVE exercising and eating healthy. While it does get easier, you’ll always have to find ways to motivate yourself for your workouts. If you’re waiting for a shining moment of excitement, you might be waiting for a long time:-)

6. Be accountable. Set a flexible schedule for exercise and share it with a friend or family. Then you’ll have a support team gently reminding you about your workout plans. Maybe start an online journal or blog. Its a great way to share your progress and stay motivated to keep going. I came across Skinny Hollie’s blog. Hollie even started a Facebook Fan Page where friends and family could publicly support her journey.

Now, stop reading and start MOVING!

Enjoy!

Thigh Toning Workout

On-the-Go Thigh Toning Workout

www.thehoneyline.com

By Gabrielle Reece 

Gabby's Guide to Health & Fitness
by Gabrielle Reece a Yahoo! Health Expert for Fitness

If you want toned legs, there is no substitute for eating right, performing rigorous cardio, and doing squats with weights. But what happens when you are traveling or only have 20 minutes for a quick workout--with nothing but your own body weight for resistance?

You're in luck! This quickie leg and glute toner is inspired by my friend Michelle Vrakalos who teaches a kick-butt ballet barre class at M6 fitness in California. Ballet barre fitness classes incorporate lengthening and toning exercises that help you build the strong but graceful body of a dancer. Michelle's class kills you with the reps--believe me, just holding your arms up above your head or parallel to the ground becomes work after a while. But it's worth it when you see the results.

I put together this simple collection of exercises to target your glutes, tummy, and thigh areas. If you want to make it more difficult just add more reps, or you can even circle back to the beginning once you have completed the entire round of moves. Start out with as many reps as you can but aim for at least 20. Michelle loves to do 4 sets of 8 if you really want to go for it!

It's okay if you feel a bit goofy while performing these moves. My clunky, athletic self never looked so silly than when trying to be graceful like a ballerina. Ballerinas are some of the hardest working athletes out there, and look at their bodies! Don't forget to blast your music for a little extra motivation.

1. Toe Squat
Raise up onto toes, arms out to the side for balance, squat down and squeeze your knees together while balancing on toes and lifting your heels on the way down. Hold for 2 seconds before raising back up, balancing on toes continuously.

2. Leg Forward Lunge
Place one leg out front, hands on hips (or hands crossed at chest), squat back and down onto the back leg, slowly rise back up.

3. Side to Side Hops
Balance on one leg and push off to land on opposite leg. Gain your balance before pushing off back to the original leg, hands at chest level.

4. Plie Jumps
Stagger feet so one leg is slightly in front of the other, jump up and switch feet. Balance, push off and switch back.

5. Outward Calf Raises
Position feet away from each other, slowly rise up and squeeze calves, lower back down and repeat.

6. Soldier Toe Touch
Balance on one leg, hold same arm out parallel to the floor, lift the opposite leg up and touch the tip of your toe to your hand keeping leg straight.

7. Open Faced Side Lunge
Extend your arms out to the side, step one leg out and squat into that leg, push off and back to starting position. Switch legs keeping your arms out continuously.

The Healing Effects of Journaling

You may not see the value of committing your thoughts to paper, but I'll try to convince you anyway.

After my own experience with breast cancer, I'm convinced that journaling during breast cancer treatment should be required therapy. Though no one but you may ever read what you've written, you will find that expressing yourself this way is a type of healing in itself.

Recording your thoughts and feelings, anxieties, successes, and future hopes can be reassuring. Even if you only write one or two sentences each day, it is worth it. So, select a special journal book to use, find or go buy a great pen that feels good in your hand, and start writing. Once you get started, you'll find that words you never allowed yourself to speak aloud will flow out of you onto the paper.

Allowing yourself to recognize your limitations is nurturing, especially when we are assessing our body's limits. Even recording acts of kindness done by others for you is healing. Granting yourself space and time for emotional healing is important, too, and those thoughts and wishes can be put to paper. Making a list of the goals you want to achieve in the future is wonderful, both short and long-term goals. One of my goals was to see my daughter grow up and happily marry. Ten years later, I did.

There may be some days when you won't feel like writing. That's OK. Journaling shouldn't become a chore. You might just write one word or phrase that sums up your day, like "hair in the sink." Later, when you re-read that passage, you'll know exactly what you were thinking and feeling that day, and why.

Remember, you're not keeping a journal to share with others, though some women do turn their journals into books (I have, twice). Its main purpose is to give you a clear place to hold your thoughts, release your worries and fears, create hope within yourself, and see that you are making it through this journey. One day at a time.  By Lillie Shockney, R.N., M.A.S.  Yahoo Heath