Workout. We hear it and immediately cringe. The thought of having to get up and do physical activity that makes us sore, out of breath and difficult is not something that sounds appealing. It does not make most want to get up and shout for joy because we get to do it. Want to hear something awesome? No, it isn’t that you don’t have to do it because you do. Physical activity is so important to your overall health. Working out should not be about being “skinny” or finally looking like that supermodel or bodybuilder. Working out is something you do to keep you active, healthy and to be able to live a long, prosperous life. I know what you are thinking, “but I hate running, going to the gym and attending overcrowded workout classes”. You don’t have to do any of that to be physically active and making a change in your health. There are so many ways to take care of yourself and still getting that “workout” in, daily. But let’s start from the basics.
First, start small and build your workouts up. You do not have to start with 1,000 sit-ups added with 2,000 push-ups and then go run 10 miles on your first day. It is unrealistic and, sorry to say you will more than likely fail. Start simple, small and realistically with where you are at physically. Here are a few things you can do to get started:
- Within the first hour of waking up, go for a 10-minute walk around the block, track, treadmill, in-place or wherever you feel comfortable. It gets your body going and blood flowing. This will wake you up and send positive, happy endorphins throughout the body.
- If walking is not really your thing, turn on some music and give yourself a nice little dance session to rock out to. Sounds silly but also, so much fun (you know it does). Create a playlist that lasts for 10-15 minutes of your favorite jams and get to moving.
- Create a small workout with 3 movements that gets your entire body moving and engaged. For example, I wake up and start with crunches, push-ups and squats. I start with 50 crunches, 50 push-ups (different variety of push-ups because let’s be honest, I hate push-ups, so switching it up helps me get through it and feel great about it) and end with 50 squats. You do not have to start with that number you can start with 10, 20, 25, whatever works for you. And do not feel like you need to power through. I break up the number I set up for myself. For example, if your number is 20, do 10 crunches, take a small break and finish the rep out.
- If dancing, walking, simple movements isn’t your thing, well let’s stop being difficult. Kidding, kind of. You must start somewhere even when you do not want to. It takes starting and creating healthy habits to see a difference and feel a difference. Find what fuels your soul when it comes to your physical activity and DO IT. Guess what? There is something you like doing. There is something that is fun for you. If you aren’t sure what that is yet, then get up and be proactive and finding out what that is. Stop being lazy and finding every excuse in the book not to start.
- You can always go search for a dance class to take, go rent a city bike and ride around downtown, take your dog on a walk, look for new hiking trails, etc. There is something for you, I promise. Be fearless in your search.
Remember, you have must start somewhere. It doesn’t matter where you start just start. Do not overdo it, start small and build. It is all about building, growing and learning. Build your physical activity schedule, grow in that schedule and learn what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. If you find something that doesn’t work, that is okay but be honest about that. Do not feel like a failure because you tried something and hated it. That’s okay, be honest and keep searching for what you do like.
What does my schedule look like when it comes to get my body going and blood flowing?
- I take my dog on a 10-minute walk in the morning, within the first hour of waking up, and 10-minute walk in the evening before I start getting ready to end my day.
- 3 days a week I take a strength training class. I love lifting weights and feeling my body transform.
- 2 days I will take a cardio class/activity -whether that is a dance class, going for a run, riding a bike around the city or going for a swim.
And let me be clear, I do not workout or do physical activity to be “skinny”. I do this to be healthy. I do this to keep my body going, blood flowing and endorphins pumping. Was that always my mindset? No, it wasn’t. I used to workout to be skinny and have the perfect body but found myself failing quite often. I would workout like crazy and then, overindulge in food and feel helpless. Once I shifted my mindset and attitude, I found success. I am doing this for me and only me. This isn’t too look like anyone else. If I feel good and feel confident in my own body, then that is all I need. Do not do this for anybody else, do this for YOU.
Stop comparing, stop searching for someone to idolize and find your worth. Yes, I lost 40 pounds in the process of working out and taking better care of myself. But that important thing to remember is that is stopped being about skinny and it became all about being healthy. It became about being able to run around with my nieces and nephews without feeling like I was dying. It became about setting a good example for all the children I get to teach daily through education and dance. Be the example you want your kids to look up -do you want them to think they have to be skinny to be beautiful? Or do you want them to be comfortable with exactly who God created them to be?
GET GOING, GET MOVING AND BE AWESOME, ALWAYS.
