9 Spring Tips for your Fitness and Wellness Routine

I LOVE spring!  Well, I love it when the weather actually gets to being spring-like.  Not sure we are quite there yet here in Ohio (we had more snow this morning), but I’m loving the sunshine, warmer temperatures, and melted snow this afternoon!

With the coming of spring I have more energy; I’m excited to spend more time outdoors and to see the new life appear in the plants and the trees.  Plus, I am motivated to clean things out (like my car!), organize, and set new goals. 

We all know about spring cleaning, spring breaks, spring flowers, and spring showers, but how can you add some spring to your workout and wellness routine?

Here are a few ideas -

1.       Make exercise fun again! If you have been on the treadmill (dreadmill?!) all winter, it is definitely time to make a change.  What activities do you enjoy? Does jogging outdoors in the spring weather excite you? Or would you rather take a Zumba® class, join a hiking group, pick up rollerblading again, or find a coed sports league in your community?  If you have been just getting by with the boring minimum of exercise, try something new!

2.       Take a break from the scale.  The scale does not determine our self-worth.  You and I are not defined by the number that we see when we step on the scale.  While it may be time for you to make changes in your lifestyle, do not let your emotions revolve around a number that can normally fluctuate.  If you are exercising regularly and hoping to make a difference in your body composition, instead of focusing on your weight change, try taking some measurements every few weeks (such as your waist, hip, and/or thigh).  Muscle is a denser substance than fat, and it therefore takes up less room. When you gain muscle you may not see weight loss, but instead see a change in inches lost.

3.       Get outdoors. I know that this seems obvious, but so often we stick with our ordinary and regular routine (which can keep us cooped up inside).  Springtime is an amazing season to enjoy the outdoors.  We might have to dress for rain (or snow!) occasionally, but the fresh air is refreshing and invigorating.  Find a nearby park to explore, be adventurous and try canoeing with your family, or even plan a spring camping trip! 

 4.       Apply some old- fashioned spring cleaning efforts to your pantry, freezer, and fridge.  How has your nutrition been over the winter months? Have you been applying healthy eating habits or have you slipped backwards lately?  Clean out the pantry of any junk foods you may be hiding.  Look into finding some new recipes that can help you avoid the processed foods that you might be storing in your freezer.  Science experiments in the fridge? Get rid of them and fill your refrigerator with fresh, colorful foods. (I loathe cleaning out the refrigerator, but seeing everything clean, neat and tidy, helps me get excited about filling it up with fruits, veggies, and other healthy foods.)

5.       Record your fitness and nutrition efforts. If you haven’t been very active throughout the winter season, spring can be a marvelous time to get yourself going.  The longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures are great incentive to move more. Rather than be distressed by your lack of fitness (or nutritional habits), make a workout or nutrition journal so you can see your progress as you look back.  By the end of the summer, you may be amazed by all you’ve accomplished!

6.       Set goals and make a plan to accomplish them. Pair this up with number 5 above.  Decide what you would you like to accomplish over the next few months or even a year.  Are you hoping to walk/jog your first 5k, or try training for a triathlon?  Would you like to say I am consistently eating healthy meals 5 days each week? Or perhaps, I am getting outdoors and spending quality time in physical activity with my family at least once per week. Set a goal and write out exactly how you plan to accomplish it.  You might also want to enlist an accountability partner –someone who can check up on you and see how you are doing with your goal(s).  

      7.       Update your fitness gear.  A new workout top in a bright spring color or a cute new pair of capris can add an extra spring to your step! Workout gear has become much more mainstream in recent years and you don’t need to break the bank to find something that makes you smile. More practically, it may be time to purchase new athletic shoes. If you can’t remember how old your shoes are, it is probably time to update.  Shoes do not last forever, and you can injure yourself by wearing improper or worn out footwear.  (*For a few additional shoe tips, check out the bottom of the article.)

8.       Set up some workout dates with a friend. There are so many bonuses to exercising with a friend.  Catching up while you get a few miles in can make the time fly.  Setting up a specific time and date helps you make fitness a priority; while you might be tempted to skip your solo workout, you don’t want to disappoint a friend.  Lastly, it can be a challenge to make the time to simply visit with a friend! We ladies are great multitaskers, right? Pairing up a workout and a friend is a great combination. 

9.       Update your exercise music.  Do you enjoy workouts set to music? Updating your playlist with some of your favorite songs can be just the boost you need to finish that workout.  Try putting some of your most motivational songs at the beginning and the end of your playlist, to get you going and help you finish strong!

 

Let’s make this spring season a healthy one, ladies! Whether you gained some extra weight over the winter or you are just ready to reinvigorate your daily routine, enjoy the season and add some spring to your steps!

*If you are a runner, please purchase a shoe that is made for running.  You may pay a bit more, but patronizing a running store where they can analyze your gait and fit a shoe to your foot can be an amazing investment.  If you participate primarily in group fitness or indoor cardio classes, try a cross training shoe that is designed to have additional lateral movement stability.  Walkers, they make shoes for you too!  Matching the shoe to the activity can be critical in maintaining pain free activity.  After all the efforts you are making towards healthy activity, don’t let shin splints, knee pain, or foot issues slow you down!

When Momma Ain’t Happy…

We know this one, right? When momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.  

Such a true statement. 

As moms we can either use our influence to make our homes a wonderful place, or we can allow our negativity to make our home into a place our children or spouses avoid whenever possible.  While we all have rough days, I imagine we all desire to have a happy home and be a joyful person that people want to be around.    

I have met many supermoms. They are amazing! Their kids do awesome things and they do awesome things with their kids.  Their energy seems boundless and they always seem so positive.  I am not a supermom.  I have days that I would rather just wipe off the calendar and not speak of again. Definitely not pretty.

Now, I think the supermoms have figured something out ahead of the rest of us. 

What might that be?

It is good and necessary to spend time on yourself.  When we are so battle worn and weary that we are unable to care for ourselves, we automatically take it out on our families.  We need to care for our bodies and minds, so that we are able to be the positive pillars in our families’ lives.  While I cannot avoid every bad day, I have learned that I need to do some things just for me.  This pregnancy has been exhausting.  While I can’t always get to bed as early as I’d like, I do allow myself to sleep in a little a few days a week.  I get up when my 3 year old gets up, rather than a half hour or hour beforehand. While I may get less things done on those mornings, my family appreciates that I got more sleep! I am slower to criticize and be negative, and I start the day on a much kinder note. 

Secondly, I need stress relief.  I am naturally a person that holds onto stress and I take things to heart that my easy-going husband would just let roll off his back.  Exercise is my biggest stress relief.  Although I usually teach several fitness classes during the week, I also need time to workout on my own.  Whether it is putting on headphones and zoning out while strength training, or running outdoors and listening to nature, I need time to process life and put it together in my head.  Is this time usually spent away from my family? Yes. While I love my family, I would much rather exercise on my own or with a friend whenever possible.  Does it seem selfish to spend this time on myself? Sometimes. Although I try to make my workouts early in the morning or late at night, they will occasionally impact the time I have with my family.  

Is it worth it? Yes.  Having time to myself to release stress and think through life is important.  I am calmer after a good workout, and can fight through issues on a kickboxing bag so that I don’t take out the problem on my husband or my kids.  

I need to be attentive to my primary triggers - sleep, stress, and exercise.  When I get enough sleep, it is easy to exercise, I am less stressed, I eat much healthier and I feel good. When I let stress overwhelm me or exhaustion overtake me, I eat poorly, feel poorly and take it out on those around me. 

For me to be able to love on my family, I have to put some TLC into my own well-being.  While your triggers may be much different than mine, finding those key areas you need to focus on might well make you and your home into a much happier place. 

Because…when Mom is happy, everyone’s happy. 

 *I know that finding time to yourself can be the biggest issue, especially for single moms or those with husbands that travel often.  Try to use your lunch break at work to get out on your own for a walk, or employ a relative to watch your children so you can get away for a bit. See Fitting in Fitness for more ideas on how to make exercise work into your life.

2014 Olympic Challenge!

The 2014 Winter Olympics are almost here! I love watching the athletes and cheering them on in their sports.  However, just hanging around the television in the evenings, snacking etc. doesn’t seem to be the best way to celebrate the Olympics.  This year I am challenging you (and me too!) to join along with an Olympic-sized challenge.  

Almost every athlete in Sochi, Russia, will have a considerable amount of travel to get there and get home again at the conclusion of the Games.  As most of us will not be able to be there in person, I challenge you to figuratively journey right along with them. 

We will have 17 days – beginning Friday, February 7^th –to reach Sochi, Russia, and to travel home again.  For our starting point we are using New York City, which is 5,319 miles from Sochi, Russia.  To make it home again, we will travel a total of 10,638 miles.  How do we do this?  Each minute of exercise we complete will be worth 10 miles of travel.  That means we have 1064 minutes of exercise to complete within 17 days.  Sound like an Olympic sized challenge to you?  We will need to average about 63 minutes of exercise each day in order to make that round trip by February 23^rd.  However, I can’t think of a better way to support our athletes and improve our own bodies than to go for such a challenge.

Now, if you are thinking, it is physically impossible for me to exercise 63 minutes a day, don’t just give up on this.  Here is a somewhat smaller challenge: Rather than making the round trip, just make the trek to Sochi.  You’ll need about 31 minutes per day to complete that portion of the journey.

What counts as exercise? The choice of activity is up to you.  However, if you are going for cardio, you should break a sweat! If you’ve never done any strength type activities before, this is a great time to start.  Try a class at a nearby gym, get out a Pilates DVD from the library, or perhaps even set up a workout with a personal trainer for some one-on-one instruction. 

Below are just a few ideas you might try.  If you feel especially inspired by the amazing athletes you are watching, you might even try out their sport! Although I’m not really sure where you can take up bobsledding… =)

• Basketball
• Bicycling
• Cardio Kickboxing
• Crossfit
• Dancing
• Elliptical/Stepper/Rowing Machine
• Group Fitness Classes
• Ice skating
• Pilates
• Rollerblading
• Running/Jogging
• Strength Training
• Swimming
• Skiing
• Volleyball or other sports
• Walking
• Yoga

Just print out the map below and get started!!