Thursday, September 19, 2013

workout tips, part 2 of 3

sorry, i have a lot to say about working out.  : )  just some things that have helped me stick to my workouts daily:

-set aside a time each day for your workout.  It's easier to stick to if it's part of a routine.  Every day, I wake up and put on my workout clothes first thing.  then I eat a healthy breakfast, drop the kids off at school, and prepare to workout (fill up my water, get my protein shake ready for post-workout, write down my workout, drive to the gym, etc.). it's part of my everyday routine and it's easy.  last year, i volunteered in colsie's class every wednesday, soon after dropping him off, so there wasn't time for the workout.  i just knew on those days, the routine was volunteer and THEN workout.  It was a little change in the regular flow, but I just knew every wednesday THAT was the routine.  again, it wasn't hard.   

-do something active EVERY DAY.  every day doesn't have to be the same intensity.  do yoga the day after you lift hard.  go on a walk or hike. try a new workout video.

-get creative.  of course, even with a routine, sometimes things get thrown off.  this morning, for example, i skipped meals and therefore felt very lethargic.  I didn't get my morning workout in.  Colse had soccer practice at 5:30, so I put on my workout clothes, drove him to practice, let the other two kids play on the playground, while I did box jumps on a 3 foot curb right by the playground.  I could watch the kids and get my heart rate up.  I did a couple (kind of) pull-ups on the monkey bars (it's my goal to be able to do 5 pull-ups without help but I'm nowhere near being able to yet), a few lunges, and some push-ups in the grass.  the kids even joined me for those. You do NOT need a gym.  there are plenty of online workouts.  go to a park, use your kitchen table for pull ups, do dips between two chairs.  no excuses!  you can workout ANYWHERE!  i don't think i got the best workout today but it doesn't matter to me.  I had a killer workout yesterday, so taking it a bit easier was probably a good thing.  i'm just glad i did SOMETHING instead of writing it off since it didn't happen in the morning!

-set goals.  like i said, my goal is to be able to do 5 pull-ups without help.  make it attainable so you don't set yourself up for failure.  last year, i had a goal to be able to do 10 guy push-ups without dropping to my knees.  i started with the girl version at the beginning, and it felt SO gratifying when I could do a few guy push-ups after a month of hard work.  Hard work pays off.  don't give up!  When you have a goal, it gives you a reason to keep working at a skill.  If I didn't have the pull-up goal, I probably wouldn't even do pull-ups, but with my goal in mind, I try to fit in a couple sets every other day, using a chair to help myself up.  That's the only way I'll improve and meet my goal.


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