Fitness & Wellness

Whether it’s a busy life or just plain lack of desire, it’s not always easy to make it to the gym or stick with a healthy eating program. You need to find out what your motivation to be healthy is and keep that in mind when you find your day out of control or simply are out of sorts or tired. Motivation can stem from anywhere. It may be to have the energy to accomplish all your goals or be healthy and enjoy every minute with your child or grandchild.

Why would you want to stay healthy?

That’s a question that you need to ask yourself before you start on your road to fitness. Weight loss may be your first thought, but why lose weight. Maybe it’s to look more attractive, but that’s not all. Feeling better is often a huge motivation. When you look good, you feel good and when you feel good, you look good. They’re intertwined. Focus on how you’ll feel. Focus on the energy you’ll have, especially when it’s time to go to the gym. It’s amazing that when you workout regularly, you actually have more energy than ever.

Knowing your motivation isn’t enough. You have to act on it.

Once you know your motivation, you need to make a goal. While your doctor may have told you to lose 30 pounds, you won’t be able to do it all at once. Instead, break that big goal down to smaller easier to manage goals with a time frame to achieve that goal and a way to do it. It has to be realistic. The thirty pounds could be broken down to losing two pounds a week by exercising and eating healthy. Be specific, set a time to go to the gym and lay out plans to create weekly menus for healthy eating, with a shopping list.

Even with the best motivation possible, it’s not always easy to stay on track.

Sometimes it helps to have a workout buddy to keep you on track and focused. If you have a health condition that you’re trying to overcome, make sure your buddy knows about it. Your friend can help you eat healthier, too. Enlist the help of your family, too. Whether it’s losing weight or struggling with health condition, getting help from your family or a good friend is important. Sometimes, you need to be held accountable and whether it’s a workout buddy or a family member, it can help.

• If you can, make your week’s worth of food on the weekend, so if you’re on a time restraint during the week they’re ready to heat and eat.
• Consistency is key. Even if you have to take smaller steps, do them consistently until they’re habit. Once you have that step as a habit move on to the next one to get healthier.
• Getting healthy isn’t an all or nothing proposition. If you eat too much unhealthy food one day, it’s not the end of the world. Your mission is too important. Go right back to it the next day.
• No matter what your motivation to get healthier, you need to include more than just exercise and healthy eating. You also need adequate sleep, thankfulness, laughter and hydration, just to name a few.

Several people in Irvine, CA, have asked how to increase their gains at the gym without spending more time there. I always suggest adding steps to their daily routine. It’s perfect for people who don’t have a workout plan yet and want to extend their life span by getting fitter. It’s free. You can do it anywhere and modify it based on your fitness level. The more you exercise, the further or faster you can walk. It’s easy to combine with your regular fitness program, so it’s a great supplement.

If an intense workout is too much, try walking.

You may not be ready to do push-ups or pull-ups and burpees are out of the question. Walking is a good starting point that almost everyone can do. It increases leg strength and cardio. If you pump your arms or carry weights when swinging them, build upper body strength. It’s not the best exercise to become your best self, but an excellent place to start. The Department of Health and Human Services suggests each person gets 150 to 300 minutes a week at a moderate pace or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise. If you can’t do a full 25 or 30 minutes, break it up into 5-minute sessions you do throughout the day.

Walking more can reduce the potential for certain health conditions and improve those you have.

Walking can increase your bone density or prevent bone density loss. That lowers your risk for osteoporosis. It boosts circulation and respiration, making it a heart-healthy activity. Walking improves balance and helps reduce the potential for falls. It also can improve leg strength and functional fitness. The stronger you are, the longer you’ll be able to live unassisted as you age.

Walking won’t replace a total fitness program.

Walking is a good supplement and an excellent place to start but it isn’t the ultimate fitness program. Fitness training should include endurance, flexibility, balance, and strength exercises. While walking can help in those areas, it doesn’t provide all the benefits of a complete workout. You can increase the benefits by wearing ankle weights or arm weights. You can also turn your walk into a HIIT—high intensity interval training—workout by walking at a high-intensity pace for a short time, then reducing your speed to a recovery pace for an equal time and alternating.

Add swimming and aquatic exercises, bicycling, and dancing into your daily schedule when you want more, but aren’t yet gym-ready.

Increase your steps without interfering with your present schedule. Parking further from the store or your destination and walking is one. Walking to lunch or taking the stairs instead of the elevator also helps.

When you increase walking, you’ll burn more calories. That makes losing weight easier. You don’t have to start by walking far if you’re completely out of shape. Just increase it as you get fitter.

Always focus on form, no matter what exercise you do, even walking. Your posture is important. Keep your shoulders back and head up, swinging your arms naturally as you walk.