February 1st Newsletter
Now that it’s February, how many of you are still keeping up with your New Year’s Resolutions? Wait, what? You stopped on week #2?! Hahaha. Well, according to statistics, this is probably true for most of you since a whopping 80% of people have failed to keep up their plans of weight loss, healthier eating and exercise come February 1 – or at least that’s what the U.S. News states.
As I’ve been trying to reiterate since January 1st this year, we can’t make changes that we don’t believe in, and the only way we are going to find success is with a simple step-by-step plan that we actually want to follow. In turn, these small changes will lead to bigger [and better] things, but it’s those small steps that make all the difference and turn our goals into our lifestyle! (Check out my previous post about if you aren’t sure what I mean here.)
So what’s one of my favorite tips to help get my clients on the path of feeling better – on both the inside and out?! Exercise [of course]! And no, I don’t mean you need to start taking up a daily spin class or going to the gym for 2-hours every day! In fact, these “big goals” will often cause you to gain weight more often than not because they aren’t attainable and lead to feelings of stress, failure and ultimately, overeating.
Here I’m talking about little bouts of exercise. You know, the kind us busy moms have to do if we want to get any kind of movement done at all! In other words, sneaking it in! This is my favorite type of exercise actually – at least as a mom to an infant – because without it, I probably wouldn’t get much of any exercise in at all (besides the classes I teach)!
So with all that said, here’s my list of 10 easy exercises that you can sneak in throughout your day + a list of 5 BONUS exercises you can do with a stability ball. So take this info and run with it (yes, pun intended!) – because the only one who is going to improve your life is you – and it’s these little steps that will help get you there!
- My favorite exercise – probably of all time – is squats. They are easy to do, are very effective, and you’ll feel the burn quickly which, again, means that they are working! When to sneak them in? If you’re a mom to young ones, add in squats while you are feeding them at their highchair. If you don’t have young ones, do squats while you are stirring something on the stove.
- I’m also going to tie in squats with Tip #2 (about sitting less) from my Newsletter Series [How to Make Healthy Living a Lifestyle – and for setting you up for a Successful New Year]: if you have to sit at a desk, get up every 45 minutes and do 1 minute of squats. You can even do this while wearing dress shoes (it’s good for your ankle stability muscles).
- Do calve raises while brushing your teeth.
- Hold a plank during commercials while watching TV.
- You can also do tricep dips while watching TV and/or bodyweight arm circles. Think, Tracy Anderson type workouts.
- Do pushups against your counter while making meals.
- Do lunges while your coffee brews or you’re waiting for your tea water to boil.
- Park further away from your destination, so you have to walk.
- Play tag or “monsters” with your kids. These are two of my kids’ favorite games and definitely get my heart rate up.
- Have a dance party. Kids love this, and again, it’s a great way to sneak in some exercise. If you have a toddler, holding them while dancing will definitely kick up the calorie burn a notch – not to mention will give your arms a workout; although just dancing around works too! You don’t even have to have kids to enjoy doing this. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy dancing around every once in a while, making a fool of themselves – especially when no one is watching ;).
** BONUS TIP: Because you know I always have more ideas on how to exercise 😉 Use a Stability Ball! There are literally over 100 ways you could use one of these things to exercise, but I’m going to give you just a few (so you don’t get too overwhelmed):
- Sit on the Ball instead of a chair. It’s great for core work.
- Bounce on the Ball while sitting on it. Again, this is great for your core. It’s also a great way to soothe a screaming baby, and is what I did with all my kids many a nights.
- Lay your back across it, while both feet are planted on the floor, and do sit-ups.
- Put your feet on it, hands on the floor and hold a plank, do knee tucks, hip dips, etc.
- You can also flip your body over and use it for your feet while you hold a bridge. You can even do knee tucks this way, and hip dips, etc. too. Ok, now I’m getting too far 😉
So there you have it, 10 (+5) easy and creativeways to sneak in more exercise. Take note that all these exercises are interchangeable so you don’t have to do squats at work and pushups while you’re cooking. You can do whatever works for you and your schedule. These are just ideas to get you started. Have fun with it! And don’t worry about doing them all every day, just do what you can and begin to feel – and even look – better in less time than you can imagine!
Remember, you CAN achieve all you are set out to by just putting your mind to it! Change IS POSSIBLE! And these lifestyle changes are what makes it all happen!
So keep reading these Newsletters because change is only going to happen if you LET IT! You can also CONTACT ME to get started on your own plan today – just ask me how!
And please, if you have friends and/or colleagues who you think would love this info as much as you do, SHARE this Blog and Newsletter with them. LIKE us on Facebook and FOLLOW us on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to stay connected as well!
As always, thanks so much for following along with me on my Health & Motherhood journey! I appreciate each and every one of you, because it’s YOU who makes this all worth it!
