I believe that most of you are, in general, interested in living as healthy a life as possible. I also believe that many of us have days, or even weeks where we are unmotivated to be active and/or really have difficulty finding the time. Yes, even me! My biggest challenge is in keeping up the weight training and the stretching. I can always find time to go for a walk or run, and now - even a bike ride! (after years of talking about it, we finally got our hybrid bikes)
I'll share my tips and tricks for making these things happen on a regular basis. I would also LOVE to hear your strategies for getting in some activity every single day.
Make a public commitment and go for a streak: My examples are that I will do pushups every single day. I'm over 3 years on not missing a day -- on a bad day it may be 5, and a good day, up to 30. What keeps me accountable is a couple of friends who are solid committed gym people; they ask me every once in a while how the pushups are going. I never know when they will ask, but in my mind (and no one really knows but me) I want to say "still doing them!
Combine functional exercises. If you don't love the weight workout do combo exercises! Double the benefit with every move. Example: A squat to a shoulder press. This is brilliant as you are working your upper and lower body simultaneously. Another combo I like is a lunge + front shoulder raise. Be very careful with your form to avoid injury. I found this excellent video (check out Senior Fitness with Meredith for more exercise ideas) that you can follow along easily and safely do a series of combo moves. All you need are a couple of weights (a water bottle works as well) and a mat. I tried this workout this morning and it's decent, particularly if you are just starting out.
If you get bored put on a good podcast or some lively music for a distraction. It definitely helps make the time go by quickly - before you know it you're done!
Ok now make a commitment (I'm a willing accountability partner if you need one), set some goals and go! My goal for strength is is 3 x weekly, minimum 30 minutes; what's yours? Yes I was a little sore the first week but honestly it felt so good. The absolute best thing we can do for ourselves as we age is to stay strong. I promise it will make a huge difference as the years go by.
Let me know how it goes & if you need someone to nudge you on I am just a text or phone call away!
Pat xo
905-330-5266