Spring Movement

Habits can be hard to form. Falling out of habits can be pretty easy. The many changes from COVID may have pulled you out of your normal routine two years ago and perhaps you haven’t figured out a new schedule or format you enjoy. The seasons can also unravel the best laid plans. A cold and icy winter might keep you from exercising. But the seasons can also be a time to reboot, especially as the sun pokes out more in spring and the weather gets warmer.

If you’re ready and raring to get into a new fitness routine this spring, here are some tips that can help:

Schedule

Actually put exercise on your calendar. Prioritize it and make sure you have time for it. Include a Monday workout because it sets you up for success for the whole week. If you skip Monday, you might convince yourself it’s okay to skip Tuesday and then the next day. So start your week with a workout.

Think of it like a doctor’s appointment. You’d never put that on your calendar and then blow it off. It’s a needed appointment for your health.

Outside

Spring Movement2022-03-28T23:01:19-04:00

Slow down to go fast

It’s the most wonderful and most busy time of year. Once Thanksgiving hits it can feel like a mad dash to the New Year. There can be so many wonderful, generous, magical moments if we stop to notice them whizzing by in a blur.

Slow Down to Go Fast

Lately, I keep hearing different variations of the same sentiment: slow down to go fast. Personally, I’m not sure I’m good at following that motto, but I believe it is important to consider. In a rush I often create more work for myself. This time of year can be especially hard with the added tasks of cooking, baking, getting presents, wrapping presents, and forcing your friends to go caroling with you in the freezing cold—all the usual stuff.

During the holiday season, one of my favorite things to do is to stop, sit wrapped in a blanket, turn off all the normal lights, and look at the white lights on the tree or in my Christmas village. It’s possible I’m really an 80-year-old woman. I gaze at all the ornaments and remember the people who gave them to me and the stories they conjure.

It’s a […]

Slow down to go fast2019-12-20T11:03:25-05:00

Chill Out for Better Results…It’s Not All or Nothing

The barefoot running movement got a pretty bad reputation because anecdotally lots of people got hurt barefoot running.  If I got seriously injured doing something I attempted to do for my health, I’d stop too.  If I loved running before I altered the way I did it and hated it now, I go back to my old ways.  It makes sense.

One of my friends tore both his Achilles tendons running with minimalist shoes.  But what he did and what many barefoot runners did was push too much too fast.  The barefoot running movement and the makers of minimalist shoes all said if you want to make this change you have to start slow—really slow.  Go too fast and you’ll get hurt.  Taking on more than we are ready for is a major reason people new to exercise stop moving.  They work too hard in a hope to get quick results, get hurt and don’t want to continue.    Some people associate exercise with pain and getting hurt.  That’s always been their experience.  Moving doesn’t have to hurt, and should NEVER hurt in a “bad” way.  The concept of no pain no gain has been disproved, but it is a really hard […]

Chill Out for Better Results…It’s Not All or Nothing2017-10-25T15:49:49-04:00

Six Reasons to Slow Down Your Workout

We tend to think bigger is better.  We have to work harder and faster or we aren’t getting a good enough workout.  Sometimes we even use this as an excuse not to exercise.  But research is showing we can chill out.  You don’t have to go hard or go home.  You can just move.  Here are some research points in favor of a gentler workout:

 

  • Run Slow (10-min mile)

Running ten-minute miles and under 15-miles a week is more beneficial to your heart health than running faster for longer, which actually diminishes the gain for your heart.  So slow down and enjoy the run.  And stop calling yourself a jogger at a 10-minute mile.  It’s not 1970.  You’re out there running with everyone else.  You’re a runner.

  • Pilates Good For Your Mind

A small study showed that 10-weeks of Pilates increases memory, cognitive function and neural network activity.  You won’t be surprised if you’ve done Pilates.  It’s basically the exercise for multi-taskers.  There’s a lot going on at the same time.

  • Aerobic Exercises Creates New Neurons

That’s right.  Exercise is one of the few things, if not the only thing, in life that creates and builds new neurons in the brain.  This should be reason enough […]

Six Reasons to Slow Down Your Workout2017-10-25T15:49:49-04:00
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