Along with summer barbecues and hotter temperatures comes cheeseburgers on the grill and ice cream cones. Staying in shape and eating healthy can be a struggle and our summer shorts and bathing suits make us feel on display. But toning up and looking our best doesn’t have to be time-consuming or overwhelming. Done right, it can be fun and effective. This four-week series will give you tips on how best to stay in shape, feel your best, and create a workout that works for you. PLUS, you can grab my FREE weekly printable for a sample workout targeting common problem areas. (And, just in case you didn’t know, I’m not a doctor so you may want to check with yours before undertaking any strenuous exercise. Just a thought.)
Sometimes the hardest part of working out is just getting started. Getting off the couch or climbing out of bed, pulling on those leg warmers (kidding!), and stepping out the front door or popping in that DVD. Beginnings are hard.
But once you’ve gotten started, it will get easier. When you’ve gotten a routine down and you’ve created a habit, you’ll find yourself looking forward to your workout. And if you miss it, you’ll wish you hadn’t. That’s the upside of good habits – they keep you going even when your motivation might be flagging.
So how do you get started with a workout routine?
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Schedule it in like any other appointment.
Treat your work out time like you would anything else that’s important to you. Set aside a time that you can workout consistently, and stick with it. This might be early in the morning before work or your kids wake up. It might be at night when everyone is settled. Or you may want to squeeze it into the nap time hour. Working out doesn’t have to take hours of slaving away at the gym to give you results. It just takes dedication and patience. And a little bit of grace for those days when you just can’t do it.
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Be prepared.
I have my gym clothes sitting by my bed so that the baby doesn’t wake up while I’m rifling through my closet, effectively ending my workout before it has even begun. Maybe you need to do something similar. Set up your DVD so you just need to hit play when you get up. Have your socks sitting next to your shoes by the front door. Have a water bottle chilling in the fridge. Make your playlist ahead of time so you aren’t scrambling for music on your front porch at five in the morning. Do everything you can to make it easier to just go!
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Start slow.
It can be really tempting to ride that initial rush of motivation into a more difficult and time-consuming workout routine than you need, or can sustain. If you push yourself too hard, especially in the beginning when your muscles are just coming out of hibernation, you run the risk of injury and burnout.
Creating a routine takes time and constant reinforcement. If you burnout or pull a muscle, you will interrupt that process and find yourself back on the couch before you know it. Start slow, maybe even slower than you think you should. After a week of easy workouts, start to increase your reps and sets. Challenge yourself a little at a time. Exercise should not be a sprint, but a marathon that lasts a lifetime.
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Give yourself grace.
There will be the inevitable days when you are all fired up to crush your workout, but then the school calls because your child has come down with the flu. Or the car broke down and you have to go to the auto shop instead of the gym. Or your best friend calls in tears and needs to talk. Right. Now. Maybe on week three, you jumped on the scale and saw you only lost one measly pound.
Give yourself a break. And some grace. Things will always come up and we need to roll with the punches. Do not let interruptions and numbers on a scale hold you back from getting strong and healthy. Be patient with others and yourself.
Getting started can be tough, but so are you. Next week, we’ll be talking about setting goals. So grab your iPod and check out this FREE WORKOUT printable targeting your abs that you can work into your own routine or use as the starting point for a whole new one. Good luck and enjoy the endorphin rush!
Are you ready to get into shape? What are some things that you do to get started? Let me know in the comments.
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