Healthy Lifestyle: Tips to Kick-start Your Fitness Journey

Well prior to COVID, the gym and I had a hate relationship and really fitness in general. I really had not been going to the gym or working out at all, and found myself at the heaviest weight I had been in my life (heavier than when full term with both my children). Likely if I had gone to the doctor she probably would have put me on high blood pressure medicine because I have seen a correlation between my weight gain and increase in my blood pressure over the years. I am not going to preach to you about weight loss at all, but rather healthy living. As a former NCAA Division One Track athlete, flag football player, bodybuilder, and personal trainer, fitness was a way of life but I had gotten in a prolonged period of no desire to exercise and could not manage to get myself out it! I would bring my exercise clothes to work, and even wear them to work sometimes, but the desire to workout would dwindle as the day went by. Honestly, I will say one of the many positive things out of COVID is it gave me the time to kickstart my love of fitness again for I found myself with more time since commuting and after school activities were no longer apart of my daily routine. I was able to restart my fitness journey which is a key component of a healthy lifestyle. Here are some tips on how to make fitness apart of your healthy lifestyle:

1. Put on your workout clothes. My workout clothes are the first thing I put on in the morning, and keep them on until I workout because it forces me to do my workout prior to having to put on my uniform to teach class.

2. Find a community. My cousin and a good friend were on the Peloton app and informed me of a free 90 day trial that I jumped on.I was inspired to workout when I would see their activity in the app, and we would also try to do live workouts together. There are so many Facebook groups, Groupmes, and programs like Beachbody (my friend Shannon is a a Beachbody Coach) and Peloton to provide a fitness community. Maybe you could even start your own group to establish a community to jumpstart your fitness journey.

3. Get some equipment. Disclaimer, I used to be a personal trainers so I have a plethora of equipment, but really for at home fitness I recommend you get the following: a heavy set of dumbbells (12.5-25 lbs) , a light set of dumbbells (5-10 lbs) , resistance bands and a mat. If you are feeling yourself grab a kettlebell too. Most workouts you will find online use this equipment and/or your bodyweight. Find links to equipment here:

Links:

12 lb dumbbells: https://rstyle.me/+uHRtHpPsZg-3yPFiglgnWQ

10 lb dumbbells: https://rstyle.me/+77zGiJ0YpjUBoomGU5hJ7w

30 lb kettle bell: https://rstyle.me/+EdkrGVCZic8r1jPVLW9ldQ

25 lb kettle bell: https://rstyle.me/+1CU9G8pGdoDkC9e8-4YkjQ

20 lb exercise ball: https://rstyle.me/+xTl0bIGQdD1uP-COzCMk9A

Resistance bands: https://rstyle.me/+BZdQJ8vnnaf-Uwt3tMmIxA

Large yoga mat: https://rstyle.me/+c_pTJkymRuF4wAiz3SMItg

4. Use what is free. There are so many free workouts on YouTube and Instagram . In fact, my good friend and USNA track teammate, Angelique has an excellent YouTube channel with workouts you can do along with her for free! I actually love going to her channel for her workouts give me some new moves to try as a part of my workouts and they are free! I have also started a summer body series on IGTV.

5. If you need help, find a trainer. I actually had an old client reach out to me to virtually train her, and I was hesitant at first doing it online, but she has definitely lost weight and toned. Virtual training actually can be quite effective, and many personal trainers are offering this option during COVID.

6. Mix it up to have fun. I lost my love of fitness because I no longer was having fun, but I have added new activities to my fitness routine such as bike riding and hiking. If you like dancing, then turn on your favorite music and dance, if you like running/hiking find some new trails. Its all about daily movement!

Fitness for me is not about how my body looks, but having a healthy lifestyle to ward off diabetes and heart disease of which I am genetically predisposed and also fitness is one of my coping strategies for my mental health. Make your healthy lifestyle yours, and I hope my tips help you define your healthy lifestyle toolkit.