Ok, so off the break let me say this upfront, I am no personal trainer, fitness buff, fitness expert, muscle head or exercise fanatic. I’m just a person who seeks to leave a legacy of health and generational blessing of total wellness, mind, body and spirit.
Like most people I know, exercise is not easy for me. Who wakes up thinking, “Yay, today I get to do squats until my legs are on FIRE and I can barely stand?” Who loves feeling the burn the day after those squats when all you’re trying to do is bend to pee? Well, I know there are some who like that feeling, I’m not particularly one of them.
But I am one who finds confidence in knowing that as I’m working those quads doing squats, I’m working the largest muscle group in my body thus giving me the biggest bang for my buck. I like knowing that I’m proactively reducing my risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease when I exercise. It’s reassuring to know I’m lowering my cholesterol, blood pressure and stress when I exercise. And it doesn’t hurt when I look at myself and see some of the fruit of my labor.
Leaving a generational legacy of health and wellness requires me to DO something about it today.
And what I can do TODAY is this:
~Choose to eat Whole Foods that add to not detract from my health. For more on eating clean, check out these posts.
~Get adequate rest so my brain and body can function as designed. For more on Rest check out these posts.
~Of the 1440 minutes I’m given each day, I can dedicate a minimum of 30 back to myself in the form of exercise. As a busy mom of 5 young children, I can certain come up with PLENTY of legitimate reasons for not exercising regularly. But I will not let legitimate reasons (code name, uh-umm excuses) hamper my children’s ability to receive their blessing.
While my preferred method of exercise would be an intense African dance session to live drumming, my family schedule does not permit that. I’d also like to workout with others in a class setting, again that’s a tough one. I am able to squeeze in one day a week with a group. Other than that, I’ve had to devise a method that works well for me. When devising an exercise plan consider all factor that would contribute to making your plan a success such as: your schedule, family dynamic, finances, current health, exercise options available, personality, etc. All of these will directly impact your ability to sustain a workout regime. Once you find a formula that works for you, STICK TO IT! There can be lots of starts and stops in committing to exercise. Keep the goal before you always. And the goal for me is to LIVE FULLY by nurturing mind, body and spirit. To neglect one area is to neglect the others.
So here’s a glimpse at what works for me.
~Do It Early
My days start very early. I am up before my children so I can get a head start with my prayer and exercise. My agenda is WORD IN, WORK OUT, WORK THE DAILY PLAN. Thanks to Ann Voskamp for lending to that inspiration. I just wake up and put on my workout clothes. This helps get my mind focused on what needs to be accomplished. And if I don’t exercise early, I find that it falls at the mercy of other events of the day. And by evening I am absolutely worn out. And my husband comes home from work late so there’s no changing of the guard even if I wanted to workout in the evening so early morning it is. And since school has been out, some days I’ve even been able to add an early morning run to my routine. Those runs have been so refreshing in connecting with God in the outdoors, smelling the dew, listening to the birds and embracing the beauty in the now moment. Whoosah.
~Short but intense workouts
I’ve tried lots of exercise videos, video on demand, borrowing from friends, checking out of the library. If exercises are too repetitive or move too slowly, I get bored. Because time is also an issue for me, I want to get the biggest return on investment for my time. So I can’t do a 50-minute video or run the track for an hour. That simply doesn’t work for me so I know I wouldn’t commit to it. I’ve found Tabata workouts and H.I.I.T workouts to be effective for me. Two of my go to resources for those workouts are:
I love, love, love these! With the Sworkit app you choose the type of workout (strength, cardio, yoga or stretching). Then you choose the number of minutes you want to workout. Then the real time workout begins and a person demonstrates it real time including a countdown clock. The lite version is free and is something I’d actually pay for I like it so much. But I have to say it doesn’t stretch me as much as the second, BodyRock. A friend introduced me to this YouTube channel and I’ve been HOOKED ever since. When I just think about the videos, I think POWER! The videos push me and when I’m done I feel strong and powerful.
~Playground Workout
Of my 5 children, 2 aren’t school age yet so since they are home with me everyday, all day I had to figure out a way to mesh their play and my workout thus the playground workout was born. In a coming post, I’ll detail what that looks like.
~At Hand Artillery
I keep my resistance bands and jump rope close at hand. If I have idle time (which is rare) I just pull them out. Even when I’m standing around watching my little ones ride their bikes or skate up and down the driveway, I can get some skipping in. No excuses maximize on the time.
These are a few of the strategies I employ to ensure I am honoring my temple through exercise so that I leave a legacy of health and wellness.
What are you doing to honor your temple through exercise?
What’s working well? What challenges are you facing?
You are not alone. I am here friend, cheering you on as you glorify God through honoring your temple. So do your thang FitMom. Get it in. No excuses!
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with others sharing the good news Grace&Truth Dance With Jesus