Part 2: How to Discover an Exercise Routine that Feels Good

So now that you feel ready to make exercise a regular part of your life, what kind of exercise should you do?

Luckily, today we have more than enough options available to us. As someone who likes to constantly try new things, I have tried a variety of fitness classes and online programs.

I think in the beginning it is good to try out a variety that way you can find something you really like! But it is also important to stick to something for awhile because the more you do it, the better you get.  And when you are good at something, you like it!! Heck, I used to hate Pilates type moves, but as I got better (and could actually do a few reps haha, I liked it more!)

So, if you are someone who feels like you don’t like ANY kind of exercise or movement, I suggest that you pick anything and stick to it for at least one month.

But if you want to explore a bit and see what works best for you, definitely check out both your local classes and online/home workouts.

Here is what I currently enjoy doing:

Orange Theory Fitness – I was unsure at first because running/rowing isn’t my type of exercise anymore.  Most times I run, I feel drained afterward. But after a few sessions, I was hooked, addicted, and NOT drained. I actually feel more energy after an OTF class and I have the most incredible high. Usually I am exhausted by the end of the day, but not after an OTF class.

Here is the low-down on OTF.  You do treadmill, rowing, and body weight movements in a 60-minute class. Each class is a bit different, but overall you spend about 20 minutes at each area.  You wear a heart rate monitor and you can keep an eye on it during the whole class.  Your goal is to get your heart rate in the Orange zone for at least 12 minutes and then you earn 12 splat points. The reasoning behind this is that you can than have the after-burn effect up to 24-48 hours AFTER the workout.

You would think that you would be exhausted, but you aren’t instead you feel a full blown exercise high.  And it’s completely addicting! <3

Biking Outside – Next up, I am obsessed with biking because this Chicago summer has been GORGEOUS so far this year. So I bike pretty much every weekend and I try to spend as much time outside as possible. (I am also addicted to the sun and I don’t get it enough living up north) If you love biking or being outside, I highly suggest finding ANY activity that gets you out! Summer only lasts so long so enjoy the beautiful weather as much as you can! <3

Yoga – I also doing yoga pretty regularly. I like to attend hot yoga classes, but lately I am keeping it simple (my motto) and following along with Yoga with Adrienne videos. She has A LOT of videos and I have not found a single one that I didn’t like!

I have also heard a lot of great things about YogaGLO…I will likely test it out soon as they offer a free trial (so why not??!)

A few other at home options that I have tried:

FREE:

Fitness Blender Videos – I really like their HIIT workouts. I didn’t think I would work up so much of a sweat, but I felt really good afterward!

Casey Ho – Blogilates – When I first started, many of the moves were quite difficult.  But as time went along, I got better and better. She creates a free workout calendar every month and links to 5-6 of her videos to complete each day. TBH I tried following the calendar and it felt like I had to complete every video in order to be a success.  It was a great workout, but it wasn’t easy to go at that intensity for a full 60 minutes every single day!!  Some of those workouts are super tough! Side note: At this stage when I was doing these videos, I felt like I HAD to work out at least 60 minutes for it to be a worthwhile workout. It is a tough mindset to get out off, but now I know that a 20 to 30-minute HIIT workout can be JUST as beneficial if not more! More is NOT always better especially when it comes to exercise!  So even if you just want to do 2-3 of her videos per workout, I highly recommend!

Membership Sites:

Amazon Fit – For only 6.99 a month, you can get access to LOADS of fitness videos.  Basically all the home videos from the 2000s to present, possibly some older ones. You can get a free trial for the first week if you want to check it out. This is a pretty good deal and I would pay that just for the Ballet Beautiful videos.  I think this is a good next step if you want something low cost and you have overdone all the Free youtube videos.

Ballet Beautiful: This is a WELL-DONE membership site.  A bit on the higher end at 40 bucks a month. The videos are fun, intense, and perfect for anyone who loves ballet and wants to put it back into their life. But you can get a few of the ballet videos on Amazon Fit…so I might suggest starting there depending on your level of commitment or if you just want to try a few of her videos.

 

There are lots more membership sites and free you tube channels out there so explore and find what fits into your life!! But if you need more motivation or want to be around more REAL people, I highly suggest getting active in your community.  And then you can keep some at home workouts stored in your back pocket for those days you just don’t want to leave the house!!  ( we all have those days! )

Now that you have selected your workouts, I have 3 tips to help you really fall in love with this self-care practice.

1. Release Judgement of your Performance – This is something we should do in all areas of our life, but especially fitness. How often do you feel like a workout goes to waste because it wasn’t hard enough or you didn’t feel the pain? How often do you judge how you perform each move? It is hard not to…we are already doing something we don’t really want to do and now we have to HOPE that this one workout will give us the results we want. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. One workout doesn’t make or break you…just like one cookie won’t make or break you. Practice releasing judgement because when you  do you will be open to loving exercise SO much more.
2. Make it easy to show up! – Schedule and plan when and what you are going to do for all workouts in advance. It is hard to make decisions last minute so make it easy by doing the work ahead of time! If you have to do all the work of figuring on what you are going to do, you are going to wear yourself out and make it harder on yourself to follow through.
3. Commit to showing up! – This is half the battle! And be proud to show up even if you didn’t eat enough earlier or if you didn’t get enough sleep! (remember no judgement on performance!) I want you to practice and commit to sticking to your workout goal for at least one month. When we commit to something and follow through, we build trust with ourself.  The time gives us the space to learn the technique and feel unstoppable in completing the workout. Like I mentioned in my last post it can be easy to fall into the view that exercise is only a means to manipulate your body so the world will accept your body.  But instead move to develop a commitment to shifting your mindset to see exercise as something your body NEEDS in order to show up 100%. Ask yourself – What are the benefits that exercise will provide you that have NOTHING to do with your looks? This commitment even when it is a struggle with help you rise up in ALL areas of your life. It might be a struggle to get started, to actually DO the work out, to perform each move, but just be proud of yourself for showing up. And remember It is when you are committed to consistency that you will see results. <3

I want to share with you this image I created. May it inspire you to stay committed…..to stay devoted to feeling your best every single day. You can save it on your phone and look at it when you need a reminder of WHY you choose to stay committed to yourself. This isn’t for anyone but YOU.  This isn’t for the world that pours negative thoughts and insecurities into your mind saying you aren’t good enough. This is for YOU!

 

 

So what are you committed to doing this week to put more exercise and movement into your life? Are you going to go local or try an online membership? Share in the comments below! I can’t wait to here! <3