Balance
We all know that eating right and exercising reduces stress and improves our energy levels to help us get more things done. But when we are stressed and pushed for time, those are the first things we throw out. We all have busy lives and sometimes it gets overwhelming trying to balance all the things we have to do with all the things we should do.
This month I want to remind you of just a few things that might help you with trying to balance your health and fitness efforts with your crazy life.
- Go for the bronze! Fitness is not an all or nothing concept. You don’t have to be a gold medalist to be successful. Any and every small thing you do to improve your health, improves your health. Don’t get caught up in having to do it with perfection. You’ll be much happier with the results of small, consistent improvements because they will hang around long enough to become a healthy habit.
- Take a minute to brainstorm ways of navigating around your regular excuses. Have a backup plan, or two, in place. Life has a way of throwing curveballs that interfere with good intentions. If you can’t get in a whole workout, plan to walk a few minutes and do some core work and stretches before bed. If you no longer have time to grill that chicken and make some veggies, have a healthy freezer meal (bought or made ahead of time) ready to pop in the oven.
- Go with your strengths. If you’re a morning person, find a way to workout in the morning. If you are a great organizer, meal plan and organize how to tackle healthy meals. If you are an awesome online shopper, explore online alternatives for grocery shopping or meal planning. If you love outdoors, plan outdoor exercise activities (hiking, walking, biking, etc). If you are the queen of multitasking, workout while listening to an audiobook or podcast. There is no one right way to go about improving your fitness. Find what works for you and just do it.
- Outsource some of your responsibilities. You only have so many hours in the day. Maybe it’s time to hire, barter, or handover some chores to someone else. Your children may be at just the right age to learn a new responsibility that may help clear up some time for you. You may have a friend willing to carpool. You might want to look into hiring someone to clean your house or do your yard work occasionally so you can prioritize your fitness and health.
- Don’t forget about your mental and spiritual health, as well. Plan workouts that are enjoyable. If you hate it, that will affect your state of mind. Take note if you prefer to exercise in a quiet or music filled environment. Do you need to use your workout time to think and plan or to escape? Do you want to invite a friend or join a group and enjoy some relational time or do you need the solitude of working out alone? On the spiritual side, make sure to include your health goals in your prayer time. God is interested in you as a whole. Your concerns concern Him. Seek Him as you make your plans to build and care for His temple.
- Remember, you don’t have to workout like a beast for an hour everyday to be healthy. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week for heart health. You can divide it anyway you want but it is only about 22 minutes everyday. It doesn’t even have to be consecutive minutes to reap the health benefits. If you do a more intense exercise, you can do less than 150 minutes a week. If you can’t get in intentional workouts, at least add in more movement to your regular routine. Take the stairs. Use the restroom fartherest from your work station (extra points if stairs are involved). Walk a lap around the office every hour. Don’t park close to the building. Take more trips when unloading the car or putting away the laundry. Every little bit helps.
It’s not about perfection. It’s about BALANCE.
By the way, did you know that literal, physical, standing-on-one-leg balance is awesome for your core and stability? This month in our Live Boot Camps and in our GOfit▶️ app-led workouts we will be emphasizing muscle balance and stability. These are basic and core components of fitness upon which strength is built. It is a perfect time to join!! We’d love to have you!
September Boot Camp
September Live @ FLC Gym – $55 -or- ($10/class)
- Starts Wed, Sept 6th (no class on Labor Day)
- Choose 5:30am or 7:30am for Fit Camp, or 8:30am for BASIC30
- Dates: 6 · 11 · 13 · 18 · 20 · 25 · 27 (7 sessions)
GOfit▶ – $30/month
- Workout anytime the mood strikes by video or with the strength training app
- YouTube Playlist Link and App workouts are available by the 1st of the month
- Playlist includes 20 videos (8 Fit Camp: 45 min, 8 BASIC30: 30min, 4 Mobility: 20-40min)
- Most video workouts only need a medium set of dumbbells and a band
- App includes 2+ gym-based strength training workouts (with at home modifications) designed to be repeated with varying resistance or reps
- See FAQs for more info
August Full Access – $80*
- Why settle for just Live or GOfit▶ when you can have both!! You can workout with me and our FLC crew Live on Mondays and Wednesdays (as many classes as you want) and have access to videos and the strength training app to do on any other day of the month. What better way to get in shape and stay in shape!!
Package payments must be made in advance, they are non transferable, and are only good for the month of the Boot Camp for which they were purchased. Payment options include: Cash, Check, Card, Cash App, paypal.me/followmefit, Venmo, Google Pay, & Zelle.
Links:
More Camp Info | Camp Registration | Pay Online | followmefit.net
