Get Your Work-out IN….No Matter How Busy You Are! Tips To Inspire & Motivate – Part II

I hope you enjoyed the work-out tips from Part I! And if you started a work-out program last week I hope they worked for you! They worked for me that’s for sure.

Sometimes we all need help and help is what I do best. See, I was one of those people who just thought that all I had to do was decide to do something and then everything else would just fall right on in! But it didn’t happen that way, especially as I got older and had much busier life. And what’s even worse! I was a SERIOUS procrastinator when it came to working out in the evenings. I would find a million other things I had to do before I finally got started. It was the getting started that always stalled me. I would come up with the craziest things like..Oh yeah first let me put my beans in some water. Oh and since I’m in here let me just clean this shelf where I had the beans cause the mat is grungy. Oh and I may as well just go ahead and clean the other shelves since I’ve already started. And this would go on and on and the next thing you know an hour had passed and I would lose the desire to work-out.

Oh and don’t let my phone ring. That was the PERFECT excuse for me to procrastinate. An hour on the phone and that was it for me, same scenario, different distraction.

If you are anything like I was then I’m sure like me, you will appreciate these tips. So here goes!

Tip # 6 – Do NOT Bring Your Cell Phone With You When You Work-Out – (And Turn Down The Ringer On Your Landline!)

The worst thing you can do is to bring your cell phone with you when you work-out. It doesn't matter if you're alone or in a class. I once saw a person get kicked out during a class because of a cell phone. Cell phones are distracting; in fact they are more distracting than a land line phone ringing. We seem to be able to ignore our landline ringing but most of us find it extremely difficult to ignore the cell phone. I know I do. Why? Because a cell phone allows us to receive alerts from various places. Email, Text, Face Time, Calls, etc. And it doesn’t matter if you put the phone on vibrate or silent. They still light up and cause distractions. Even if you turn the alerts off, just the fact that the phone is sitting within reach seems to cause us to want to pick it up and check to see if we have any notifications. I read an article that said some people pick up or look at their cell phone more than 200 times a day! 200????

Tip #7 – Don’t Skip Your Work-out If You’re Tired

If you wake up tired, don’t skip your work-out. In fact, if you’re tired, that’s the perfect time to work-out. It will give you an energetic boost to keep you going throughout the day and you get relief from that sluggish feeling you had when you woke up. The same goes for the evening. If you’re tired at the end of your workday you should definitely do your planned work-out. There are two bonuses to this. It will not just give you an added boost of energy for the evening, but it will also help you have a deeper sleep.

Working out in the evening if you’re tired also helps you to make better food choices. I was one of those people who was a serious junk food junkie. If I was tired in the evenings I would make a concoction of chips, pretzels, crunchy cheese doodles with some Danish on the side and a big glass of soda. That was what I called my energizing remedy. Sound familiar? I would get a serious sugar high and then 10 minutes later I’m down. But when I worked out in the evenings, I always found that afterwards I wanted healthier food. The body knows what it wants and it will tell you. If you do something good for it, it will reward you by craving food that is healthy and nutritious.

Tip #8 – Get Your Hair & Body Ready & Keep Water On Standby

If you’re hungry before your work-out have a small light snack like apple slices or a few spoonfuls of yogurt. Maybe a few sips of tea or juice just to take the edge off. If you find your energy is low before your work-out add some peanut butter or almond butter to go with the apple slices.Working out when I’m hungry is a big no-no for me. My growling stomach will distract me and cause me to either rush or have a lackadaisical session. Neither one is of any benefit to me. Don’t let a growling stomach rob you of a fabulous work-out and don’t let it give you an excuse not to!

Protect your hair by using a hair cover that controls and removes excess moisture from your hair so that it doesn’t dry out after your work-out. Make sure it’s a hair cover that holds your hair in place so that when you remove it after your work-out your hair is still in position. This works for people who have braids, locks, twists, up-do’s or pulled back styles. I usually wrap my hair in a specialized wrap (http://www.walmart.com/ip/As-Seen-on-TV-Save-Your-Do-GymWrap/28422360) or I use a cotton wrap after first putting a daily leave-in moisturizing conditioner in my hair.

Finally, grab that water and keep it on standby to sip during your work-out. Keeping the water on standby will stop you from going into another room to get it and possibly cooling down before your workout is over. Before I started keeping my water nearby, I would go into the kitchen to get it and by the time I got back to my workout I had cooled off and lost interest. So….you guessed it. I ditched the workout and actually had the nerve to sit on my couch and watch the rest of it. Shame on me!

Tip #9 – Treat Yourself Afterwards

Had a good work-out? Or need extra inspiration? Treat yourself! Give yourself something to look forward to after your work-out. Something you can reward yourself with for a job well done. It can be anything you like. A mani-pedi in a spa. A healthy, but decadent smoothie. A new work-out outfit. A book you’ve been wanting to read. A spa bath (With your favorite or NEW bath soak, candles, music, drink), etc. You see where I’m going with this? Hook yourself up!

Tip #10 – Switch It Up! !pU tI hctiwS

Sometimes when we are focused and doing the same thing over and over again it can get a little redundant. While you may not be completely bored with your regimen, you may be growing a little weary of it. That’s the time to switch it up. That could mean doing your program in a different environment like outdoors in a park or in your backyard. Or you can do something completely different like walking or taking a dance class. Put some music on at home and break-dance if you must, just do something different for a day or two and then get back to your routine. The break will refresh you and renew your motivation because the last thing you want to do is to become bored and stop your routine. Especially if it’s been working for you!

Bonus Tip #1 – Get Support

Sometimes when you start a new work-out regimen you may run into naysayers who will try and get you to forego your work-out to go hangout. Make a deal with them. If they want to hangout they have to work-out with you. Invite them to go for a long walk or to try your work-out with you. Who knows, you may just inspire them to start a new regimen too! Get support from family, friends, significant others, your children, etc. Tell them you need them to keep you accountable. Spouses and children LOVE that. They will keep you on point. Better yet, get a work-out accountability buddy. Did you know that there are support groups online for people who need work-out accountability buddies? Yes!

Bonus Tip #2 – Change Your Mindset

If you are still thinking that working out is a chore you have already lost half the battle. Who likes or even wants to do chores??? I don’t. I had to get my mind in gear especially when I was training to be a Pilates instructor because if I didn’t I would never have made it. I worked out 7 days a week, morning and evening for 30 days. Can you imagine me doing that if I thought it was a chore?

I continually told myself that this was something that would benefit me, and that I deserved a strong, toned, flexible, sexy, healthy body. I told myself that I was worthy of looking and feeling good. I motivated myself with thoughts of being able to help others reach their fitness goals. I imagined myself working with a client whose body image I helped to completely change. I saw the gratitude in their eyes and the satisfaction in their smile when they looked at themselves. I saw the satisfaction I had knowing that I helped them. I would have seen none of this if all I thought was that exercise was a chore. I know this sounds cliché but it’s so true. Change Your Mind….Change Your Body.

See you next week! I’ll be talking about how focused deep breathing helped me control my hot flashes.

Until Then…

Stay Blessed and Stay WELL!