November - Movement
I’m so excited to talk about fitness and movement this month! When I was young, I thought the only point of working out was to look good. Also, working out felt like punishment for eating too much, and I thought it if it didn’t feel like torture, then it wasn’t beneficial.
I was so wrong! When I made my commitment to personal development in 2019, I started pursuing working out for other reasons, mostly being in top tier health so I can perform well and live a long time. I was shocked at all the other benefits of working out. Working out regularly has dramatically decreased my symptoms of depression and anxiety. My mental clarity is so much better, and I feel smarter every year! My body feels and looks better, and my brain feels so soothed and comforted by exercise. The endorphins and increase in energy are amazing! I thought working out would always make me tired, and working out often does make me tired and sore. However, it ALSO gives me additional energy. Exercise is my secret weapon for high performance and the pursuit of happiness.
This month, as we focus on our fitness, think about easy ways to fit some movement into your day. You don’t have to go hard in a 90 minute cross fit class climbing up a rope and throwing tires around to get results. You may have heard “sitting is the new smoking.” If you are like me, with an office job, work from home job, or any other computer-based job, you are sedentary most of the day, hunched over your laptop. Living a sedentary lifestyle makes finding time for your daily workout essential because it is the only time you move!
What if we started moving all day though? There has been a huge trend going on with the walking pad and treadmill desks lately with the goal of keeping yourself moving while you work, listen to calls, and attend meetings. I would love a treadmill for my house for when it is too wintry to run outside or too dark. Treadmills get expensive but walking pads seems much more affordable. Fitting in some strength training during the day where you can will also produce some results. Just do a few squats, a few planks, a few pushups. It is one of my goals to add this in to my day somewhere. I just need to think about it and make a plan. I think this would be mentally easier than doing a long, hard weights workout where I get super sore. Another Mother Runner has 10 minutes strength and mobility sessions on youtube for free! Even though I strength train, the first video made me sore! So 10 minutes is enough to make a difference!
Where can you find some small movements in your day to combat the sedentary lifestyle?
Dumbbells and exercise band I use for at-home strength work
Another Mother Runner video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s4azt8WQnY