What Would Beyonce Do?

Happy Monday, y’all! I hope that you have all thoroughly enjoyed your weekend. I’m home from Texas after my epic Petey Birthday Weekend with my other half…more to come on that later this week…and wanted to share some Monday Motivation with y’all. Last week I blogged about healthy eating, but there’s something else that is just as important…physical activity

Benefits of Activity:Sure, being healthy involves eating healthy foods, but the other side of that is treating your body well, and keeping it working well. Think about it this way: if you don’t treat your car well, it doesn’t matter how great or expensive the gas is that you put into it; it’s not going to hold up well. Our bodies are the same way. Regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do to take care of your body. I know so many of us think of exercise negatively. It’s a chore, just one more thing to add to our list of things we have to do today. But let’s take a minute and remember why exercise is a positive thing, and something that we should want to do. Like I said last week, when I understand something, and how it affects my body, it helps me to be better about taking care of myself. When you exercise, several things happen. Some of the immediate benefits of exercise are the release of endorphins (yeah, remember those things from last week’s blog that have the same euphoric properties as opiates…it’s those, except these are beneficial to you and don’t involve chemicals that are detrimental to your mind and body), a decrease in blood sugar, and a decrease in appetite. If you exercise regularly, some of the benefits you’ll see are an improvement in your cardiovascular, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems (this means your heart and your lungs will work better, your muscles and bones will be stronger, and your body will work more efficiently). I could geek out over all the physiological things that exercise will do for you, and maybe in a future post, Audrey or I will go into detail explaining all of the ways exercise is amazing, but for now, we just want to talk about some of our favorite ways to get moving.

It can be cheap:Exercising doesn’t have to cost a ton of money. It doesn’t have to cost any money, actually. Do you have some stretchy pants/shorts, a t-shirt, and some decent tennis shoes? You can head out the door and go for a walk or a jog. You can do simple exercises like lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and planks in your living room. When I travel, I frequently find myself without any viable gym options. My solution? I head over to You Tube or Pinterest and find myself some quick “do at home” exercise options and get going. If I’m in a safe area, I’ll head out for a walk or a jog, and if all else fails, I have run the stairs in the hotel before. Audrey has a little boy she has to accommodate with her workouts…they go to the park and run and play, climb up hills, and hike on uneven terrain. Sometimes they go to the “kids jump” hour at the local trampoline park, and she spends an hour jumping on a trampoline for the cost of one kids’ admission (if you haven’t done trampoline jumping since you were a teenager, trust me, it will be harder than you remember it being). I know for a fact she also squeezes in at-home workouts while he is napping as well. Add a couple free weights or resistance bands, which can be found for reasonable prices, and you can do even more with your routine at home.

Take a class:The point is, you don’t need an expensive gym membership to work out. I actually got rid of mine last year because I prefer doing things on my own and being outside. There are lots of exercise classes that have grown in popularity, and if you enjoy those and can afford them, then by all means, go for it. I know Audrey and I both have our favorites, but we won’t go through all of them here. My advice is (and I know Audrey’s is too) make sure that the class has a reputable, certified instructor, don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right, and don’t keep going if something hurts. Ask questions of the instructor, you are paying good money for their instruction, so if you have questions, or something doesn’t make sense, ask for help. And please, for the love of God, stay for the cool down and stretching portion. It is a part of the class for a reason, and it is not only rude and disrespectful to the instructor to leave, but it could be dangerous or detrimental not to stretch and cool down. If you absolutely have to leave before the cool down is over, let the instructor know ahead of time and ask what you should do to make sure you cool down properly. (End soapbox rant.)

Get Motivated:How much should you exercise? I’d say if you are new to exercise, shoot for 30 minutes 3 times a week, and then aim to work up to at least 5 days a week. I like to try to do something active at a minimum 5 days a week for about an hour. Some weeks are better than others, but I try to make that my “baseline”. Some weeks I am insanely busy, but I like to remind myself that I have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyonce…and so do you. I like to exercise, but I find things to do that I enjoy. Did I always enjoy exercise? Nope. Stick with it for 3 weeks…21 days…that’s how long it takes to create a new habit. Make exercise a habit like brushing your teeth or washing your hands, and it won’t seem like such a chore. I try never to go more than 3 days in a row without some type of physical activity. It takes 21 days to form a habit but only 4 to destroy one. Don’t let yourself get to that 4th day. If you need motivation, there are things like FitBit, Fuel Band, etc…I am someone who likes concrete numbers and objective data, so my FitBit motivates me to get moving. If you’re a goal oriented person (also me), set a goal, sign up for a 5K, or a group hike…anything that you will have to train to accomplish. If you are a social butterfly, find a walking or running group, head out to the park with friends, sign up for a local sports league. The bottom line is just get moving. It doesn’t have to be hard and it doesn’t have to be painful, but I guarantee you it will make you feel like a better person. And the flipside of my car analogy from the beginning: if you take care of your car, you aren’t going to want to put crap cheap gas into it. In the same way, exercise will motivate you to keep fueling your body with healthy, whole foods. Give it a try. Tell us what some of your favorite inexpensive or fun exercises are. How do you stay motivated? And, most importantly, what makes you feel awesome?

Now I’m going to go exercise to relieve my depression from having to leave Texas. Namaste…or whatever.
XO Cassie