Exercises We LOVE! Archives

For the Love of Exercise

August 9, 2018
by Smart Fit Womxn

How often do you do the things you should do? For instance, we should floss each day. We should get a good amount of sleep each night. I don’t know about you, but many times I find it difficult to maintain habits I know I should do, but I don’t actually enjoy.

The benefits of exercise for our health have been heralded for a while now. Not only does exercise help us feel good physically, it helps us feel our best mentally and emotionally as well. So really, we all should be exercising regularly. If you’re struggling to maintain a consistent exercise schedule, could it be because you really don’t enjoy exercise?

It’s a perfectly fine thing to admit.

There can be various reasons why we might not enjoy exercise. Some of us have had bad experiences being forced to exercise when we were young (“that’ll be 3 laps around the gym for showing up late to PE” – sound familiar to anyone?). Some of us loved being a part of a sports team, but once we left school, we found it hard to enjoy exercising on our own.

Whatever your reason for disliking exercise, let me reassure you that admitting your distaste is the first step toward enjoyment. You can then ask yourself the following questions:

What specifically do I dislike about exercising?

Perhaps certain types of exercise you’ve tried cause pain in your body (more than light muscle soreness), or perhaps you haven’t found the type of exercise that seems fun to you. Maybe running hurts your knees, but a Pilates class is more your style. Or maybe a spin class isn’t fun to you, but you find satisfaction lifting weights. Once you find out the reason(s) you dislike exercise, you can start to explore different options to find a type of physical activity that suits you.

Do I have a standard of exercise I think I must maintain?

Dr. Michelle Segar mentions in her book, “No Sweat”, that many of us believe we must exercise at a certain intensity and for a certain amount of time for it to “count”. So, if you think you must exercise hard for a full hour for it to matter, and you’re not able to fit an hour of exercise in each day, you may find yourself discouraged. If exercise is seen as a source of discouragement to you, it can be pretty difficult to enjoy it!

The reality, though, is that all exercise counts. As Dr. Segar explains, exercise guidelines can come across as confusing in this manner. When we as health professionals talk about getting “30 minutes per day of moderate intensity exercise at least five days per week for health benefits”, it can be misunderstood that if someone doesn’t reach that exact amount, then the exercise they did was useless. This can lead to all or nothing thinking: “If I can’t get 30 minutes in each day, then I won’t exercise at all.” It seems extreme, but if we’re honest, many of us fall into this line of thinking. Changing our thinking to remember all exercise counts can help us defeat our discouragement.

Have I stopped to consider the benefits?

If you’re trying to exercise regularly but finding it hard to build this as a habit, you might try considering the immediate benefits you receive from exercise. How does your mood change from before exercising to after exercising? Are you less stressed? Happier? How does your body feel? Do you have more consistent energy as you go through the rest of your day? Do you feel stronger? Taking a moment to reflect on the immediate benefits you receive from exercising can help your brain to see it as a reward you give to yourself. When your brain recognizes exercise as a reward, it is easier for you to solidify exercising as a habit.

If you currently dislike exercise, there is no reason to be ashamed. However, don’t let that stop you from exploring the reasons why. Once you do, you might find you actually enjoy, and quite possibly, even love exercise.

Written By Brittni Paris, SFC Blogger and Wellness Coach

Sources:

Segar, M.L. (2015). No sweat: How the simple science of motivation can bring you a lifetime of fitness. New York, NY: AMACOM.

Photo Credits:

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

Photo by Danielle Cerullo on Unsplash

Photo by Elizeu Dias on Unsplash

Exercises We LOVE!

Bosu Squat

November 4, 2013May 18, 2017
by Smart Fit Womxn

Start with your feet hip width apart as you stand on the flat side of the BOSU ball. Try to maintain a neutral alignment in your spine and remember to have a soft bend in your knees. Think about pushing your glutes back first, then bending your knees. Your back should stay flat, trying not to extend your knees past your toes.This is an advanced move, which requires a lot of balance. If you are new to the BOSU ball, try doing a squat on the dome side (blue side) first. Once you feel comfortable there, progress to the flat side but have something near by to hold onto for balance (e.g. a wall). More importantly-HAVE FUN!

Exercises We LOVE!

Snowy weather-no excuse not to work out!

April 17, 2013May 18, 2017
by Smart Fit Womxn

Being a west coast girl, I find this snowy weather (IN APRIL) depressing, frustrating, and just….ugly. BUT-it won’t stop me from working out and it shouldn’t stop you either! 🙂

So if you are sitting at home thinking…I really should workout today, try our At Home Circuit Workout! It’ll take ~20-30 minutes and the only equipment you’ll need is a theraband (or you can use anything that is heavy to lift….children? j/k) and a set of stairs or a chair. If you don’t know what some of the exercises are, don’t worry-we’ve included a link to a YouTube video where Chrissy demonstrates all of these exercises.

Remember, if it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you. So go challenge yourself! 🙂

~KW

Exercises We LOVE!

At Home Circuit Workout

February 10, 2013November 4, 2013
by Smart Fit Womxn

Hey Smart Fit Chicks Followers!

Are you ever short on time or don’t feel like going to the gym? Not to worry- we’ve got an at-home circuit workout for you! Not sure what some of the exercises are? We’ve got that covered too! Check out our YouTube video where Chrissy demos each exercise while Kellie cues.

Full Body At Home Workout #1:

Dive bombers- 12
Lunge Jumps- 12 each side
Wide band curls- 15
Mountain climbers- 30 seconds

Bicycles- 12 on each side- SUPER SLOW!
Split squats- 12 on each side
Staggered push-ups- 6 with each hand position (12 total)
Squat jumps- 20 total

Plank w/ alternating knee to elbow- 15 each side
Wide band rows- 15
Triceps pulldowns- 12 each side
Burpees- 15

We recommend doing this circuit 1-4 times. Move as quickly as possible from one exercise to the next, with as little rest as possible. As soon as you’ve gone through each exercise, take a 2-3 minute break to grab some water, and then try going through it again.

Exercises We LOVE!

DB chest press on a stability ball

January 23, 2013November 4, 2013
by Smart Fit Womxn

Hello SFC followers!

This month we’d like to highlight a fun, challenging exercise. The exercise shown below is a fitball chest press, which works primarily the pectoralis major (the biggest muscle in your chest). What you’ll need: 1) stability ball and 2) set of dumbbells (DB).

Sit on the stability ball (feet hip width apart) while holding the dumbbells. Slowly step your feet forward and roll backwards on the ball until your upper back and neck are supported by the ball. Your core should be engaged, and hips should be high (doing your best to keep a straight line from your head to your knees). Bring the weights into the starting the position (see below) and press up and together.

Important safety tips:

Do you best to keep a neutral alignment in your wrist throughout the movement.
Aim for full range of motion, allowing the DB to gently hit your chest on the way down. Similarly, try to fully extend the weight towards the ceiling/sky so that your arms have only a slight bend in the elbow (don’t lock your elbow joint).
Breath. Try to exhale during exertion (upwards portion) and inhale on the “relaxation”/eccentric (downwards) portion of the movement.

Add this exercise to your routine for a fun, challenging way to switch things up! Shoot for 3 sets of 8-12, selecting a weight that will be challenging to perform by the 11th or 12th rep. If you can perform 12 DB chest presses without feeling fatigued at the end, switch to a heavier set of weights.

Keep up the good work and let us know what you think!

Exercises We LOVE!

How to build a core routine

November 12, 2012November 4, 2013
by Smart Fit Womxn

We see it all the time: a fellow gym goer looking lost, not knowing exactly what to do next. A crunch here, a side plank there, but do we really know why we’re doing these exercises? As a follow-up to last week’s vlog, we’ve included a few tips on how to organize your own core routine:

1. Fit it in! First things first, you have to remember to actually do core exercises. Often times, these are the exercises that get ignored first. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends performing strength training exercises (including the core) at least two times a week. So, write it in your planner (or for those of you who are more technologically savvy, schedule it in your smart phone) and actually do them!

2. Incorporate all of the core muscles: rectus abdominis, obliques, transverse abdominis, erector spinae, and hip flexors. In order to protect yourself from injury (and to get the most aesthetically pleasing core), aim to exercise each of these muscle groups at least two times a week. For sample exercises that work each of these muscles groups, watch our most recent vlog. So, rather than doing three different versions of the crunch (which primarily works the rectus abdominis), do only one type of crunch and incorporate two or three other exercises (ex: bicycle crunches to work the obliques and hip flexors and plank to work the transverse abdominals).

3. Listen to your body. The technique behind core workouts is similar to that of the rest of your body: if you don’t lift heavy or frequent enough, you won’t gain muscle and if you lift too heavy and too frequent, you’ll overtrain and increase your likelihood of injury. In general, it’s recommended to do 12-15 repetitions at about 60-75% of your maximal effort (6-7.5 on a 1-10 scale of effort, with 1 being sitting on a couch and 10 being that obnoxious guy in the gym who grunts so loudly, you can hear it through your headphones). However, if that’s too complicated or confusing for you, we recommend lifting enough weight or doing enough repetitions until your body says “that’s enough”. Being in tune to how your body feels is a really important step in resistance training, so start listening-you’d be amazed by what your body tells you. And lastly…

4. Have fun with equipment. The BOSU ball has got to be one of my favorite pieces of equipment, but there is also so much more out there (ex: medicine ball, dumbbells, cables, etc.). Below are some fun exercises you can do to work your core muscles:

Exercises We LOVE!

Simple, no equipment needed, core exercises

November 6, 2012November 4, 2013
by Smart Fit Womxn

We’ve recently been asked by one of our followers to post a blog on simple, no equipment needed, core exercises. So, we decided to take advantage of another beautiful Colorado day, head outdoors, and film our second vlog.

In addition to the core exercises discussed in our vlog, below are some creative ways to incorporate the plank in your core routine.

Exercises We LOVE!

BOSU lunge

July 17, 2012November 4, 2013
by Smart Fit Womxn

BOSU lunge 2 BOSU lunge 1

Oh how we all love lunges…especially when we use the BOSU ball. Here are some important things to keep in mind…

Notice when Kellie goes down in the lunge, how her front knee does not pass over her toes. Also, keep your back nice and straight, and stick that chest out. To make this harder, hold dumbbells at your sides, or flip the bosu over (so your feet are on the black flat surface). To make it easier, simply do the lunge without the bosu ball.

Try it out and let us know what you think!

It’s a perfectly fine thing to admit.

What specifically do I dislike about exercising?

Do I have a standard of exercise I think I must maintain?

Have I stopped to consider the benefits?

If you currently dislike exercise, there is no reason to be ashamed. However, don’t let that stop you from exploring the reasons why. Once you do, you might find you actually enjoy, and quite possibly, even love exercise.

smartfitwomxn