A message from our Fitness Editor, Kupah James.
Let’s be honest, the COVID 15lb weight gain is a real thing. Lately, there has been a huge increase in people seeking out the next best fitness trend to try and shed their stay-at-home fluff and get back into shape. Diving into the fitness lifestyle can be a little overwhelming if you do not know exactly where to start. Luckily, we’re here to pave the way and help you find the best routine for YOU.
If you think you have to run a marathon or join a CrossFit gym to get back into your healthy routine, think again. Sometimes setting an unrealistic goal or diving into a workout style you don’t love can be the most detrimental decision of the process. It can be easy to follow social trends and check out the latest HIIT class near you, but what if it’s not exactly your style? I teamed up with fit-pro Chelle Mahoney and laid out the most important steps to ensure longevity and effective workout habits!
Play to Your Strengths
If you absolutely hate to box, don’t pick up boxing. Same goes for yoga, CrossFit, running etc. The biggest feedback we hear in the fitness industry when people stop their chosen workout is, “I didn’t like it” and that’s OK! Pilates is not everyone’s jam but find what is. If you grew up on a bike, pick up spinning. If you absolutely love to be in the water, start swimming laps. Find what you’re good at and go be great at it. Then step by step you will start implementing other forms of fitness into your routine to compliment your workout.
Quality and Consistency
Make a plan and stick to it. It truly is that simple. Whether you work a 9-5 or travel for a living, creating a workout schedule ahead of time sets you up for success. Our best advice is plan a month ahead. Break out the calendar, set aside times for yourself to sweat and stick to it. Write it down, sweat it out, reap the benefits, repeat.
Steady State Cardio
Have you ever been to a class where the instructor is screaming at you to run faster, spin harder or max out your heart rate. Yeah, we’ve all been there. HIIT training is a hot commodity these days and is more popular than ever. However, HIIT is only sustainable for so long. How about revisiting your steady state cardio days? This is the true sneak attack for fat loss. So how do we do it? Most simply put, create lower intensity forms of cardio for longer amounts of time. This can be anything from a brisk walk to a longer endurance style jog. The trick is to not max out your heart rate so you have to stop the exercise. Combining lower intensity with longer holds creates a cardio lifestyle built around lasting longevity.
Importance of Community
Yes, we get it, sometimes it sucks waking up at 6 am to fit your workout in before heading to the office. The best life hack we have for this problem; find your workout partner. This can be anyone including, but not limited to, a best friend, co-worker, sibling, neighbor etc. Having an accountability partner creates healthy habits for you to get after together! Knowing you have someone to sweat with makes it much less likely to hit snooze and skip your workout. Adhere to your schedule together and #MakeMoves.
Before you tune out and stop reading, allow us to wrap this up now that we’ve listed some easy steps for you to create and start implementing workouts into your new routine. With this new stay at home lifestyle, long term wellness is the goal. Make a schedule and stay consistent. Not every workout has to be all-out max effort, steady state is the fat loss key. Find your workout buddy and stay accountable. Lastly, find your groove and what makes you smile as you sweat. These are the simple steps to make your sweat schedule a consistent habit. If you are dreading your training it will have an expiration, and we’re in this for the long haul baby.
