I’m just going to lay it out there, I have never been the most athletic person in my family. I still to this day am no very good at our family softball nights, but I’m able to play. Also I can mostly keep up with my 6 year old now. My fitness journey started in March of 2018. My first goal was to finish a 5K before my 30th birthday. I didn’t set a time limit, but I wanted to complete it. The goal was to not feel like I was dying when I finished! Believe me if I can do this you can too! There is a way for you to achieve your fitness goals, and I will lay out for you below the things that helped me!
Find A Program That Works For You
This can be a free or paid program. Some people love Beachbody (I love my Country Heat and PiYo DVDs), some people enjoy running, some enjoy walking, and some enjoy doing other structured programs. Some of these structured programs are available free or for little cost on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime. I most recently started doing a 30 day Yoga program that I fell in love with. I’ve been doing the work outs on repeat for the last 3 months. If you can’t stream a work out— just walk outside— I used to be a huge climate controlled person now you’ll catch me out from 40-100°, there is nothing more relaxing then listening to the birds sing and watching the sunrise or sunset while you walk.
Schedule In Your Workouts
Make sure to schedule in time for your workouts. Set aside at least 4-5 days a week to workout. You also want to make sure you workout more days a week than you do not to help stay in the routine. I find my schedule works best if I get up and workout in the morning most days. This sets a good tone for the day and I find my decisions for the day flow easier over all. I have also found I do best if I don’t skip the start of my week. For example, I consider Sunday the beginning of my week and like to start my week out right with a more intense workout that day. This sets the tone for the whole week and puts me on a path to success the rest of the week.
Be Grateful For Where You Are In Achieving Your Fitness Goals
In the beginning I struggled with trying to push myself too hard. This was frustrating as I didn’t see the gains I was making, instead I focused on what I wasn’t accomplishing. I have since learned the practice of gratitude. Being grateful for your current fitness and health state. This can help you appreciate where you have come from and where you are headed. For instance appreciate that you are healthy enough to be working out, be grateful you can do 5 push ups now, and this will help you realize how big of an achievement it is when you get to 12 push ups.
Give Your Body Rest Days: But Keep Moving
It’s important to give your body rest days, but I have found keeping the routine of moving daily is important. On my rest days I generally walk a shorter distance or do a less intense stretching yoga session to help with soreness. Keeping with your schedule will help your body want to continue on with exercising regularly and realizing this time is set aside for exercise and self care.
If Something Isn’t Working: Change It
If you are finding your current exercise routine isn’t cutting it or is wearing you thin change it! I have tried several programs in the past that just weren’t for me. They were either too intense for my knees or overall the instructors just drove me crazy and I couldn’t stand them. It’s completely alright to set one aside as long as you pick something else up to replace it! If you find it isn’t working to work out in the morning switch to working out at lunch or in the evening. See my post here about how to keep your workout motivation.
In summary you can achieve your fitness goals at home! The road to achieving your fitness goals starts by searching for a program that works for you, then schedule in your workouts to your daily schedule, don’t forget to be grateful for where you are in your fitness journey, also make sure to give your body rest days, and don’t be afraid to change it up if you’re doing isn’t working! All of these keys listed above have brought me to where I am today, a much more confident and fit person than I was 3 years ago. I hope by writing this I can help just one person on their fitness journey find stability and confidence. You can achieve your fitness goals too, send me a message or comment on this post with how you are making it work for you!
