The right physical activity for you

Finding a Type of Workout You Actual Enjoy!

Sometimes it can be difficult to workout in a class or other environment where you are forced to do a specific type of workout you don't particularly enjoy. This can make you not want to go workout at all! I would say I am a big advocate for finding a physical activity that makes you not even feel like your working out because you enjoy it so much! Sometimes, when I feel like I am stuck in the same routine in the weight room and get bored I like to mix it up by going outside for a hike! This gets me up and moving but is a completely different environment than working out in a gym. 

Find a type of physical activity you really enjoy to switch it up when you get unmotivated!

Progress Pictures

Progress Pictures

Have you ever felt like you were trying your absolute hardest and working your butt off all the time just to step on the scale to have the number disappoint you? I, for one, find this very discouraging and it really makes me just want to give up! This is why I completely stopped weighing myself and instead started comparing progress pictures! Now the only time I will weigh myself is if I am prepping for a bodybuilding competition, and even then I only weigh myself once a week at the same time. It is important to not stress about weighing yourself daily because anything from the amount of water you drank that day to if you went to the bathroom right before can effect your weight! So doing it only once a week if necessary is a more reliable way to see how much weight you've lost/gained. 

Now back to the progress pictures, I take pictures each morning when I wake up to see little changes in my body because even though you may not think you are losing weight because the number on the scale isn't going down, you might be gaining weight in muscle which you could notice in pictures but not on the scale! This is good for people how want to lose weight but also tone up or gain some muscle. 

The number on the scale doesn't mean anything, what matters is how you feel about yourself when you look in the mirror!

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Almost the same weight just a year apart! 

At Home Gyms

At Home Gym

I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes I find it really hard to get myself motivated enough to get up and out of my house to get into the gym. I always tried different bodyweight or resistance band workouts from home but nothing really stuck because the main way I love to workout is lifting weights. I couldn't afford a gym membership as a freshman/sophomore in college, so my moms personal trainer was nice enough to let me workout with them. Oh did I forget to mention that meant waking up at 5:30/6:00 a.m. every weekday before my mom had to go to work during my winter break? It sucked for sure, but it was the only way for me to get in the gym to lift and we were both training for a bodybuilding competition at the time, so we had to get our lift in! After I left to head back up to Slip for spring semester and the competition was over, my mom slowly started accumulating some light dumbbells or a small bench to use at home. As most of you know, personal trainers can be super expensive so after the competition we would just workout on our own. But now, almost 3 years later and here we are!! This is a picture of my moms current at home gym in the lower basement area of her townhouse that she just sent me today! She slowly gained more and more used equipment that people were getting rid of or selling at a garage sale. I couldn't be more excited to get home this winter break to use all this!- 

Bench press with hamstring curl on end of bench, steel plates (5's-45's), a treadmill, an elliptical, a smith machine with a lat pull down and cable machine on the back and that bench has leg extension machine on the end, yoga ball, resistance bands, mats, kettle bells- 8, 12 lb., free weights- 8,10,12,20 lb., barbell. 

Dreaded Holiday Food

Dreaded Holiday Food

We've all heard it before right? The whole, "My New Year's resolution is to lose weight" or "my resolution is to eat healthier". This can be so hard when it comes time to the holidays! I find myself shoveling down pie, cookies, and so many other delicious foods around this time a year between meeting up with old friends for lunch or having family over for a huge dinner. But a simple way I like to stay on track during the holidays is to use a food tracker to track calories and/or macronutrients! This way you can physically see all the foods you've eaten that day and make yourself aware of how many calories you are really eating! Check out My Fitness Pal for a great app that does this!

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