52 Healthy Habits Week 7: Strength Training 15 Minutes a Day

Welcome to the latest edition of 52 Healthy habits. Each week I work to conquer a new healthy habit. A healthy lifestyle is all about sustainable habits, so I look for ways that I can make small improvements in my life so I can continue to progress forward. 

I try to adopt new healthy habits but I am not always perfect or successful. I know I will fall down some weeks and then get back up. This series gives me some accountability to try new things and then report back with how it went. What new healthy habits are you trying to conquer? 

We are on week 7 and I have already had some successes and failures. I am working on getting up early, reading instead of social media, journaling, macro cycling and studying for my nutrition certification. All are going well with varying levels of success and commitment. 

I was struggling since November to get back on track with studying for my Precision Nutrition certification and last week I found an online accountability buddy. We talked on the phone and I made the commitment to get through two more chapters in the text and made arrangements for a follow up chat this week.

I did so well that I am mad at myself for waiting so long to get going again. I spent an hour or two every night and flew through the material at a faster rate than expected. The accountability buddy got me going, but honestly, I don't even feel like I need one anymore. I just needed the kick in the butt to get started. Now that I am on a roll, I am good.

It always to harder to start something than to keep going. It's so much easier once the momentum gets rolling. Keep this in mind with whatever you are want to start. Don't wait, just start. It gets easier as you go.

 

WEEK 7: STRENGTH TRAINING 15 MINUTES A DAY

Confession time: You might be surprised if I tell you that I haven't worked out much in 2017. My husband and I walk once or twice a day and I always get 10k steps a day, but as far as traditional workouts go? Zip. Nada.

Yes. Me. The Personal Trainer. Even trainers can fall off the wagon. We're human. It's life. I blinked and it's mid March. 

I have a reason (aka excuse). I hurt my shoulder last year and my doctor told me not to lift weights and take it easy with the running (because the swinging arm motion can irritate my injured shoulder). I am a big fan of listening to my body and especially, my doctor, but there is no reason why I can't do bodyweight leg exercises, core exercises and most mobility work. No reason except it wasn't my usual routine and I was frustrated with my shoulder situation. Instead of doing what I could do, I did much less than usual. I've done occasional workouts, but haven't been consistent at all. I was focusing on just moving, now it's time to bring the strength component back. (I am also starting to see a physical therapist for my shoulder.)

I am committing to at least 15 minutes a day of some type of strength training workout on top of my daily walks and steps. At least 15 minutes. Just like my studying, once I get on the roll again with my 15 minutes a day, it will snowball into longer, more consistent workouts. I need to baby my shoulder, but I see a lot of leg and core work in my future. 

You don't have to jump into one hour workouts six days a week. Start small. Establish a habit. Build slowly. It only takes a small time commitment to get started. 

What are your goals for the upcoming week? Won't you join me in adopting a new healthy habit? 

52 Healthy Habits Series

week 1: Early to Rise
week 2: Track calories
week 3: Macro cycling
week 4: Morning pages (journaling)
week 5: Stop the scrolling (reading instead of social media)
week 6: Be a good student (take time for learning)

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Why It's OK to Hate Exercise and What's Not OK.

I love to workout. Truly. Running is my sanctuary, my meditation and my alone time. Weightlifting and even bodyweight exercises make me feel strong and confident. Exercise can feel hard and sometimes it sucks, but I love it for exactly what it is. It pushes me outside my comfort zone, it forces me to grow, it builds mental and physical strength and makes me a better person. 

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on a link in the post and make a purchase I make a small commission on the sale with no additional cost to you. No one is getting rich from this, it just helps with the costs associated with running (pun intended) of this blog.

I wasn't always this way. When I was 15 I worked at Dairy Queen. It was an awesome job for teenage-me because I could eat all the ice cream I wanted back when my metabolism could handle eating all the ice cream I wanted. The owner of the Dairy Queen is a family friend and my friend on Facebook. A couple years ago when I was taking my RRCA run coaching certification course, she commented:

"I'm getting tired just reading about how much you run. I still can't believe this is the same Lea who worried she would break a sweat cleaning the Blizzard machine."

Yeah, sometimes I can't believe it either. I hated exercise. In my defense though, cleaning the Blizzard machine sucked. I never worked out back in those days or in the decade and a half that followed. My parents made me play softball and it was my own personal hell. I played tennis in high school and while I was never mistaken for being athletic, I excelled at playing singles. What can I say? Solo sports are my jam. (I don't know why I'm using slang from the 90s.)

I didn't figure out that I loved running (and other exercise) at least until my 30s. I think they call that AORS 'Adult Onset Running Syndrome.' Hah. I never liked exercise, so when people tell me, the trainer and running coach, that they hate to exercise, trust me when I say that I understand. I get it. I was right there too. 

I could waste my breath trying to convince non-exercisers that exercising is amazing. I can try to convert the non-believers, but nothing I say will change their minds until they experience that breakthrough for themselves. I can't tell people how to feel and what to enjoy. I can make suggestions and offer new experiences to try. I can (and do) encourage people to get out of their comfort zones and try new things. How do you know you if you love or hate something until you've tried it for awhile?

I am here to tell you that it is totally OK to hate exercise. Really. Traditional exercise is not for everyone. I do want everyone to see it my way, that exercise is the secret to happiness, but we are all different, with different lifestyles and perspectives. 

You know what is not OK? A sedentary lifestyle. You don't have to adopt a traditional exercise routine, you just need to start to move your body to get your heart rate up in a way that fits into your lifestyle.

To be fair, exercise is a broad term. If you think exercise means lifting weights in the gym or running a marathon and neither of those things appeal to you, then you might tell yourself you hate exercise. You're allowed to hate exercise but you still must move your body. Maybe you like dancing, or Zumba, or bike riding, or rock climbing, or walking, or hiking, or swimming, or pogo sticks, or trampolines. It's about opening up your mind to new ways to move. Some people play sports (I hate team sports and that's OK too.)

I wear a Fitbit (if you want to add me as a friend, find my email address here). I work to get 10K steps a day every day that I am physically able (most days unless I am sick or hurt). When I hurt my shoulder and the doctor told me to back off from running and lifting weights to allow my shoulder to heal (wahh) my exercise routine took a big hit, but I never stopped moving. I easily maintained my weight without traditional exercise by paying extra attention to my nutrition and taking daily walks. That's it.

I challenge you to change the way you frame exercise in your mind. Instead of "I hate exercise" think about about seeking out a new way to move your body that you love or at least can tolerate. 

Most people won't stick to something they hate for long enough time to make a health impact. Move your body. Love your body. Find that connection and just move. 

Define exercise in a way that appeals to you and you will never hate exercise again.

It's OK to hate exercise, it's not OK to not move.

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20 MINUTE STRENGTH & CARDIO TABATA-STYLE WORKOUT

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday! This week we are doing a 20 minute Tabata-style strength and cardio workout! I love the Tabata protocol, which is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for four minutes, because you can always knock out a high intensity 4 minute workout for when you're busy or you combine several Tabatas together for a longer workout. 

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link in the post and make a purchase, I make a small percentage of the sale with no additional cost to you. No one is getting rich, it just helps with the cost associated with running (pun intended) of this blog. 

This week we are combining a strength move and a cardio move for each four minute circuit. 

20 seconds strength move
10 seconds rest
20 seconds cardio move
10 seconds rest

Repeat for four minutes. Then rest for one minute before moving to the next circuit.

You can download a free Tabata timer app on your phone. I use a GymBoss timer because you manipulate the intervals and rest periods. 

Always spend 5-15 minutes warming up before an intense exercise session. Remember you get out of it what you get into it. Work hard and move quickly, while maintaining proper form, for the best results. Your heart should be pumping! 

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52 Healthy Habits Week 6: Be a Good Student

Welcome to the latest edition of 52 healthy habits, when each week I attempt to tackle a new small lifestyle habit in order to improve in life one small way at a time. Sometimes I do well, sometimes I massively fail, but it's the trying that counts. 

I was down and out last week with the flu so I didn't do anything except rest and recover which is exactly what I am supposed to do when I am sick. Go me. Success. 

Honestly after sleeping late for a week due to the flu, it was a challenge to get up early again once I was feeling better. I shut the alarm off a few times during the week, but I did get up early on Saturday. Go figure. 

I haven't been doing great on morning pages either. It's weird. The more I feel like I have to get off my chest, the more thoughts that are swirling around in my head, the less I want to write it down. It's almost like I am scared to put in on paper in fear that someone else will read it. I prefer to keep my crazy locked up in my brain. But I think this is the point. Get it out. No one is going through my things. Either that I will write it then walk out in the back yard and set it on fire. hah.

I am back on track with my macro cycling. Obviously when I was sick, I wasn't tracking my food. I am weird, though. I never lose my appetite, even when I am sick. I think I ate more when I was sick just because I was home more often and bored. Hubby made me his famous grilled cheese that has a layer of cream cheese in between the cheese slices. Comfort food. Yum. 

NUTRITION STUDY

Speaking of cream cheese sandwiches, I may have mentioned that I am studying Sports and Exercise Nutrition with Precision Nutrition. When I say studying I really mean I haven't done $hit with it since November. It's a great online program, that requires reading a chapter in the textbook, watching online videos, completing workbook questions, then taking an online chapter quiz. I was moving through it about one chapter a week before Thanksgiving then completely fell off the wagon. 

One of the reasons that nutrition study is so important to me is that shortly after becoming a trainer and a running coach I realized that physical training is nearly ineffective unless the nutritional component is in place. No matter what the clients goals are, whether fat loss, sports or running performance, I can't effectively help someone unless I can also help them with nutrition.

Now I know nutrition in the sense that I know what works for me. That's not enough. Everybody is different and can respond differently. The least effective coaches in my opinion are the ones that say 'it worked for me, do what I do.' Anyone can tell people to eat whole natural foods. That doesn't qualify a person to coach nutrition. So I wanted to dig in learn more about nutritional science. I can tell my clients they need protein to build muscle or carbohydrates for sports performance, but I needed a deeper understanding of the science. Enter Precision Nutrition, one of the most respected online nutrition study programs. 

When I finish this program I can call myself a nutrition coach and frankly, I can call myself a nutrition coach today. There are not any state or legal requirements around this title. The certification is for my own knowledge so that I can offer the best science-based coaching possible. Nutritionist and nutrition coach are different than Registered Dietitian (RD) which requires licensing from the state. The difference is that as a nutrition coach, I am permitted to coach people on the basics of nutrition. I am not permitted to tell people exactly what to eat or attempt to treat any condition with food (including obesity). In other words, It is outside of my scope of practice to write meal plans to help you lose weight, but I am permitted help educate you on macro nutrients, micro nutrients, daily calorie intake, portion sizes, food choices, food quality, nutritional labels, food shopping and whatever science you care to know.

I want to finish this program so I can more effectively coach my clients using nutrition as the base for most fitness and health related goals. Yes, exercise is important, but nutrition is crucial. Get your nutrition on track first, then build on that with strength and cardiovascular training. 

ACCOUNTABILITY IS KEY

So what's the problem? I simply have not been putting in the work. So I decided it was time to take my own advice. I am always telling clients and readers to find an accountability partner in order to reach their goals. We often feel more accountable to other people than we do ourselves. I joined a Facebook group of Precision Nutrition students and found an accountability partner. We were in about the same place in our studies, so we decided we would talk once a week to hold each other accountable. We had our first call this week and talked about what we planned to complete within the week. I am going to get through two chapters by next Monday when we have a phone date to speak again. I know there is no way I am going to let myself fall short of this goal. I am sure she is going to do what she promised, so I need to hold up my end of the bargain.

This is a brilliant strategy for getting things done. This person is a total stranger to me that has a similar goal. You can find your own accountability partner to reach your goals. It can be a family member, a friend or a facebook buddy. Just having someone to check it with each week who will give you $hit if you don't do what you said can be the difference between success and failure. I love when I take my own advice. I am excited about my new study buddy and I already cracked open the book and am deep in the latest chapter.

I'll say that I am marketing gal so science is hard for me but I know I am smart and with some dedication, consistency and accountability, I can achieve any goal. AND SO CAN YOU.

What are your goals for the week? Let me know in the comments, then check back in a week and tell me how you did. That's accountability.

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Do You and Fitness Have a Commitment Problem?

Now that the lovey dovey Valentine's Day talk is over, let's talk about an important topic: Commitment. Are you committed? Often we fall in love with the idea of working out, get excited, make big plans and then fail to follow through. Once the excitement wears off and reality of the hard work sets in we give up and move on. Just like a love that loses it sizzle, we get bored and start looking for the next thing. How can we stay committed when we want a lasting relationship with fitness?

I'm not going to pretend that I am always motivated. I'm just like you. I have a job, a small business, home responsibilities, a blog (or two) and a social life (just kidding about that last one). I sometimes feel tired, skip workouts or tell myself "I'll get back on track tomorrow." It happens, even to trainers, but I do make movement and nutrition a priority in my life. That means that even if I don't get in a traditional workout, I make sure I am still moving and feeding myself properly to ensure I look, feel and perform my best. I hold myself to high standards but I don't allow negative self-talk if I fall short. I do the best I can with what I have.

There are some strategies you can put in place to ensure you stick to your fitness goals long after the honeymoon is over, for a lifelong commitment to health and fitness. 

COMMIT TO FIT

SCHEDULE IT

Put it on your calendar, just like you would for a doctor's appointment or a dinner date. I find that if I schedule my workout for first thing in the morning it is less likely to get brushed off. I like getting my workout or a long walk done before life gets in the way. 

MAKE IT FUN

Fitness doesn't have to be 3 sets of 12 reps on each major muscle three times a week. If that sounds boring, do something else. Find a way to move your body that is fun for you and commit to it. Dancing, running, climbing and playing all count. You probably wouldn't continue to date someone who bored you to tears, would you? Find an exercise that you love to make it last. 

FIND A PARTNER

Having a workout partner can go a long way in staying committed to our goals. The truth is we often feel more accountable to other people than we do ourselves. If we know someone is counting on us to show up we don't want to let them down. If you don't have a friend or partner that is into fitness don't give up hope. Look for community events on MeetUp, join a local class, hire a coach or look for accountability partners online. 

TAKE BABY STEPS

Start small and build the habit first. 15 minutes a day of exercise is always better than an hour you didn't do. Commit to just 15 minutes a day. Do it until it becomes routine. You have the rest of your life to grow, it is ok to start small. Besides, more is not always better in exercise. Short focused sessions can be sustainable over a lifetime. Take it slow, get to know what works best for you.

SET GOALS

If you are working towards a goal, say your first 5k or half marathon PR, it gives you the reason to keep putting in the work every day, long after the excitement of a new workout plan has worn off.

If we want our love of fitness to last a lifetime we have to implement sustainable strategies and work hard to make it last, just like any good relationship.

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