3 Tips To Move More
How ironic is it that moving made me move less? I guess I’ll define moving and move for you, so you understand me. I might like a little bit of cheek, but you will understand, it does make sense.
Since I met Mark four years ago, we have lived in Mackay, Rockhampton, Yeppoon and Cairns – in those 4 places (I can’t say towns or cities, the Urban Planner in me won’t allow it), we lived at 6 different addresses. WOWzers… talk about a lot of moving. This is normal for me because I have moved around a lot, but lately, I don’t mind settling so moving has been more stressful. I think I’m done moving these days.
Bring it back to movement. Unfortunately, moving away from Mackay and my workout buddies deflated me in the sense of I missed that friend time which made it more difficult to have the motivation to keep working out as much as I was with them, by myself.
Don’t get me wrong I decide to wake up and choose when and where to workout. It was the motivation, and the fun of it went away for me, and it was difficult to find again. Honestly, to this day I still haven’t found it, but I am a lot better at getting up and going and being more active. These are some ideas that can work to get you motivated to work out.
3 Tips To Move More
1. Find a walking Buddy
Don’t have a dog? Borrow one! Just kidding, well kind of, but go for a solo walk or a walk with a friend. Buddy, my energetic kelpie, who loves routine is the best walking motivation for me. Get it find a walking Buddy? Hahaha I love it.
Buddy and I get up, and he waits patiently for me to get dressed, and we venture out for our morning adventure. We have so many different spots to walk near where we live, we don’t get bored and always enjoy our adventure.
Walking is a great way to move.
There are so many ways and places to walk. You can walk fast or slow. The pace is up to you as long as you are enjoying it. Try and better your walking by raising your heart rate by getting that little bit faster each day.
If you don’t want to walk outside because it is too warm or too cold? Walk around the perimeter of a shopping centre and window shop as you go. Walking is great movement and any extra walks you can get in for the day make you feel great.
You can track your steps with a pedometer. There are free apps on our phone, so you don’t even need a high-tech watch, pedometer or anything. You can track your steps for free. The recommended steps are 10,000/ day. Sounds scary? Start out and see where you are at. Then aim for 1,000 steps more. Slowly aim for more steps and remember its progress, not perfection while you are building your healthy habit.
No one ever said, oh man, I regret going for my walk today.
2. Start to Stretch
Stretching feels AMAZING.
First thing in the morning when you get up, whether you are still lying in bed or you have just got up out of bed, do you stretch? Do you make your body as long as possible with your fingers way up to the headboard or the sky and your toes pointed out as far as you can reach them or standing as high up on them as possible?
Remember how good it feels now that you are thinking about it? Are you going to give it a go tomorrow? I highly suggest it. The feeling of your whole body waking up helps you take a moment for yourself and get excited for the day ahead. It wakes you up even more and makes you feel great.
Stretching ourselves out can help motivate us to move more. Stretching allows us to get in tune with our body and how we feel – tight, lose, light, heavy, slouchy, full of posture… you know in tune. Stretching also helps put our body back into the position it was meant to hold. We weren’t designed to sit down all day; however, a lot of us have sedimentary jobs. Taking time sometime during the day to stretch is a beneficial way to move. Stretching helps align everything and in turn clear our minds.
The one way I remember to stretch these days is I stretch every time I see Buddy or Ruby stretch. My fur babies are very in tune with what they need. Yes, they might lay around a lot of the day, and they certainly have the life. However, they take care of themselves. After a nap or a good sleep, they stretch themselves out and align their bodies how they need to. So now, when I see them do it, it is family stretch time. Yes, I say it out loud and stretch along with them. Haha, can you imagine? It keeps it simple yet makes it a lot of fun for me, so I do enjoy it.
3. Find the Time
A lot of people tell me and let me know how busy they are and how much time they do not have to exercise. This is fine, I get it, but they are all excuses. Sorry, not sorry but if you want to make your health a priority, get up and get active.
I understand, and I get it. Working out is hard work. It’s not difficult, but it is getting up, getting moving and challenging ourselves to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone.
Sometimes you need to be shown the bigger picture, I surely was. If I wanted to work out, I needed to wake up earlier. I thought about it for a little while, and then I got mad at myself for a few days for not getting up earlier, and then I finally got up, got out and enjoyed my morning walks.
We all have the time. So many people tell me about how they sleep in because they don’t go to bed on time or when they would like to. They stay up late watching TV or scrolling on their phone not being productive. This unproductive time they call relaxing. Why not relax in bed and get some sleep so you can wake up early and spend some quality time with yourself working on yourself – your health and well-being.
There is always time, it what you want to do is a priority. The upfront pain of making the times and the behaviour change is long-term gain. Build your habit slowly. Make it a lasting habit. Make it simple and enjoyable. Do the movement that you like to do, it is not necessarily what everyone else is doing.
Movement is so beneficial. It is beneficial because it helps to lose weight but it also reduces the risk of chronic disease, is a mood booster, an energy booster, helps to get a better quality nights sleep and a confidence booster. If you have read this and something resignated with you, leave a comment below or reach out to me for a complimentary Weight Loss Breakthrough Session.
