3 times a day I carve out time for movement
Having a consistent movement routine can be overwhelming! I used to subscribe to the old school mentality that I had to get my ass to the gym everyday for at least an hour to see any kind of “results”. I remember a time when I used to spend an hour in the morning working out and an hour in the evening working out. Every day! Looking back, I realize now that while the intention of consistency was there, I wasn’t doing myself (or my body) any favors by stressing it out so much. I also wonder why I sacrificed so much of my time doing that? I could have been using that time in a way more productive manner, like spending time with friends or on self-care. If I could tell my younger self what I know now, it would be that it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. Consistency is still 1,000 percent key, but if you focus on small changes or things you can do throughout your day and build consistency over time, you will see much more tangible results - in my opinion.
When it comes to exercising, I love doing small, targeted sets throughout my day to focus on areas that I want to tone. This is also helpful, since I work from home and oftentimes forget to take computer breaks throughout my day. By creating a calendar event to remind myself to have these little “toning time-outs” it helps to keep me accountable. So here are three times a day I carve out for movement.
First thing in the morning: So I usually get up between 6:00 am and 6:15 am every day. After I wake up, I wash my face, throw on my gym clothes that I’ve laid out the night before and go and make my lemon water and coffee. After that, I take some time to stretch and listen to a podcast. I find that this is the best way to wake up my mind and body. When I say stretch, I usually have a little routine that is similar to a warm up in a yoga class you might take. It changes day to day and I truly just listen to my body and do whatever movement feels good to me at that time.
Mid-morning : After I’ve been working for a few hours and have also had my first meal of the day, I like to take a quick 10-15 mins to get some targeted movement in. This could look like a quick ab, arm or butt series that I do on my mat in my living room. I scheduled this time on my calendar so that A. nobody books any meetings over this time and B. it holds me accountable. I’ll usually take this sequence from the flow I’ve created for that week and make it more concentrated by adding in a few extra reps.
5’clock closing shop: Ending my work day with a quick “toning timeout” is so helpful for shutting my mind off and officially transitioning into the evening relax and wind down mode. Again, working from home can make the lines between work/home extremely blurred. For me, this little ritual has helped me to more clearly define those lines. I usually take another 10-15 minutes to get another sequence of targeted movement in. Again, I’ll usually take a different sequence than I did early in the day from my weekly flow and target whatever area of my body that I’m feeling in that moment. I like having a quick, challenging workout at the end of my day but sometimes when I’m feeling especially worn-out, I’ll make this time a more gentle, stretching movement practice. Again, it’s all about listening to your body.
I hope you found this helpful and inspired you to carve out some time throughout your busy day just for you! I’d love to hear how you carve out movement throughout your day!
