BE WELL

Free to Move

Getting in and staying in shape is a life-long love affair!

Being a mature woman, I know the struggle with dragging oneself out of bed each morning and among other things having to focus on working up a good sweat. Just the thought of sweating as a way of greeting a new day seems somewhat of a strange thing to want to do to start out your day in a positive way.

Despite the dread however, it is one of the absolute best ways to confront practically anything you might encounter on any given day. By starting your day off with exercise, you prepare not only your physical body, but your mental and emotional states as well. Because exercise produces natural properties better known as endorphins, it is by far the cheapest and most effective way to keep your mind, body and spirit in good form.

So, if you having difficulty finding reasons and ways to get up and get moving each day, here are a few that might help.

  1. Dress for success. Comfortable clothing is essential when working out for the simple fact that anything that restricts movement is going to make your job that much more difficult. And don’t underestimate the impact good-looking clothing will have on how you feel. Bright colors are especially good for helping to energize you.
  2. Mix it up. Do not do the same thing every day or you will almost surely become bored. Include activities that you find enjoyable. If possible, vary the days with bike riding, walking, running, dancing, weight training or jumping rope. Be sure to check with your doctor if you are just starting out a new routine as you don’t want to risk either injury or other possible negative impacts on your health.
  3. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Before beginning your workout, have an apple. Apples are great for jump-starting your metabolism and it helps to start you off with a nice burst of energy to get you through you work out.
  4. Water your fountain. One of the key components to good health is to keep your body sufficiently hydrated. Before beginning your work out and upon rising each morning, drink at least eight ounces of water; preferably room temperature. Although ice cold water feels refreshing, your body will love you more if you try not to shock it with water that is too cold. Instead, save the chilled water until later in the day, if you insist.
  5. Let the music rev you up. Music is such a great way to get you going especially if you don’t want to do it. Put together a great exercise play-list for your iPod and turn up the volume. In a matter of just a couple of beats, your fancy feet will start to move even if you don’t want to.
  6. Make it last. Take opportunities throughout the day to get in a few extras moves. For example, take the stairs, park farthest away from where your destinations and enjoy a nice brisk walk and last but not least get up periodically and take a walk around the office or if you work out of your home, take a walk outside for 5 minutes; just to keep the blood flowing.

How good is that...