So we are still on this goal setting matter…and if you haven’t registered to attend the #My2016GoalsWorkshop….you are on a looooonnnggg thing. For real though, 2016 is the year to rise above mediocrity, position ourselves for success, seize opportunities and remain accountable. One of the areas we women struggle with on a daily basis is weight! Here on IBG we have always emphasised, health over aesthetics, so we’ve adapted refinery29.com’s fitness tips and come up with 6 ways you can crank up your fitness level in 2016! Yup…as usual you can thank us in the comment section!
Step Lively
There’s a reason that Fitbit is a multi-billion dollar company. Counting steps is an excellent way to encourage yourself to take more of them. And while the scientific jury is still out as to how bad sitting for long periods really is for you, there’s no doubt that people who move more in general — a habit called “NEAT” ornon-exercise activity thermogenesis — are healthier and leaner than those who don’t. But you don’t need to invest in a fancy tracker to set a step goal: Your smartphone has an app for that in Apple Health or Google Fit. You can aim right off the bat for 10,000 steps a day. This is what experts recommend, or take a more customized approach by turning on the phone app and see what a typical couple of days look like first, then set a goal of, say, 2,000 more steps than you’ve been doing.
Class it up
We cant count the amount of times we’ve paid for gym membership for a year and only went for two weeks (Hides face)! Honesly, the thought of spending hours on te thread mill can make some of us break out in hives (or feel like eating ice cream- don’t judge us!). Group exercise is one way of beating the gym blues. Take up dance, spinning, yoga or kick boxing classes- many gyms offer a daily/weekly or even monthly rate, so you can see which best suits your schedule and exercise personality type
Learn A New Skill
just like the point before, long hours on gym machines are not for everyone and sometimes you have to trick your mind into doing something it can come up with a 100 excuses not to do. So perhaps try learning to do something that makes your body move. Like taking martial arts classes and working toward your first belt. Sign up for a belly dancing course. Try adult swimming lessons and then log laps. Pick up a jump rope and teach yourself to hop it consistently for one minute (or five!). In order words, find something that makes movement fun for you, so you’ll actually look forward to doing it. “What’s something really rad you’ve seen someone do with their body that made you fantasize for a second about doing yourself?” says Michele Burmaster, a Body Positive Fitness Alliance-affiliated personal trainer and owner of Surf City Fit Club in Huntington Beach, CA. “Whatever it is, you can do it, too!”
Run A Mile (in your own shoes-sorry we couldn’t resist chucking that in there)
Or target a goal time in which you want to complete that mile. The point is, pick a metric — time or distance — that’s measurable and attainable for you, and work your way up to it. If you’re new to running, that might mean starting with brisk walking and short bouts of running that get increasingly longer as your body adjusts to the demands you’re asking of it. If you’re working up your speed, you’ll be doing intervals of harder running with easy recovery. Why running, you ask? It’s the most accessible activity for pretty much anyone (barring pre-existing injuries or conditions) — you just lace up your shoes and go!
Complete A Fitness Challenge
Challenges of the 30-day variety are not without their critics, who say they’re often overly specific and don’t lend to permanently changed habits since they’re finite. But hey lets not be in a hurry to throuw the baby out with the bath water- that can be the beauty of the thing: You’re committing to daily movement for a whole month. Or maybe you do it every other day, or assign a different thing to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Or even just committing to three days of movement-based activity per week. “You don’t have to be ridiculously strict and hard on yourself to be consistent,” Burmaster says. “You just have to set a recurring goal and meet it regularly, based on the schedule you decide.”
Crank up the heavy weights
Did we hear you scream? Don’t worry lifting heavy to build strength does not mean you’ll bulk up. Women’s bodies simply aren’t designed for mega-muscles, and the relatively few who get them generally make a very concerted effort. With a well-designed routine, you’ll become literally and figuratively more empowered as you can put up greater loads — even your own body weight, or more. “Your badassery multiplies with every single strength workout,” Burmasters says. “Plus, you’re setting yourself up for better bone and muscle health as you age.”
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