Ruthanne Bigley, Health Coach / ruthannebigley.com / Instagram @ruthannebigleywellness and Facebook: @ruthannebigleywellness
Have you ever started that hot new workout program thinking, “this is it!’ only to forget about it two weeks later? Do you dread waking up early and hitting the gym? Are you tired of slaving away for hours at the gym only to end up miserable, hating exercise, and having no real, lasting results?
I get it! Exercise can be hard. It can be boring. It can be painful. But, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be. Exercising regularly is something we all know we should be doing. Yet, for some reason or another, many people find themselves not doing it (or, doing it and hating it!). Follow along with me and I’ll share my top 5 tips for making exercise a regular and revitalizing part of your life.
Tip #1 – Think Long Term, Not Short Term
Regular, moderate exercise is so good for us. It boosts our mood and energy, increases longevity, supports our brain, muscles, and bones, decreases the risk of chronic disease, helps us de-stress, and can even help us sleep better at night. The main point of exercise (from a health standpoint) is long term health and happiness. The point isn’t to have the slimmest body, most toned abs, or (shocker!) even to lose weight. When we put our focus on short term, immediate results like those, more often than not we will end up frustrated with our results or workouts. This might lead us to end up quitting or to decide it’s not worth it and forget about it. When the focus is long term instead of short term, we exercise because we want to actually be and feel healthier. We exercise because we know it’s important to our health and happiness. We exercise because we have a long term, meaningful why behind our exercise routine. This brings me to my second tip!
Tip #2 – Find Your Why
Finding your why behind exercise is crucially important. It’s important that your why is deeply meaningful to you, and it’s also important that your why is a long term reason. Think about what long term why would motivate you to exercise regularly.
Do you want to be able to live longer to spend more time with friends and family?
Do you want to have enough energy and vitality to play with your kids?
Do you want to be able to have energy and stamina to continue to give to the world as you age?
Do you want your last years on earth to be as free as possible from chronic disease and bone or muscular issues?
Do you want to be healthy enough to be a part of your grandchildren’s lives?
Once you have your why, remind yourself of it often. Write it on a sticky note and put it by your bed. Tell those around you to remind you about it! Make it meaningful enough that you won’t forget it. Now that you’ve got your why, it’s time to start exercising. This brings me to tip #3.
Tip #3 – Focus on Enjoyment
Now that you know the goal of exercise is to be healthier and happier (thank you, endorphin boosts!), you can take the focus off of losing weight, getting abs, and blasting fat and focus on the experience. Most anyone, if they don’t enjoy the exercise they are doing, will eventually quit, even if they are seeing good results. It’s hard to force ourselves to do something we hate – even if it does bring results. So instead of focusing on the results, focus on the experience. Ask yourself these questions:
Do I enjoy the exercise I’m doing?
Does my exercise routine make me feel good, boost my energy, and boost my mood?
Does exercise refresh me and feel like an escape from my chaotic and busy life?
Do I crave movement and my exercise routine?
Does my exercise routine help me to feel balanced and grounded?
Is exercise a “get to” or “have to” for me?
If your exercise routine isn’t bringing you joy, boosting your mood, and helping you feel good, it’s time to change it up. Experiment with different types of exercise and find something you love (tip #4!).
Tip #4 – Find Something You Love
We’re all different. What works for your best friend might not work for you, and that’s okay! What matters is that you find some type of exercise you enjoy and can do regularly. If you don’t yet know what kind of exercise you like, try a bunch of different kinds! Remember, the goal of exercise is to move regularly. Consistent, moderate movement will bring a load of health benefits. You don’t need to be running marathons, pumping iron, or killing your body to receive these health benefits. In fact, the less hard you are on your body, the better off you will be. Here are a few of my favorite YouTube channels that offer free, at home workouts ranging from high intensity interval training (HIIT) to yoga to barre to pilates to dance workouts. Check them out!
Tip #5 – Don’t Sweat It
This last tip may seem ironic, but it’s important. One main benefit of exercise is that it relieves stress. Don’t negate this benefit by stressing about your exercise routine! Don’t stress about how many calories you’re burning, whether or not you’re losing weight, or if you don’t get a workout in one day. Find some form of exercise you enjoy, practice it regularly, and enjoy the experience. If one day it no longer interests you, try something else! Mixing it up and adding variety can help you to feel balanced and interested in what you’re doing. Take the pressure off yourself, find some exercise you enjoy, and don’t sweat it!
I hope my 5 tips were helpful and allow you to make exercise a sustainable practice in your life. Now that you’ll be exercising more regularly, you’ll need some quick, tasty, and healthy snacks to fuel your workouts and help you recover. This simple recipe is perfect for a pre-workout or post-workout snack/meal. It’s loaded with complex carbohydrates for long-term energy, healthy fats and protein for muscle building, and some simple fruit sugars to provide you with immediate energy!
The Perfect Pre/Post Workout Dish
Ingredients
2 slices 100% whole grain bread
2 tablespoons nut butter of choice (I use almond butter)
¼ cup fruit of choice, diced (I use strawberries or bananas)
Raw honey to drizzle
Raw cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Lightly toast your whole grain bread. Top with nut butter and diced fruit. Drizzle lightly with raw honey and sprinkle with dark chocolate or cacao nibs.
To use as a pre-workout meal, eat it 1-2 hours before working out
To use as a post-workout snack, enjoy within 1-2 hours of working out
About Ruthanne Bigley
Ruthanne Bigley is the founder of Ruthanne Bigley Wellness. She is a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach specializing in making healthy living simple, easy, affordable, and sustainable. She is passionate about making healthy living enjoyable and manageable for busy women and hopes to show everyone how simple and fun healthy living can be. She loves sharing health and food hacks, healthy swaps, nutrition advice, DIYs, easy recipes, and time-saving tips on social media. In her one-on-one coaching programs she works with clients to help them make simple lifestyle, diet, and exercise changes, and helps to empower her clients to live healthier, more fulfilling lives. Through her coaching programs she helps clients overcome the obstacles preventing them from living healthy lives, and equips them with powerful tools that allow them to continue pursuing health far beyond her coaching programs.
Follow Ruthanne on Instagram @ruthannebigleywellness and Facebook: @ruthannebigleywellness
For information about her coaching programs, visit ruthannebigley.com