Are You Exercising?

After several months of being a couch potato, I headed out this morning for a walk in the beautiful, crisp and sunny morning here in Florida.  It felt good just to be moving and given my last body composition test indicated I had lost more muscle than FAT, it was definitely time to get moving.

After my walk, I returned home with warm muscles and pulled out my exercise mat and ball and did a session of Pilates Mat exercises, which left me feeling fabulous.  Love those endorphins!

So I ask you, are you exercising?  If no, why not?

For me the answer was simple: I was too stressed to make it a priority.  This is a mistake on my part as exercise can have an amazing effect on your mood, not to mention it just makes you feel good all other when you don't overdue it.

The problem, though, is that most people overdue it.  The typical new year's resolution includes joining a gym and going at it with a vengeance.  This usually leaves you wiped out and not wanting to continue.  A better approach is to take it slow, but to be consistent.   A few minutes of focused exercise each day is much better than killing yourself twice a week at the gym. I have found that a 30 minute walk along with 20 minutes on the exercise mat each day has the best result for me.  It's not too much that I completely exhaust myself, but it is enough to challenge my muscles and to release those valuable endorphins.

So if you're just starting out and have made exercise your new year's resolution, I encourage you to start slow with something you can do each day.  And forget the gym membership; you don't need it.  Rather, make your way to your local Target or Walmart store and purchase a good exercise mat and exercise ball.  Couple that with a comfortable pair of sneakers and an instruction book or video that covers the basics of muscle training (I prefer Pilates and highly recommend Brooke Siler's, The Pilates Body).  This is more than enough to get you started.  Sure, a session or two with a trainer can help you learn good technique, which is important regarding the muscle training, but once you learn the basics, you are more than capable of exercising in the comfort of your own home.  With that, you're more likely to keep it up.

My hope is that you'll ease your way into a consistent exercise routine that leaves you feeling great and successfully losing FAT!

-- Kristin