Day 3: Navigating December with Health, Balance, & Sanity

by |Published

Day 3. Craft A Fitness Plan that Fits Your Life

Walking around the block?  One yoga pose a day?  The 7 minute workout?

Why wait for January to feel good? If you already have an exercise routine that you love, keep it alive through December. If you don’t, sample some options, find one or more that you like, and get in a rhythm now so you can enter the new year feeling good, rather than resolving on January 1st to pick up the pieces after the shipwreck of December neglect. Find a bite-sized goal, rather than a grand ambition that can add to the feeling of overwhelm.

When I’m just beginning an exercise program, putting in on my calendar is essential. Extra free time never seems to just materialize on its own. Carving out the time and protecting it is critical for success. I am suggesting a minimal time commitment to reduce obstacles. Even with small amounts of regular exercise, the physical benefits are countless and the mood-altering benefits are priceless. Note the impact of your activity. It’s the feedback loop of benefits that helps us fall in love with moving our bodies, and for that we need to pay attention.

Walking: Getting outside and strolling around the block, however briefly, is invigorating (especially in this arctic blast)! Moving your body moves your blood, improving circulation, and fresh air feeds the brain. Bundle up so it feels good.

One yoga pose a day: It’s a strategy like 2 minutes of silence and solitude. It is absolutely better than none and chances are you will taste the benefit, find that it suits you, and maybe get hungry for more. But regardless, you will drink up the benefits of having done one.

The Scientific 7-Minute Workout:

The scientific 7 minute workout

Read up and try it if it appeals to you. I’ve just begun experimenting with it and was surprised that 7 minutes could warm me up so thoroughly and leave me good-sore as well. I recommend some stretching first.

And through any type of exercise, watch for the joy. Watch for the way your day might be different because of it. Cheer yourself on as you coast into January having given yourself the gift of this good habit and all the good feelings born from it.

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