Turn Your Workouts Around in 5 Simple Ways

This beautiful and powerful saying hangs right next to my pantry in my kitchen. 

I see it 

EVERY. MORNING.

You know, we are all on different parts in our journeys, but we are all in this together: to get the most out of life and to get our power back. Even when you are flying high and feel like NOTHING can stop you, sometimes the wind gets a little strong and pushes you back. That was my morning.

I wanted to work out, but my body was just NOT working with me! It felt like I was on a boat ALL DAY, wobbling and dizzy...experiencing almost a weird sense of vertigo. I still, to this point in time, have no idea what was going on.

So instead of beating myself up about not powering through my workouts, I gave myself permission to relax. As I reflected on a post written on Connect, a gentleman talked about how he was able to talk himself out of a Lousiana King Cake binge. He HAD given himself permission to eat it because he had worked so hard to stay on track during his birthday and a family get together. As he was standing over that cake, fork in hand, and inhaling the delicious, sweet smell of the pastry...

He was able to talk himself out of the unforgiving binge.

I thought to myself, as I was getting ready to put Little Man down for his nap, if he can talk himself out of a binge, I can talk myself into a workout...

How To Turn Your Workouts Around

I HIGHLY recommend a fitness tracker of some sort, those babies motivate you beyond belief!

1. Get dressed and get yourself in some stylin' workout clothes!

Have workout clothes that get you EXCITED to workout! Whether they make you feel strong, sexy, or both...it really makes a difference to your workout mood when you wear clothes that make you feel good. I felt like just getting on the treadmill with my t-shirt and basketball shorts, but, I wanted to give myself every advantage of getting BACK into the workout mindset. So, I changed into my cute workout shirt and tight running pants and awesome running shoes. Slipped on a workout headband and got to work. The clothing DOES make all the difference!

2. Start small! Once you get started, you'll get your rhythm back

On my fitness tracker, a FitBit Charge HR, there is a feature for how many flights of stairs you climb in a day. The default goal is 10 flights of stairs in a day. When I don't feel motivated, I just start there. If I just walk up and downstairs with a purpose, say, getting things out of the freezer or taking my sister's dishes down to her kitchen that I put in the washer...if I just get started with those stairs, then I get motivated to do more.

3. Remember, doing SOMETHING gets you closer to your goals than doing NOTHING

For SO LONG, I had the exercise mentality of ALL or NOTHING. If I couldn't do my 45 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of muscle training, then what was the point? It's taken a LONG time for me to realize just this: SOMETHING is better than NOTHING. So? I got on my treadmill and just walked. I walked! Sure I didn't run and get a GOOD cardio in, but I DID get my 10k steps for the day. That little something on the treadmill STILL got me to my goal of getting 10k steps in a day, and I wouldn't have gotten there had I done nothing.

4. Take your Netflix/Hulu addiction to a whole new level

Yeah, you got a favorite show that you usually watch on the couch?? Make a decision to watch that baby while you workout. My sister-in-law got me started on that kick. She would ONLY watch a certain show when she was on her treadmill. She loved that show, and loved to keep current on it, so when she made that promise to herself of ONLY watching that show when she was on the treadmill...guess what? She got her 30 minute workout in for the day. I love watching *The Biggest Loser, Once Upon A Time, Master Chef Junior, *Extreme Weight Loss, and The Blacklist. I have a variety that I work with because these shows alternate with showtimes, and so I always have something to watch on the treadmill. 

*Seriously don't watch these shows while you are circuit training on the treadmill...your vision might get a little blurred and your deep breathing might get a little more difficult to achieve. Just saying.

5. Not a TV person? Get a good music station or rock an awesome playlist! 

Surprisingly enough, my 17 year old's sister playlist on Pandora has some rockin' tunes! It's just the Teen Pop Radio Station! Whenever a high, upbeat song comes on, I just wanna ROCK the treadmill! Some of those songs include:

Fight Song by Rachel Platten

Locked Away by Rock City Featuring Adam Levine (do NOT watch the music video while sprint circuit training)

Stitches by Shawn Mendes

*Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon

Everybody Talks by Neon Trees

She's Kinda Hot by 5 Seconds of Summer

Amnesia by 5 Seconds of Summer

She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer

Dark Horse by Katy Perry (awesome leg workout video on youtube to this song!)

Sorry (Latino Remix) by Justin Bieber featuring J. Balvin

And those are just to name a few...give me something up beat, and it boosts me to a new level!

Friends, you CAN turn your workouts around and they CAN become powerful. Be kind to yourself if you have a day where you can't go full out, but make it the best you can! Life goes on whether you choose to show up or not, so show up and make a difference for yourself.

Rock on,

Camille