Fitness Tips
It was years before I was able to make exercise a consistent part of my life, and I know how hard it can be to find the motivation to work out. That's why I am sharing all my tips and experiences in the hopes it will help you find our own fitness mindset!
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6 Reasons You Lack the Motivation to Exercise — And How to Fix Them
The biggest problem people face when adopting a healthy lifestyle is finding the motivation to change. Of course, many people don’t realize that motivation is their problem; they point the finger at external factors they feel are holding them back, like: Not having a lot of spare time to work out Not being able to afford a gym membership Not having any equipment at home But these roadblocks — while not making the prospect any easier — aren’t actually preventing them from exercising. The only thing that’s holding them back is themselves. For example, nearly anyone can find 10–15 minutes to drop what they’re doing and do a bodyweight-only workout. They don’t even need…
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5 Things I Avoid to Maintain My 25 Pound Weight Loss
Anyone who’s lost a significant amount of weight knows one thing: keeping it off can be a struggle. Life gets hectic, and when times are tough, it’s easy to slip back into old bad habits and for the pounds to creep back on. My weight used to fluctuate a lot when I was in my late twenties and early thirties. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally reached my goal weight and actually kept it off. But I was only able to sustain long-term weight loss by avoiding these five things. 1. Alcohol Look, I know this one sucks. Trust me, no one loved their daily five…
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This 30-Day Workout Challenge Can Help Improve Your Health in 5 Minutes
Most people see January as the month for adopting fresh changes and new challenges. But personally, I’ve always found September to be a more transformative month. When I was a kid, it was the start of a new school year with different classes, teachers, and peers. And as an adult, it’s the month that I leave the nonchalant, laid-back days of summer behind and roll up my sleeves to finish the year strong. One way or another, September always ends up being the month that big things happen. This year, I thought I would embrace this historically transitional month with a new 30-day workout challenge. Only, mini-sized because I want…
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5 Science-Backed Ways Exercise Makes You More Resilient
Let’s be real: Life is freaking hard. Stuff happens. Unexpected stuff, like a beloved pet passing away or a fender bender on the highway during rush hour. Stressful stuff, like a tight deadline or a scheduling conflict at work. Money issues. Health issues. Relationship issues. You name it, we all got it. So having the resilience to deal with life’s stresses head-on is crucial; an inability to cope will almost certainly lead to anxiety and depression. But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it? It’s no wonder that 10% of the population are on prescribed anti-depressants, and likely many more self-medicating with alcohol and recreational drugs. But what if you…
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5 Truths About Fitness I Learned From Reaching My Goal Weight
The heaviest I had ever been in my life was at the start of 2017. Teetering on officially overweight, I had been neglecting my health for years while working a sedentary desk job. I got little exercise and ate pastries and sweets like it was my job. I knew things had to change, so I promised myself that I would lose at least 20 lbs. Well, I reached my goal, but it took me no less than three years. Some people would say that it shouldn’t take three years to lose 25 lbs, and they’d be right; had I known certain things at the start of my fitness journey, I…
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4 Reasons to Lift Lighter Weights
The other day, I came across a cool article calling for women to drop the cutesy pink dumbbells and start lifting heavy like a man. It is an excellent piece that points out training like a man will not make a woman look “bulky” because a woman’s physiology and hormone profile are completely different from a man’s. I wholeheartedly agree that women shouldn’t be afraid to lift heavy. In fact, I bought a heavier set of dumbbells just a couple of weeks ago to help take my lifts to the next level. But. There is a time and a place for light weights, and I think they don’t always get…
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Freaky Sleep Disorders That Are Surprisingly Common
Several years ago, I woke up to a tall, shadowy figure standing on the bed next to my head, looking down at me. For an instant, I couldn’t move or scream, as though I were glued to the bed. I blinked and suddenly I was free. I leaped out of bed with a scream — startling the living daylights out of my slumbering spouse — and bolted out of the bedroom. I sat huddled in the corner of the hallway with my knees under my chin and arms wrapped around my legs like a scared child, wondering for the briefest of moments if aliens had come to abduct me. No, I wasn’t crazy or…
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5 Healthy Things to Do When You’re Injured and Can’t Exercise
This past weekend, I was working on pushup variations when I pushed a little too far and royally tweaked my trapezius muscle. As a result, I’m currently writing this with a grumpy shoulder that can tolerate little more than heating pads and painkillers. Chances are, it’s going to be at least another week or two before I can lace up my trainers again. At first, I was pretty bummed about this. Exercise is not just something I do to stay in shape; it’s how I find “my happy.” But if I’m honest with myself, I was long overdue for a break. I’d been training 4–5 days a week for the…
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How I Lost 25 Lbs and Kept it Off — Without Going to the Gym
These days, exercise is something that brings me a lot of joy — so much so that I have an ISSA personal trainer certification as well as this whole blog dedicated to the subject. However, I didn’t always love fitness. I absolutely hated exercise when I was younger and would avoid it at all costs. Back then, I was blessed with a fast metabolism, so I ate whatever I wanted and still stayed slim throughout my teens and early twenties. But that party ended (literally, one day after my 24th birthday) when I began my first full-time job working in an office. My early attempts to combat weight gain You know how office…
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5 Ways Reading Novels Every Day Makes You Happier and Healthier
As a kid and young adult, I read a lot of fiction. My idea of a Saturday afternoon well spent was wandering through the bookstore’s aisles to carefully pick out my next read. But you know how it goes. You get older, the weight of responsibility comes crashing down on you, and suddenly, you don’t have as much time for the things you enjoy doing. By my 30s, I was a self-proclaimed “careerist” and prioritized productivity over everything else. If I were going to spend precious time reading anything, it would be self-help or other non-fiction books that would expand my knowledge and teach me how to manage my life…