Pretty much everyone’s New Year Resolution is to exercise more, lose weight, be more active, be healthier, etc. But sometimes that can seem like such a hassle and require so much effort and that’s when people give up. HOWEVER, I have 5 ways that will make exercising easier and seem like less of a burden. In fact, it might even be fun!
#1 – Make a Playlist. Don’t rely on Pandora or “Shuffle” in your iTunes to provide you with a fire playlist to workout to. Because it won’t and you’ll be disappointed. I have Spotify and I have made several playlists that I listen to while I work out depending on my mood. And these playlists are so fire that them alone make me want to workout because that means I’ll get to listen to them and jam out. Make playlists of all your favorite songs, dance music, throwbacks, Britney Spears and TLC, etc. Listening to your favorite music will get you pumped up and excited to be active!
#2 – Have the Right Equipment. Invest in comfortable shoes to fit your workout activity. I have running-specific shoes because running is my workout of choice. If I had the wrong shoes, running would be painful and I wouldn’t want to do it. You should also invest in a FitBit or Apple Watch to track your workouts, calories burned, and heart rate. It makes exercising a lot more fun and rewarding when you can look at your wrist and actually see your results! Also make sure that you have an arm band to hold your phone while you workout so you aren’t dropping it everywhere. I got mine off of Amazon.
#3 – Choose a Workout That is Right For You. Exercising isn’t a one-size-fits-all activity. People have different goals for exercising: weight loss, toning, maintaining weight, muscle gain, just being more active in general. So if you are trying to lose weight, I would avoid weight lifting, and instead, do cardio or something that will get your heart rate up. When I was trying to lose weight, I made the mistake of lifting weights instead of cardio and I ended up gaining 20 pounds. But then I cancelled my gym membership and started running everyday and I lost 30 pounds in two months!!! There are many different kinds of workouts to choose from: yoga, running, swimming, cycling, pilates, weight lifting, weight training, cardio, HIIT, group exercises like CrossFit and Camp Gladiator, ect. If you are disciplined and can do your workouts alone and stay on track, I would suggest running, weight lifting, swimming, cardio, and HIIT. But if you need someone to push you and keep you honest, I would do yoga classes, pilates classes, cycling classes, CrossFit, or Camp Gladiator. And you can always get a personal trainer to help you figure out what is best for you and your goals!
#4 – Pick an Easy Time to Workout For Your Schedule. Everyone’s schedule is different so finding a good, easy time to workout can be difficult. I, like most people, work in an office 9-5 so I don’t have the luxury of going to the gym whenever I feel like it. I can either go early in the morning or after work sometime. Since I’m not really a morning person and I’m almost always late (smh), I prefer to go after work. AND I have to go immediately after work or else I won’t go at all. I either bring a gym bag to work with me and go straight to the gym, or as soon as I get home, I’ll immediately change into my running clothes and head out for a run. DO NOT SIT DOWN AFTER WORK IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THE GYM. IT WON’T HAPPEN. You have to stay active and motivated or else you’ll sit down on the couch and that’s that. You have to find a time that works with your schedule and when you’ll be motivated to go.
#5 – Set Realistic Goals and Track Them. Don’t make unrealistic or extremely far-fetched goals like losing 5 pounds per week or working out every single day. You’ll just be setting yourself up for failure. Set more realistic goals like working out at least 3 times per week or losing 5 pounds each month. That way, they’ll be way more achievable and you’ll feel amazing when you hit these goals! There are also ways to track your goals and progress to see how well you’re doing. You won’t immediately see a difference on the scale but if you track your progress in an app or journal you’ll be able to see how much work you are putting in and then the visible results will follow. I use the app MyFitnessPal to track my food/meals, my water intake, my daily steps, and my workouts. This app is great because I can plan out my meals to see what I can eat to stay within my daily calorie and macro goals and I can add my workouts to see if I’m allowed to have a snack after my workout 😉
I would also suggest following fitness and health Instagram accounts for inspiration. When I’m not feeling motivated to go to the gym or to go for a run, I get on IG and look at the “fit-spo” accounts that I follow and immediately feel motivated to get my lazy butt up and go be active! Some good fitness accounts that I follow are @nattbfit, @buffbunny, @suzie_kb, and @jellydevote.
What are your tips and secrets to make exercising easier and more enjoyable?! Comment below, I love hearing from y’all! 🙂
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