Be Fierce and Fit: Balancing Out Your Exercise Routine

I love these three words..fierce, fit and fabulous. I immediately envision a person who’s strong, confident and healthy. This is something that I strive for each day. As a person who was always overweight, exercise was something that other people did. I wasn’t opposed to doing it. I knew that it had so many benefits to it. I just didn’t do it because it made me feel uncomfortable, intimidated, and wasn’t a priority in my life. I was completely wrong.

Since changing my unhealthy lifestyle of poor eating habits and no exercise, I am amazed at how good I feel now. Incorporating exercise into my daily routine continues to be beneficial for me both physically and mentally. I am now able to do things that I never thought were possible. 

The physical changes are huge! I am now able to run, bike, lift weights and jump rope. These are all things that I couldn’t do before. I am physically stronger and my endurance has improved greatly. 

Mentally, I find exercise a great stress reliever and a time to clear my mind. Sometimes when I am working on a cardio machine with the Ipod going, it’s a great time to just put all the crazy things that happened throughout my day aside and just breathe.

Now the first step in embracing exercise is to make it a priority. It is so easy to push it aside because there are just so many things that need to get done throughout the day. Our schedules are busy, so often exercise is the one thing that we can put off until tomorrow. Well, tomorrow is here! Make exercise a goal, whether it’s adding an additional day or hour a week to your existing routine.

Now that summer is here, it is a great time to begin a new regimen, or change up your existing routine, such as adding strength training to your workouts. Start off slow and listen to your body. For me, I go straight to the gym or park right after work. hat gym bag leaves the house with me each morning.  I know that if I go home first, I get caught up in something and the next thing you know, I am catching up on something from the DVR. Some people like to start their day with an early morning workout, which I actually enjoy at times. I really do like to exercise each day, and think about the benefits of it. It is helping me to burn calories towards weight loss, promoting flexibility in my back and core, and is making me a stronger person.

Remember to change it up when you find yourself getting bored with the same routine. In the beginning, I would always go to the same cardio machines day after day. It was good for a while, until I realized that it was taking longer amounts of time to burn calories, and was eventually becoming “easy” or not very challenging. This is when I began to incorporate other types of exercises into my routine. For example, I began do more strength training. Although I may not have been burning the same amount of calories as cardio exercises, I was definitely seeing the benefits of it. I do not have a degree in this area, but speak from personal experience to say that it has created a wonderful balance for me. 

The changes that I am now seeing are from working the different areas of muscle groups, in different ways. For me, I now feel confident to try new things like a new class or local race. There is a whole world of fitness races out there that I never knew about. If you’re looking to challenge yourself, there are lots of walks and runs throughout the area in this time of year. For those that have been exercising for a while and are looking to do something completely different, there are lots of challenges out there dealing with mud and obstacles. These look to push the limits of physical and mental toughness. 

Some examples include the Warrior Dash and ToughMudder. I am so excited to be competing in my first Warrior Dash race this summer. Imagine that! If you told me a year ago that I would be training for this type of competition, I would have told you to buy a lottery ticket. You’d have a better chance of becoming a millionaire. No matter what your level of fitness is, there is something out there for all of us to get moving.  

. He has competed in the ToughMudder races twice, so is always pushing the limits with both himself and his clients. 

Remember…you don’t have to be a top athlete to be fierce and fit. As long as I have pushed myself and gotten out of my comfort zone, then I’ve had a great day. The accomplishments you make will be well worth the fight.