When it comes exercise, I practice mindful movement. After killing myself for hours at the gym for years, I realized you don’t need to do this in order to achieve feel and look your best. I personally believe (I’m sure there’s many exceptions) that high-impact exercises and certain forms of rigorous exercise trigger the stress response. I believe in balancing your hardcore workouts and including practices like meditation, yoga, or even dance. When you are relaxed and calm, your body is in the parasympathetic state referred to as the “rest and digest” system. In this state is where my body is the leanest and the strongest. This may be different for other people.
I promote long outdoor walks and my so-called “power walks” as a form of cardiovascular activity because when you’re walking, you’re breathing from your diaphragm and tapping into your parasympathetic system. This system’s job is to tell the body to relax and slow down high energy functions. When your heart rate is low, your digestive system slows down as well. This increases digestion and promotes a stable calorie burn throughout the day. Which makes us not as hungry or anxious. Making it more sustainable and easier to maintain a healthy weight.
Walk Your Way To Your Fitness Goals
- Stay motivated by setting realistic goals. Such as "I'll take a 15 min walk in the morning".
- Recruit, recruit, recruit. Walking alone can be boring, so invite your neighbor or your best friend. It becomes a great way to catch up while practicing social distancing.
- Mix it up. I like to walk outdoors by the beach or around my neighborhood, but I also like to walk on an incline on the treadmill.
- Track your progress. After becoming a mom, I became an Apple Watch fanatic. It helps me track my steps, time, and distance plus I don't have to bring my phone!
- A good playlist is key, the right music will keep you having fun.
- Walking helps you maintain a healthy weight, improve your mood, and trim your waistline.
