As I sit here well into my second week of "vacation" with the fam and haven’t managed to get in even a quick workout for about 5 days now, I’m still feeling very healthy and on track with all of my healthy living goals so I thought this would be a great time to talk about how our workouts fit in to a healthy lifestyle.
How often and in what ways you workout depends greatly on your goals so there is really no simple answer here. But seeing as how my goal with Savage Wellness is to help teach you to coach yourselves, I do have a lot of tips to help you find the routine to best meet your needs!
As far as weight management goes, the 80/20 rule - 80% nutrition, 20% workouts - is actually quite off. That ratio is more like 95/5. Your workouts are not what help you lose weight or even manage it, your nutrition intake is what does.
BUT, the workouts really do get to act as a bonus here. The more active you get, the more workouts you get in, the quicker the changes.
Once you start relying on the workouts for your weight loss, however, you’ve got stress of getting to them, the guilt of eating more or worse quality food than you would like, and a lack of weight loss results that feels frustrating and demoralizing. Sound familiar?
That being said, a workout does SO MUCH good for your body, so let’s definitely not discount it. There are PLENTY of reasons you need to and absolutely should workout - here are a few:
Your Health:
Getting that heart rate up - even just a walk (which you may not even feel your heart rate increasing, but it is) is amazing for your heart health. Getting that muscle (your heart!) pumping and working is huge for your longevity and long term health. So don’t skip the workouts or any chance you have to just move your body - no matter how short or small the effort, it's SO MUCH better than nothing!
Your Weight loss:
As you build muscle, your body actually burns more calories at rest, which is great for that weight management you’re looking for.
Your Hot Bod:
And let’s not discount how we look and feel in our body! As the weight comes off, having some muscles on you helps you look and feel healthy in your skin. Toned arms and legs and a flatter tummy don’t hurt in anyone’s book!
Your Pain management:
Back pain, or any chronic pains can often be greatly relieved by regular exercise. Creating healthy movement patterns is necessary as the modern lifestyle becomes more and more sedentary.
We also mainly move in one plane of motion and the ways we were designed to move aren’t happening anymore. This is often what leads to your chronic pain. Similarly sticking to one style of workout - spinning, cross fit, classic weight lifting, gym machines - all keep us moving in a limited range of motion and will often lead to pain if not properly cross trained.
So find someone you trust to help you find the fitness plan you need to keep you progressing through life like a Savage! (hint: my workouts are all designed to create and strengthen healthy movement patterns - just sayin'!)
Mental health and stress relief:
And here is the kicker FO SHO! Getting active fires endorphins which literally help make you happy. Hurray for free mental health drugs!
Working out also makes you feel proud, which is an awesome feeling, and having an active lifestyle greatly improves your quality of sleep.
The better sleep you have, the less cortisol (the stress hormone) you have roaming around your system. Increased cortisol levels leads our bodies to revert to survival mode and instincts designed to help us in our hunting and foraging days start to take over. Cravings increase and self control decreases.
So, while our workouts aren’t necessary to keep us on track, creating an active lifestyle and incorporating regular workouts into our days and weeks is a big part of what keeps us feeling awesome and healthy.
So don’t stress, but do take action to get consistent! Literally every little bit helps. Just start moving!
Stay awesome, mamas! Release the guilt, decrease the stress and you do you! Focus on eating well when you can, get active as much as possible, and take consistent and small sustainable steps to bring more activity into your lifestyle. Sign up for my newsletter if you’d like more healthy inspiration sent your way! You've got this!
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