Stay Motivated to Move This Winter
Maybe you set the alarm early with every intention of going out for a morning run, but the snooze button and the sheets win every time when you think about facing the winter weather. But all is not lost. You can still get your exercise in without freezing in the name of fitness. Ready to make the most of your winter fitness regimen? BluePrint Health invites you to read on.
Remember the Rewards
It can certainly be tempting to let your workout routine fall by the wayside in winter since bulky sweaters and cozy sweatshirts are more forgiving than skimpy swimsuits and shorts. But working out isn’t just about staying trim and toned. Regular exercise offers a wealth of physical, mental, and emotional benefits. For instance, research shows regular exercise helps prevent or control a wide variety of health concerns including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, a number of types of cancer, arthritis, and even falls.
Exercise can also help relieve the symptoms of anxiety and depression and may help keep them at bay in the future. That’s because it releases mood-boosting endorphins and other natural brain chemicals that increase your feelings of well-being. Physical activity can also help take your mind off your worries, build confidence, increase social interactions, and provide a positive way to deal with mental and physical health concerns including everything from obesity to addiction.
In fact, when seeking therapy for substance use, many counselors also recommend pursuing a physical wellness plan to combat not only the physical effects of substance use but also to promote the general well-being of patients. So, regardless of your current conditions and concerns, physical activity can boost your body, mind, and spirit all year long.
Indoor Exercise Inspiration
Winter weather can make outdoor workouts impractical or impossible for even the most devoted fitness fanatics. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to work up a sweat inside. Here are some tips for staying fit and focused this season.
If your budget allows, consider enrolling in a class that will keep you motivated. For instance, many gyms and trainers move boot camp classes indoors in cold weather. But these sessions still torch calories with cardio and strength training intervals. Or maybe you can sign up for a session to try something you’ve never done before. Pre-paying for a pack of cardio dance, kickboxing, or spin classes will also motivate you to attend even on the coldest days rather than let your fitness funds go to waste.
At-Home Alternatives
If you prefer the privacy of exercising on your own or don’t want to spend much money, there are several ways to exercise on the cheap at home. For instance, jumping rope provides a great cardio workout. Burpees, stair climbing, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers will also get your heart pumping. And you can integrate intervals of push-ups, tricep dips, crunches, planks, lunges, and squats, according to ACTIVE.
If you invest in a set of dumbbells, you can add exercises like bicep curls and overhead presses to give yourself a full workout with a minimal investment in gear. When you want to build a bigger home gym, look to sites like Craigslist for deals on weight benches, racks and other types of equipment. If you need help moving furniture or something especially heavy like a treadmill, don’t risk injury, and instead, turn to local professionals to help. Simply search for furniture movers near you through an online directory, and then use ratings to make your choice.
To mix up your moves, try exercise DVDs or online videos. If you don’t want to spend any money, local libraries offer options, and the internet also provides plenty of free content. For instance, the Fitness Blender site offers free full-length workouts to fit any fitness routine. You can select the difficulty level, body area focus, training type (styles include yoga, strength training, and cardio, to name a few), the equipment you have on hand, and even whether you want a male, female, or mixed-gender training team.
Whether you choose to exercise in the gym or in the comfort of your own home, it’s important to stay active all year for your physical and mental well-being. And having a better body come summer is a nice bonus benefit.
Gift-Giving Guide for the Fitness Fanatics on Your List
Finding the perfect gift doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need to do is appeal to the receiver’s interests. Nowadays, fitness is more popular than ever. People of all ages and backgrounds want to feel better in their own skin, so they are taking up exercise regimens from the light and fun (tennis, yoga, swimming) to the extreme (triathlons, CrossFit, kickboxing).
Since exercising and pursuing a healthy lifestyle are so popular, chances are you have at least a few fitness fanatics on your holiday gift list. If so, you’re in luck. Courtesy of Blueprint Health, we have a useful, comprehensive gift guide full of ideas perfect for the fitness junkies in your life.
Gym Membership
Getting a gym membership for a loved one who has been talking about joining one for ages can be just the push they need. One of the best parts of this idea is you can spend as little or as much as you want. You can get them a month or two or splurge on a whole year. An average monthly cost of a gym membership is $58, but that figure varies dramatically depending on location and gym.
If your loved one already belongs to a gym, ask the staff about gift certificates for personal trainers. Even a couple of sessions with a professional can help inspire your loved one to vary their workout routine, which helps boost results. At most gyms, gift certificates can also be used at the in-house spas, cafes and salons.
Home Gym
If you’re able to financially, go one better than a gym membership and create a home gym for your loved one by renovating a room in the house. Building out a home gym helps fitness buffs stay in shape regardless of pandemic restrictions, gym fees or foul weather. It’s also a way to increase your home's appraisal value. If selling your home is in the cards, be sure to save your receipts for the appraiser when that time arrives.
Outdoor Gear
Do you have someone on your list who loves to exercise while spending time in the great outdoors? Would they rather spend more time camping than inside a gym? If so, some top-notch camping/outdoor gear can help them enjoy their time in nature. Whether it’s a new tent, backpack, or some other type of outdoorsy gear, you can’t go wrong with this gift idea. If you’re not sure where to begin looking for this type of gift, websites like Adventure Daily provide guides and reviews for a number of products, ranging from sleeping bags to blankets.
Fitness Trackers
This hot fitness trend has yet to cool down. Fitness trackers cost anywhere from $50-$250 and come with a plethora of features. From counting steps to monitoring their REM cycle, your loved ones can get a better idea of their daily health habits and improve on them with the help of this thoughtful gift.
Portion Control Containers
This is a great gift for the person on your list who is interested in pursuing the meal prep lifestyle. When it comes to portion control, Americans have issues. Portion control containers allow your loved ones to get a better idea of the amount of food they need, so they can get accustomed to normal, healthy portions.
Bath Salts for Soreness
A recovery soak after a rough workout can help soothe muscles and prevent extreme soreness the next day. Recovery soaks deposit healthy minerals like magnesium, sodium and bromide through the skin and help rid the body of built up lactic acids in the muscles. If you have a loved one who is just beginning, or who has already started an extreme training regimen, they will surely appreciate how you care about their comfort.
Fitness gifts are perfect because just about everyone can benefit from a little more exercise in their life. If you have some fitness enthusiasts on your list, gift them with something they will actually use. These ideas will last beyond the special gift-giving occasion, with health benefits for years to come.
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How to Rebuild Healthy Habits While Self-Isolating
We all know how important it is to stay healthy, especially during a pandemic. However, the nature of COVID-19 has upended many of the healthy habits we may have built over the years. Plus, we’re all overcome with the fear of getting sick and the stress of an unstable economy. Many people don’t feel like they have money to spare on healthy choices and aren’t sure how to find exercise options and positive diet choices they can afford.
If you’ve gained some weight during quarantine or fallen off your exercise routine, you don’t need to despair. These tools can help you discover new, affordable ways to honor your body’s nutritional, physical, and psychological needs. Here are some healthy yet affordable habits that will get you back on track.
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Exercise Daily
If you’re used to the gym, exercising at home can feel impossible. Gym goers get used to having access to plenty of equipment, and bringing that experience home is pretty pricey. Fortunately, there are a ton of low-budget ways to work out at home.
For example, you can utilize furniture for your workouts. Grab a chair for chair dips, or use your kitchen counter to get in some push-ups. You can also get in an effective, affordable workout by performing wall sits or dancing to your favorite music.
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Eat Right
The pandemic is super stressful, and for many of us, stress is the fastest diet sink there is. When we get anxious, we tend to turn to junky comfort foods and neglect our real nutritional needs. These foods just wind up leaving us more anxious, creating a vicious cycle. We have to break this cycle in order to thrive.
The first step is addressing your diet. Focus on making nutritious meals that use shelf-stable ingredients. Still stock up on fruits and veggies, but use them wisely to ensure that you don’t end up wasting money. For example, if you buy avocados and squash, use the avocados in the first half of the week and squash in the second. Familiarize yourself with how long certain fresh foods last, and plan your meals accordingly.
The next step is to honor the urge to eat junk. This doesn't mean just keep eating junk—although if you have an unhealthy snack now and then, it’s truly not the end of the world. What it does mean is recognizing what that junk food does for you, as well as how it’s making a dent on your food budget. If you’re eating to self-soothe, then you know you need to find some other method of self-soothing. Otherwise, you’ll just get stuck battling those same cravings, or else replacing it with some other unhealthy coping mechanism.
Be Kind to Yourself
On the topic of self-soothing, it’s no wonder so many of us need some form of comfort right now. It’s a deeply uncomfortable time. You need to be kind to yourself in order to combat the stress and fear coming from all directions right now.
Come up with a list of activities or sensations that make you feel happy—and these need not be expensive, too. These could be anything from making some sort of art to lighting a candle to listening to a favorite album (get a good pair of headphones that tunes out other noises for ultimate relaxation). Collect these positive experiences, and try to do one every day. These little gifts to yourself will add up, and you’ll have an easier time spotting the good in the world.
Rebuilding these healthy habits is a great, effective way to get yourself back on track. Whether you’re shooting for weight loss, improved health metrics, or just want to feel better, these are sure to help. When you exercise, eat right, and treat yourself with kindness, your body—and wallet—will thank you.
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