With the new year, always comes a renewed interest in focusing on your health. While I love any excuse for a new intention or goal, starting a fitness journey can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to understanding women’s health. From finding the right exercises to understanding how much you should be working out, there’s so much information floating around that it’s hard to know what to listen to! Over the last five years, I have really dialed in to what works best for my body and I want to help you understand what’s best for YOU, rather that trying to follow someone else’s fitness plan. From the importance of proper nutrition and hydration to the benefits of taking rest days, I hope these tips will help you get started on your own journey towards better physical and mental health.
- See your doctor – this might sound like an unnecessary step, but I think this is a really important first step. Getting a baseline for your health is crucial and can also identify any red flags that might be unique to your body before jumping into a new health and fitness journey.
- Eat more protein, whole foods, less processed food – the easiest way to get started with healthier eating habits is to focus on adding things IN rather than restricting things. Eventually your body starts to crave the good stuff so it makes it easier to start eliminating more and more of the processed stuff.
- Movement is key! – there is no need to overcomplicate this. Walking is better than running or hiit cardio classes. Move your body more, go for long walks, hit your step goals. No need to sign up for a half marathon! I love tracking my steps on myApple Watch and using my AirPods (or AirPods max) for a podcast/music on my daily walks!
- Don’t compare yourself to others – what’s important to remember is that everyone’s journey is going to look different, every body is different, so just dial in to your own body and your own intuition to learn what works and feels best for you on this path towards better health. Take your own progress pics too! As much as you won’t want to when you start your journey, you’ll be glad you did in the long run to track your progress 😉
- Do workouts you LOVE! It’s easy to look at what workouts other people do and feel like you have to do the same if you want the results they are getting. But if it isn’t an activity you enjoy, you are less likely to stick with it. Experiment with different fitness classes, weights, sports, etc. and find the ones that get you excited to workout. For example, recently I’ve really gotten into pilates on the reformer machines and have been obsessed! I actually look forward to each workout 🙂 (you can book a free month on classpass here). Your body (and mind!) will thank you later!
What are some fitness and health tips you’ve learned or what do you want to know more of?! Let me know in the comments so we can dive deeper soon 🙂
