What does it take to get into your groove and stay there? Our health is our happiness, so getting into healthy habits, that keep us healthy, contributes to our sunny disposition as well. Emotional well-being and physical well-being go hand-in-hand. One will influence the other and, sometimes, we have more control over one so we start there. Today lets focus on how to be consistent with being physically active. It doesn’t matter if you are walking around the neighborhood, lifting weights at the gym, or dancing on table tops. The key is to consistently move your body.
Find Your Jam
This first step to healthy habits is music therapy. I use Spotify for my workout playlists. I know people who listen to music from Broadway musicals. There are kids who like to listen to tunes from their video games. You might jam to Mozart. Different activities call for different music, but if it calls to you, then that’s your jam. When I work out I like to hear heavy beats and to sing along, so I listen to alternative rock. I will tell you now, all those people at the gym are damn lucky that I have headphones and that I am proficient at lip-syncing.
Just Do It
When it comes to healthy habits, getting started is half the battle. If you can do what you love, do that. If you can’t, do anything. Try something new that interests you or challenges you or even scares you. Do something with someone else because they are interested in it. You might accidentally find your new passion. It doesn’t have to be in a gym. It might be hiking, building tree-houses, or splitting wood. You do you.
Be Unstoppable
Now, this is key, KEY, I tell ya! Once you start, don’t stop, that’s what makes it a healthy “habit”. Yes, you can rest when you are nursing a cold, but then get right back to it. I don’t care if you are in a full body cast; get your ass to the gym and raise your eyebrows. Being a weekend warrior will only help you to put my kids through college. A weekend warrior who spends the weekdays sitting at a desk at work and on the couch at night will only try to overcompensate during the weekend and cause injury. Hence, a visit to me (thank you, by the way).
My last words of wisdom: Move your body daily. Work up your strength and stamina. Change it up periodically and enjoy the hell out of it.
I am always looking for a new workout playlist. If you have one you are willing to share, send it my way and I will share it in an upcoming blog post. I am happy to share mine if you are not squeamish when it comes to content or lyrics, just ask.
Happy Jammin’
Dr. Stacey