8/26/2020 0 Comments Physical Activity GuidelinesSo, I am a numbers person. I always excelled at math because I "got" numbers. Numbers are pretty important when it comes to your health. There's your blood pressure reading, your red and white blood cell count, your body temperature, your cholesterol levels, your weight, your height, your BMI, your heart rate, etc. These are all numbers that are super important to doctors when it comes to your health. There are also numbers that are super important to me when it comes to your health. These would include your body fat percentage (probably one of the most important numbers to watch!), your weight, your waist, hip, thigh, and chest circumferences, your max heart rate, and your VO2 max. Most of these would be calculated during our first session together if I was your personal trainer. Other numbers that I think are so important to your health and wellness are the amount of time it is recommended for you to exercise - the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) Physical Activity Guidelines. According to the ACSM website, both the ACSM and the CDC recommend that "healthy adults aged 18-65 should participate in moderate intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30 min on five days per week, or vigorous intensity aerobic activity for a minimum of 20 min on three days per week AND every adult should perform activities that maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance for a minimum of two days per week." (Check out my previous blog post on "Are you making this serious mistake?") Does that sound overwhelming to you or does that sound doable? We are all so crazy busy, but I bet you can find 30 minutes 5 days a week to workout! Go for a brisk walk 3 days a week and do some strength training the other two days and then you get 2 days of rest! When you break it down like that, and schedule those 30 minutes into your calendar or to-do list, YOU GOT THIS! Tons of research has been done on the detrimental affects of sitting too much. The majority of us have jobs that require us to sit for long periods of time, which has been shown to be detrimental to our health, making getting the recommended amount of physical activity even more important and it is recommended that if you sit for large portions of your day that you should aim for closer to 300 minutes of weekly activity as opposed to the 150 minutes. Lucky for you, I do have some tips to help you out if you do sit for large portions of your day!
1. Get up and walk around for 3-5 minutes each hour. I have an Apple Watch that reminds me to do so the last 10 minutes of each hour if I haven't gotten up during that hour. Is it annoying sometimes? YES! Does it make me get off my butt? YES! Even if you don't have an Apple Watch or Fit Bit, set an alarm at 50 minutes past each hour and get up off your bottom for a few minutes! 2. Get a standing desk or just work standing up. No need to buy anything special for your standing desk - just pile up a bunch of books or boxes and set your computer on top! Even if you're not walking, standing is WAY better than sitting! I have a friend that gets to use a treadmill desk at her job - how cool it that??? Another option is to sit on an exercise ball instead of a regular chair. Sitting on the ball requires you to activate your core, so you're working out while your typing at your computer! 3. During your 3-5 minutes of getting up off your butt, try to do some stretches. I know my neck and upper back get so sore from sitting and working on my computer. I'll plan on doing a separate blog post on stretches to do throughout your day to keep you from getting stiff. Comment below with any additional tips you have regarding either getting up each hour or getting in your recommended amount of physical activity each week. Stay healthy and active, Christina
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8/13/2020 14 Comments 2020 you suck. COVID you suck.I have been extremely positive throughout the craziness of this year, but I finally hit a point yesterday when I just couldn’t be positive anymore. I got laid off. From my dream job. Due to COVID. It sucks. Not much more to say than that. My 40th birthday was January 1, 2020. I had to work for the first time ever on my birthday – that should’ve been a sign of what was to come this year. In February my boyfriend broke up with me and moved back to his home state. We all know what happened in March. I know so many people are going through way worse than me which why I tried to stay so positive. And which is why I’m going back to having a positive outlook. I allowed myself a pity party last night. Today is a brand new day. I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it takes a while for us to find out what the reason was, but there’s a plan for us. For years now I’ve been wanting to start my own fitness business, but I just never knew how. Or where. Or why. Or when. I now know that the time is NOW. The fitness industry is changing completely due to this pandemic and I’m going to take advantage of that. Virtual fitness is getting more and more popular. Working out from home is now a thing we have had to do. In hindsight I’ve spent years preparing for this. I got my group ex certification, which when I did so, the thought of teaching exercise in front of a bunch of people was SO scary! Now, it is by far my most favorite thing to do! I got my personal training certification. I went back to school to get a second master’s degree in something I am so incredibly passionate about – exercise science. Was it easy to go back to school while being a single mom of two young kids and working? No. Was it worth it? YES!!!!!! It helped me get my dream job of supervising all things fitness at a local park district. Getting this job has allowed me to share my love of fitness with so many people. Now, that job is no longer. But my love of fitness is even stronger and it will get me through this and into what I’ve been dreaming about for years. I’ve spent these months of the pandemic trying to live more in the moment, to be present. Meditation has been so helpful. Several days ago a dear friend sent me a link to an article about August 8. August 8 is said to be one of the luckiest days of the year. On this day the Leo sun links up with the star Sirius and creates a lion’s gate portal. It is said that this is the day to manifest abundance and dream big. The article stated one should meditate at 8:08 on August 8, so my daughter and I sat outside on a beautiful night and did a lion’s gate portal meditation. After the meditation we wrote down our biggest goals and listed eight steps we could take to get the ball rolling on them. What was the first goal I wrote down? To start my very own fitness business. Four days later, I got laid off. Coincidence? Maybe. I’m taking it as a sign that now is the time for my dreams to come true.
What dreams do you have? Maybe now is the time for you to make your dreams come true too. 2020 sucks, but maybe it doesn’t have to. Maybe we can take the bad and turn it into something good. Something better than what we’ve had in the past. XOXO, Christina |
CategoriesAuthorChristina Brown. Mom. Personal Trainer. Fitness Instructor. Archives
September 2020
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