Let’s face it – life is busy and not everyone can easily and seamlessly fit in a daily visit to the gym. For some people, it’s realistic and fits their lifestyle. But for many, it just may not be possible. Take the working parent, for example – getting to the gym may be extremely low on their priority list. And sometimes it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in a day.
Luckily, the world is changing, and even if you can’t get to the gym regularly, it doesn’t mean that you can’t lead an active life.
More and more it seems that we can easily enhance our lives by finding our own unique style to fit our workouts in. If you’re not quite sure what I mean, or if you still feel that getting active is a challenge for you – here are some tips to help you change your mindset on movement and ultimately show you how to easily add movement into your life.
Create A Morning Routine and Adhere To It
When you create a morning routine and adhere to it, you are less likely to neglect daily activity. And it begins as soon as you wake up in the morning. When you hear your alarm, get up right away – or allow yourself a 1-snooze-button at the maximum.
Make your bed as soon as you get up. Often when we do the things we don’t want to do first, the rest of the daily tasks suddenly seem to fall into place a lot easier. So make it a habit. Make your bed, freshen up and continue with a solid morning routine that suits you. When you start your day productively, the rest of your day will likely just follow suit and it will be easier for you to fit that movement routine in as well.
Commit to Doing At Least 5 Minutes of Activity
Commit to doing at least 5 minutes of activity, and most likely you will end up doing more. And even if you don’t do more, at least you did some. Some days, this is the mentality we must accept. This is exactly why I created the MVMT ONE programs which are as short as five minutes and can still be effective, whether you’re looking for quick muscle activation, a quick sweat or meditation. It can be enough to literally change your mindset for the whole day and keep you feeling positive.
Practice self-love by believing you deserve to do something good for yourself.
When we are in a negative mindset, we self-sabotage. It’s a fact and don’t be ashamed of it! Just know and believe with every ounce of your being that you deserve the best. You deserve to practice self care. You deserve to do something good for your mind and body. It is so easy to subconsciously send messages to ourselves that we are not worth our own self-care. But you must start believing with every cell in your body that you are full of love, and that you can give love to yourself and others. Once you believe that, you will start consistently doing positive things for yourself – and these positive things include daily movement, daily activity, or daily meditation. A combination of the three is even better. It’s self care. Practice it. You deserve it.
Add movement into your daily tasks
We hear this all the time! Take the stairs, park your car at a distance from your entrance point, set a timer at your work desk for every hour and stand up and do 20 squats every hour. These are simple ways to activate your muscles on a regular basis without making a bigger commitment such as a gym visit or fitness class.
Wear a Smartwatch
When you have the motivation of a device reminding you and encouraging you to move more, take more steps, burn more calories and simply be more active, you may be more likely to adhere. You can set it to suit your desired level of activity and lifestyle, and then simply wear it everyday to keep you on track.
Find an accountability partner
Marisa Peer, the #1 therapist out of the UK, gives this tip on her social media. So I’ve tried this before and it really helps! Message a friend, tell them you have a goal to do a certain amount of activity everyday and ask them to help keep you accountable. They can message you daily to check up, or you can message them daily to report your activity log. Knowing that you have that daily check-in will really help to keep you on track.
Realize that we all have “down days”
Feeling this way is completely normal, and remember to tell yourself that it’s totally fine! We are all going to have those zero-motivation or zero-energy days… it’s acceptable. It is even expected, to be honest. Some days you jump out of bed feeling like you could run a marathon. Other days you can barely even get out of bed. This is why with MVMT ONE we created programs for all moods.
Some days you need restoration more than you need movement. On those “down days” listen to your body. Try our “feel” program which involves therapeutic restoration, or try our “be” program which is all about meditation and relaxation. As much as the body needs movement, remember that the mind needs stillness. And when you notice that, tune in, be aware, and do yourself a favour. You, your body and your mind deserve it!
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