Happy Wednesday Girlies! Hope your having a fantastic week. I have the best fitness motivator here. May I introduce this weeks guest post by the lovely Jay Michelle. Make sure to check out her fantastic blog. Over to you Jay...
The Lazy Girls Guide to Working out...
Did you know that doing 30 minutes of ironing burns off the same number of calories as 11 minutes of aerobics? Yeah, neither did I. And neither does it make me want to iron either.
I’ll be the first to admit that I used to hate working out. The idea of being sweaty in a room full of other sweaty people was not my ideal way of spending my evenings. I didn’t get a gym membership until my 25th birthday, and to this day I absolutely hate doing cardio.
If you’re anything like me and constantly go between “I really want to feel confident in a bikini on the beach” and “I just want to sit here and watch another episode of Game of Thrones/ Breaking Bad/ Modern Family on Netflix” then hopefully my tiny guide to working out will help you.
Did you know that doing 30 minutes of ironing burns off the same number of calories as 11 minutes of aerobics? Yeah, neither did I. And neither does it make me want to iron either.
I’ll be the first to admit that I used to hate working out. The idea of being sweaty in a room full of other sweaty people was not my ideal way of spending my evenings. I didn’t get a gym membership until my 25th birthday, and to this day I absolutely hate doing cardio.
If you’re anything like me and constantly go between “I really want to feel confident in a bikini on the beach” and “I just want to sit here and watch another episode of Game of Thrones/ Breaking Bad/ Modern Family on Netflix” then hopefully my tiny guide to working out will help you.
Step 1: Motivation – finding your fitness pin up
This one really hits home for me. Before the Olympics, the British media were pretty much obsessed with how to lose weight and how to be the perfect size 6, but that was until the likes of Jessica Ennis graced our TVs. Suddenly the idea of being skinny wasn’t sexy; the idea of being strong, fit and healthy became the new ideal, which I wholeheartedly agree with.
I find the best motivation is finding someone to look up to – I personally adore Ellie Goulding. I’m entirely realistic and know that I’ll never have washboard abs like hers, neither will I ever enjoy doing cardio as much as she does, but I admire that she’s so vocal in how getting fit has improved her confidence.
This one really hits home for me. Before the Olympics, the British media were pretty much obsessed with how to lose weight and how to be the perfect size 6, but that was until the likes of Jessica Ennis graced our TVs. Suddenly the idea of being skinny wasn’t sexy; the idea of being strong, fit and healthy became the new ideal, which I wholeheartedly agree with.
I find the best motivation is finding someone to look up to – I personally adore Ellie Goulding. I’m entirely realistic and know that I’ll never have washboard abs like hers, neither will I ever enjoy doing cardio as much as she does, but I admire that she’s so vocal in how getting fit has improved her confidence.
Step 2: Challenge – finding your comfort zone and pushing through it
Remember – you don’t need to go to the gym to work out. I’d like to think that Ellie did a bit of road running before she had access to the best gyms in the world; you don’t need to pay an extortionate amount on the gym if you feel comfortable working out in the park, in the garden or in your room.
I downloaded the 30-Day Squats Challenge and the 30 Days Abs challenge a few months ago. You can do the exercises in your own time and build up your strength over the month.
What I love about these apps is that you can start off easy and increase the challenge as you go on – finding your comfort zone and seeing how much further you can go. It’s the greatest endorphin kick when you realise that you’re much stronger than you thought you were.
Remember – you don’t need to go to the gym to work out. I’d like to think that Ellie did a bit of road running before she had access to the best gyms in the world; you don’t need to pay an extortionate amount on the gym if you feel comfortable working out in the park, in the garden or in your room.
I downloaded the 30-Day Squats Challenge and the 30 Days Abs challenge a few months ago. You can do the exercises in your own time and build up your strength over the month.
What I love about these apps is that you can start off easy and increase the challenge as you go on – finding your comfort zone and seeing how much further you can go. It’s the greatest endorphin kick when you realise that you’re much stronger than you thought you were.
Step 3: Goals – get competitive
This one will differ for everyone – a friend of mine has signed up to the Nike Women’s 10k Night Run while another has simply increased the time that she spends at the gym.
Changing up your workout routine is absolutely essential. I used to do the same Zumba workout in my room, and though it made me feel incredible at first, I noticed it quickly became ineffective and didn’t deliver any results. Why? The bottom line is that your body will get used to whatever it is you’re doing and start to plateau. Instead of building up any tone, you’ll be burning both calories and muscle mass which may be fine if you just want a flat stomach, but if you want abs, you’ll need to increase resistance and mix it up a tad.
By the time I was done with the 30-Day challenges, I felt so much better about my technique that I downloaded the Nike Training Club app – again, something that you can do whenever suits you. Although I felt myself getting stronger, I wanted another push, something else that I could aim towards, so I got myself a gym membership and aimed to go once a week. I did this for four weeks, and then decided to see if I could push myself into twice a week. When I proved I could do that, I got myself a personal trainer to learn new techniques and work on my form. That may not be as impressive as signing up to a 10k run, but it does give me something to work for.
This one will differ for everyone – a friend of mine has signed up to the Nike Women’s 10k Night Run while another has simply increased the time that she spends at the gym.
Changing up your workout routine is absolutely essential. I used to do the same Zumba workout in my room, and though it made me feel incredible at first, I noticed it quickly became ineffective and didn’t deliver any results. Why? The bottom line is that your body will get used to whatever it is you’re doing and start to plateau. Instead of building up any tone, you’ll be burning both calories and muscle mass which may be fine if you just want a flat stomach, but if you want abs, you’ll need to increase resistance and mix it up a tad.
By the time I was done with the 30-Day challenges, I felt so much better about my technique that I downloaded the Nike Training Club app – again, something that you can do whenever suits you. Although I felt myself getting stronger, I wanted another push, something else that I could aim towards, so I got myself a gym membership and aimed to go once a week. I did this for four weeks, and then decided to see if I could push myself into twice a week. When I proved I could do that, I got myself a personal trainer to learn new techniques and work on my form. That may not be as impressive as signing up to a 10k run, but it does give me something to work for.
Other things that you can do:
*Do the 3-minute challenge – put on a song and have a good wiggle around your room to get your heart racing and endorphins up.
*Do the walk and talk – if you tend to have long conversations with your significant other or best friend, get up and walk around while you talk to them. Pace the floor, door some squats, anything that’ll keep you from sitting down.
*Explore Youtube – there are thousands of channels and videos of workouts, it’s just a matter of finding something you like. I personally like doing Zumba, and there are so many great videos for it!
Hope that helps ladies! You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and BlogLovin
*Do the 3-minute challenge – put on a song and have a good wiggle around your room to get your heart racing and endorphins up.
*Do the walk and talk – if you tend to have long conversations with your significant other or best friend, get up and walk around while you talk to them. Pace the floor, door some squats, anything that’ll keep you from sitting down.
*Explore Youtube – there are thousands of channels and videos of workouts, it’s just a matter of finding something you like. I personally like doing Zumba, and there are so many great videos for it!
Hope that helps ladies! You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and BlogLovin
Without a doubt Jay has inspired me to get fit. Thanks to her I'm now testing out yoga! Last thing I have to say is a massive thank you to Jay for the lovely post! REMEMBER to check out her blog and follow her on twitter...
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Love Sophie xox
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