One of the most important things in life is taking care of your body. Unfortunately, it is also one of the hardest, particularly because of the plethora of delicious but usually unhealthy foods available and the almost universal hatred of exercising. Treating your body right is especially difficult now since many of us are stuck at home with too much time on our hands, which tends to lead to stress eating and/or binge-watching TV for hours. That being said, it is even more important right now to stay healthy so you can come out of this situation unscathed. Here are a few suggestions to help you get up and moving:
- Start slow. If you rarely exercised before this, you cannot expect yourself to jump right in and work out every single day without injuring yourself. Your body needs time to adjust and you have to discover your limits. A good way to start is by taking a run around the block and keeping track of how you feel, and then let yourself rest for at least a day.
- Find a routine. Running everyday can get boring, and so can an endless routine of core exercises or weight lifting. You need to test your entire body too, and doing the same thing every time is not enough. Instead, maybe you run on Monday, do HIIT on Wednesday, and dance on Friday. Spice it up a bit and have fun!
- Motivate yourself. Why are you exercising? Is it to feel healthy? Is it to occupy your time? Is it because you enjoy moving? Even “I want to have a big dessert later” is motivation! Just remember what your end goal is and keep sight of that whenever you have doubts.
There are many different ways to be active and many different reasons that people aspire to do so. What works for one person may not work for another, and that is completely fine. Whatever you do, listen to your body and take notice of how you feel before, during, and after a workout. Your body can tell you a lot.