10 Fitness Things You’re Doing Right!

I was a little hard on everyone with the 10 Fitness Things You’re Doing Wrong yesterday.  Now it’s time to give everyone a pat on the back.  Even though we’re not perfect, there’s a lot we’re doing right.

Seeking information. You’re reading a blog to educate yourself about fitness; good for you!  Hopefully you’ll find this post helpful and motivating.  You can seek information all over the internet (stick to the well-vetted sites!) and of course your local library or bookstore too.  Knowledge is always good for a fitness tip, a healthy reminder, or a motivating kick in the butt.

Trying different workouts. Most of you are curious about the different types of workouts you can do today.  From circus acrobatics to regular ol’ running, from tai chi to hard core Spin classes, there is a wide variety to choose from.  Some you’ll love, some you’ll hate, and some you’ll do to mix it up occasionally.

Checking in with your doctor. 54% of you check in with your doctor regularly.  This is actually a pretty good statistic although I’d like to see it higher.  Regular check-ups mean that if anything is awry it can be caught early and treated.  From high blood pressure to pre-cancerous cells to a nagging sinus infection, these can all affect your health and your ability to work out.  Make sure you stay healthy.

Remembering to play. My son sprinted past me on our jog around the reservoir yesterday.  The little girl with pigtails in me said, “No way buddy” and I tracked him down and blew past with a big grin.  He dug in and caught up and we both ran ’til we were breathing hard and giggling.  You can throw play into any workout at the drop of a hat.  Don’t forget to play.

Bonding with your community. Being online and sharing workouts is one way, talking with the other Moms at school drop-off is another.  Grabbing your roommate for a post-work run is another great option.  There are lots of ways to bond over fitness with the people around you.  The more you reach out to them the more you’ll workout.  Lots of studies back this up: our peeps keep us healthy.  Just commenting on this blog will give you a little boost so go for it, I’d love to hear from you.

Actually moving. Yup that means getting out the sneakers, rolling out the yoga mat, slipping on the shorts, reaching for the baseball glove, sliding the goggles over the eyes before your swim, all of that.  We are moving!  Some of us need to do it a little more maybe, but if you’re out there weekly, you’re ahead of most other people around you.  Nice job!

Think big, begin small. Yes you want to rock a spectacular outfit for your high school reunion six months away or just feel confident the next time you walk in by yourself to a mingling situation.  But if you’ve got more than a few pounds to lose you need to keep your eyes on the big picture and then break it down into smaller steps.  Lose five pounds at a time.  Take one workout at a time.  Notch the belt in one hole at a time.  It’s all good, so take a moment and smile.

Being honest with yourself. You stand in front of the mirror and give yourself an honest assessment.  You talk honestly with your spouse about how you need to improve your health.  We are almost always honest with ourselves and what we need to do next.

Keeping your sense of humor. There’s that moment that you awkwardly trip in front of a kazillion people and somehow manage to recover and giggle.  There’s the time you thought yoga would be good for you, then chuckled to yourself about all the yoginis and how this just wasn’t the crowd for you.  There was that mono-boob moment with that new sports bra that looked so great in the catalog.  Just laugh and move on.  Not every type of fitness is right for everybody; that’s why we have so much variety!  Perhaps it’s not for you to find your inner ballerina, but maybe your inner warrior … now you know and you can focus in that direction.

Remembering to mark the milestones. I love this about being a fitness person on social media.  I see victories all the time!  The successful sunset run, the pat on the back for getting up early to workout, the victory dance at a dress size dropped.  I LOVE seeing them in the stream and I feed off of them for my own goals.  It’s pretty great to watch you mark your milestones.  Please keep doing this and sharing your achievement; you’ll never know who else you’ll inspire.

What would you add to this list?  What things have you been doing right?  Please join this community and share your milestones to give yourself and others a little boost.

Cheers,

Lisa