wellness wednesday: creating a fitness routine

For today’s “wellness wednesday” post, I want to share some tips with you guys on how to create a fitness routine that works for YOU! Sometimes the hardest part about working out is just STARTING or figuring out how to make working out fit into your everyday life! Am I right?! Once you get into a routine though and you have your workouts seamlessly mixed into your day…working out is SO much easier + more doable!

So, when you are trying to create a fitness routine that works for you, my first tip is that you look at your life. What does a typical week look like for you? Do you have an 8-5 job? Are you a nurse with 12hr shifts? In order to make fitness a part of your weekly routine, it has to fit into your schedule and it has to make sense. For example, if you work an 8-5 job and typically have social events or other commitments in the evenings…your fitness routine might need to be 6am workouts, at least a few days a week! If you try to squeeze a workout in after work, but before your social event…if work goes late then you’re v likely to just cancel that workout. So when you’re creating your fitness routine, find a consistent time in your week where the workout stands the BEST chance for not getting cancelled or pushed aside by something else.

This next tip kind of goes hand in hand with the tip above. When you’re creating your fitness routine, know yourself. For example, my husband Michael is the furthest human being in the world from being a morning person. He has tried for years and years to get up and have a ‘morning routine’ and [thus far], it’s just not happening. So if you are also that way, it’s probably not realistic for you to say “I’m going to workout 5 days a week at 5am.” If you have a REALLY hard time getting out of bed in the mornings and are typically more of a night person…maybe your fitness routine needs to look like 8pm workouts. For me, personally, I wouldn’t workout at 8pm if you paid me $100 lol. I am NOT a night person and love working out first thing in the morning. So, just know yourself and what you are most likely to actually accomplish.

Next, when you are creating your fitness routine, evaluate what your goals are. Once you know what your fitness goals are, this will help determine what types of workouts you’re doing each day. Do you have a goal to run a marathon this year? Your workouts will clearly involve a lot of running haha and you should look up marathon training plans to determine what weekly workouts/runs should look like for you. Do you have a goal to lose fat / gain more muscle? Your workouts then might look like a mix of cardio, HIIT workouts and weight training. [If you’re not sure what type of workouts to do, it’s always a good idea to meet with a person trainer & have them steer you in the right direction!]. If your goal is to just move your body more in 2019, and try to be more active…then you build out your fitness plan with any workout that sounds fun (and challenging!) to you, and just get your body movin!

My next tip in helping you create a fitness routine is be realistic. If you are someone that worked out once a month in 2018…maybe don’t make your goal to work out 7 days a week in 2019. You might start off strong there, but odds are you’ll get burnt out REAL quick. If you’ve never really worked out consistently before, make a realistic goal to workout consistently 3 days a week in January. If you do more than that, great! Maybe increase it to 4 days a week when we hit February. But, if you make your goal too unrealistic (ie: 7 days a week), if and when you don’t hit that goal, you’ll more than likely feel defeated and be more prone to give up. Or, if you are a working mom with 3 babies at home, be realistic with your goals. Maybe 2hrs in the gym 5 days a week isn’t happening. Maybe your fitness routine needs to look like a 30min at home workout, 4 days a week, and that’s amazing!

My last tip in creating a fitness routine that works for you is find an activity that you ENJOY! Do you love running? Throw your shoes on and get outside and hit the pavement! Do you love dancing? Find a Zumba or dance class at your gym! Does yoga make you so happy? Join Corepower yoga and go as much as possible! Yes, your workout needs to challenge you because that’s how we get stronger, but I’m a firm believer in the importance of enjoying your workout. When you enjoy working out, you’re way more likely to stick with your fitness routine, making working out a daily habit for you! For me, personally, I love to run. So running will always be a part of my fitness routine. This year I’m trying to do less cardio though and build muscle, so I’ll be running less days than I used to and incorporating more weights. But, since I love running so much, it will always be a part of my fitness routine!

More activewear I’m loving to help motivate your workouts!

As I’ve said before, I definitely think having the right activewear is a huge part of keeping up motivating and staying fit. Seriously, it helps me so much! The tank I’m wearing in these photos is such a great basic and definitely a workout must-have IMO! It’s super lightweight, doesn’t show sweat, and it’s under $40! It comes in several colors too, so I def need to grab those.

I also love this jacket because not only is it incredible quality, but it works really well for running outside! It keeps you warm without making you crazily hot. I like that it doesn’t necessarily look like a workout jacket, so I can wear it with causal outfits and athleisure too. It’s so versatile and such a great go-to jacket for everyday wear!

Okay I also just saw that these Nike leggings I’m wearing in the photos are 40% off right now! I was already in love with them, but now they’re especially budget-friendly. These leggings are super breathable and they hold their shape/tightness throughout workouts. I love wearing them for spin or any cardio, but they’re also great for just running errands too.