Favourite exercises of the moment

The question I get asked again and again is always what exercises do I do? How long do I do them for? Unfortunately, I always find myself asking the same questions to everyone else. What I’ve found is that everyone is different. You need to find exercises that work for you and keep you motivated to be fit. They should be challenging. They should be fun. They should make you feel good afterwards. You should do a mix of things (your body gets used to something after 3 weeks). I’ve found that although I did weights for a year, trying a new Pilates class was the biggest workout of my life. BUT ANYWAY. Here are a list of my favourites at the moment (and remember you should do a mix of cardio and strength building to gain learn muscle mass).

Yoga

Source: healthyoga.com

I LOVE STRETCHING. I find it challenges my mind, body and spirit as well as relaxes me and makes me feel more open - physically and mentally. I’ve learnt a lot about myself through yoga (as cheesy as that sounds) and it's one of my favourite ways the start the day. Yoga helps tone, stretch your muscles, relax, heal and is a great exercise to pair with doing weights and cardio. Hot hatha (bikram yoga) can also be used as a cardio activity if it gets your heart rate pumping!

Muay Thai

Source: womensadventuremagazine.com/

I always pretend I’m in a Chun Li audition to keep me going. I love muay thai. It makes me feel so bad ass punching away that I don’t actually feel like I’m exercising. Don’t get me wrong - IT IS HARD WORK. But when you’ve got 50 street fighters to fight off to save the planet (yes, I make weird stories) you source energy from places you didn’t even know exsisted.

Pilates (a new fav!)

Source: deansomerset.com/

Holyyyyyyy molyyyyyy. I did my first spring board pilates class and counted down the minutes til it would be over. The seconds. It was horrendously painful. BUT, having said that, WOW did I feel my abs the next day. My arms! And don’t you just love that feeling when you know you’ve really achieved something? You can’t cheat when it comes to exercise. You get what you earn – no pain, no gain!

Spinning

Source: fairwoodmartialarts.com/spinning/

I had never done a proper cardio workout class until this year and I’m now hooked on spinning. After the 5 minutes of “why am I here? I want to die” when you break through that wall and your heart is racing you feel like a different person.  I feel like I could eat the whole world and be healthy after that (and you kind of need to with how much you burn off!).

Weights

Source: facebook.com/OzPinoyMotivation

VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. Above everything, lifting weights are the essential and I don’t mind going heavy. I want to build muscle because muscle is what keeps you lean and toned. Muscle burns fat. Muscle quickens your metabolism. YOU NEED MUSCLE. And yes, I have the huge jars of protein powder at home. My favourite is 100% Gold Standard Whey Protein in delicious strawberry. Having protein after a workout is so essential as it helps your muscles recover!

Running

Source: e-healthdiary.com/

I hate running. I wouldn’t run anywhere. I don’t think I could run anywhere. I can complete a 1 hour spinning class but can’t run for more than 5 minutes. Actually, the furthest I’ve ever run is 1 mile in 10 minutes and I couldn’t walk after that, haha. BUT running is the basic of the basics and tires me out the most. If I want a good workout or only had 10 minutes in my schedule I’ll pop on to a treadmill and sweat it out. I love listening to hard rock or dance music while running – Yes, I gym alone.

Random classes

Source: m.dorsetforyou.com/

Its so fun and exciting trying new activities and classes. Especially with friends. Instead of always meeting up to eat wouldn’t it be fun to try a new activity together? Wakeboarding maybe? Zumba? There are so many classes you can find online. You can even sign up for free trials at gyms and try some of their cardio kick boxing classes or body pump! If you don’t try you’ll never know! And if it's horrible you’ll be laughing the whole way home about the experience anyway. What do you have to lose?

Get active!