Find your perfect workout!

Over the years, I have heard many people say, “Working out is boring”, or “I have no motivation for it”, or the classic…”Does eating McDonald’s count? I’m working out my mouth!”. All I have to say in response to that, is that you just haven’t found an exercise that you enjoy yet. Working out doesn’t have to be work. Yes, I realize that the title certainly has the word ‘work’ in it…but seriously, when you find the right exercise, working out can be really fun.

When I was young, I was a competitive dancer. When I got older, I got really interested in going to the gym. Then I tried boxing and I got really into that. Now, I’m back to dancing again. Most of the time, in order to continue to improve, you need to experiment and change up your routine. My task for you this summer, is to explore all the different types of exercise that you like or that your interested in trying. Make a list of 5 different kinds and make it a goal to try something new once a week for the next 5 weeks. At the end of each week, write down how you felt about the workout; what you liked, what you disliked etc. Then after the 5 weeks, review what you liked the most and try to incorporate 2 of the exercises into your weekly routines.

Making sure that your body stays active, is such an important step in learning to love yourself, because an active body is usually a more healthier body. Not to mention the endorphin’s you’ll get from each workout…and as the great Elle Woods once said, “Exercise gives you endorphin’s and endorphin’s make you happy”, and being happy should be your ultimate goal.

Here is a list of different exercises you can do, but of course, feel free to try anything not listed that you may be interested in:

1. Workout dvds or Youtube videos: Workout dvds can be really fun because you can do it in the comfort of your own home and you can do it at all hours of the day. Some of my favorites include The Tone it Up Girls:

2. Dancing – Recently, some of my friends and I have created a Dance Crew. We get together twice a week and practice different routines that we find online. It’s so fun and it definitely fills that little whole in my heart that was created when I stopped dancing years ago. If you think your too old to take classes at a regular studio, find a few people to go to the gym with you and learn some dance routines from Youtube. If you live in the city, I know there’s a ton of places where you can take drop in classes, just do some research.

3) Boxing – This is an amazing sport and it can really tone your entire body. I recommend boxing to EVERYONE because it can really help release pent up emotions.

4) Running – As you may know, I love to run. I recently did the Sporting Life 10K in May and I’m now training for the Hawaii Half-marathon. Running can be so freeing and its another great form of exercise that helps you release emotions fast. I use to really dislike running until one day, when I was really sad, I found myself running for about an hour haha. I just didn’t want to stop because it felt so good…and that was the day I fell in love. The rest is history.

5) Gym – Some people find the gym really motivating because there are so many other people there, and you all have the same goal – to get fit. I recently got a membership at the gym so that I could dance more, but I also love to use the weights and take the classes. Good-life has an excellent Hot Yoga class that I take once or twice a month…I would highly recommend that to everyone as well.

6) Yoga or Pilates – I’ve been a yogi since high school when one of my buds and I would go to the Sunday morning free classes with LuLuLemon at the mall. Yoga is an amazing form of exercise and it also has a lovely mix of meditation. If you haven’t ever tried it…do it now. 🙂

7) Take up a Sport: Soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis,…the list is endless. There are so many kinds of fun sports you can try…don’t knock it till you try it.

8) Jump rope or other outdoor activities- Its summer guys!! So get outside and do some summer things like jump rope or canoeing (if you have a cottage) or swimming. All of these things can work out different body parts and get you feeling more active.

I hope you guys find the perfect workout for you and as always, I’m sending you so much love!

Melissa ♡