It’s a morning like any other morning. You’re dragging yourself out of bed, making coffee and getting ready for work. And as you’re groggily making your way down the hallway, you briefly catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror.
You haven’t had coffee or done your hair yet but, what the f%&k?
Who’s that person staring back at you? Surly, it’s not you. You’re much younger, sexier and thinner than that.
That’s when you realize, you’ve lost a little of your mojo. The charm, the magic and the charisma that you once possessed in spades has now been replaced by wrinkles and a bigger waistline.
There are periods when taking care of yourself takes a back seat. Whether you’re young, dumb and full of rum or you’ve settled down and have a full-time job, wife, kids or all three, making time for diet and exercise is just another thing for your do to list. .
And you maybe able to get away with this for a while before the ugly reality sets in. Then you realize that something needs to change after you’ve seen yourself in the cold light of day.
Now you’ve seen things. Worse than empty coffee cup things and it’s time for action.
If it’s been a while since you’ve picked up a weight or a vegetable, here are some suggestions to start getting your mojo back. Mix and match these suggestions to your heart’s content.
Do a weekly menu
This is something my family has done for a while now. Sit down one morning a week and plan what you’re going to eat for the week. Now if you haven’t any recipe ideas upstairs in that noggin of yours, click here, here, here and here.
This does a couple of things. Firstly, it takes the guesswork out of dinner when you come home tired and beat. What’s for dinner? It’s right there on the fridge. Secondly, once you have a menu, it make shopping for the week easier. Whatever you need for the menu is your shopping list.
Please try to include fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, meats, (if you’re not a vegetarian) beans, dairy and try to keep the chips and candy to a minimum. However, it doesn’t mean it’s chicken breast and broccoli every night because that’s silly.
It’s not about perfection because that doesn’t exist, aim for better.
Here is a calendar you can print out.
10-minute movement breaks
According to Dr Glenn Gaesser of Healthy Lifestyles Research Center at Arizona State University, doing three separate 10-minute trainings was significantly more effective than a single half-hour session in reducing high blood pressure.
“The fractionized exercise led to lower average 24-hour blood pressure readings,” Dr. Gaesser said.
Regardless of whether you have high blood pressure or not, 10 minutes of exercise has great health benefits. Doing 10 minute movement breaks a couple of times a day, 3-4 days per week, could have your body and waistline thanking you.
Here are some examples.
Cardiovascular Trainings
Do a two-minute walk/warm up, then a 15 second sprint followed by 15 seconds of rest. Repeat this cycle for five work/rest intervals. Then cool down for 2-3 minutes.
This can be done on treadmill, track, bike, rowing machine or the elliptical.
Just be sure to wipe the sweat off the machine (and yourself) when you’re done.
When access to cardio equipment is limited, use the perfect machine – your own body.
Punisher squats – 20 seconds of body weight squats followed by a 10 second squat hold. Repeat this sequence eight times. Ouch. Or to make this easier and rest for 10 seconds rather than holding the bottom of the squat.
Or
Do two-minute warm up, then 15 seconds of a body weight exercise (Jumping jacks, running in place or high knees) followed 15 seconds rest. Repeat this cycle for five work/rest intervals. Then walk for two three minutes to cool down.
Resistance training
1B. Side planks- 15 seconds each side
Or
1A. Triple extensions 20 reps
1B. Front plank 20 seconds
1C. Hip extensions 20 reps
Set the stop watch for 10 minutes and do as many circuits as possible. Please rest when needed.
Or you could use your household items that are lying around the house to get a great training when you haven’t time for the gym.
Be more active
Even when you don’t have time for formal exercise, being more active throughout the day will have an impact on your waistline. There’s a little thing called N.E.A.T (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis) which can account for up to 50 % of daily calories burnt in highly active individuals.
To increase N.E.A.T, find more opportunities to move and include them into your daily routine. For example
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Park further away from the entrance when you go shopping
- Do some house/yard work
- Play with your kids
- Take the animals for a walk
- Stretch or do some body weight exercises on the hour, every hour while sitting at your desk
Doing any kind of movement and being more active is the key here.
Original Strength resets
Original Strength founded by Tim Anderson and Geoff Neupert and its premise is everybody can move as God intended, no matter your age or injury history. They came up with the 5 resets that help you restore your natural in-built operating system.
They are
- Breathing
- Rocking
- Rolling
- Head nods
- Crawling
When doing these exercises (for the most part) you remain of the floor which lessens the threat to your nervous system because being on the ground gives you stability. Less threats to your nervous system means less aches and pains for you.
These exercises may seem a little strange, but after doing them for a couple of weeks your body will be better, and your mojo will slowly return. And don’t worry about the weird looks your’re bound to get, you’ll be the coolest person at the gym.
Rocking
Crawling
Head nods
Rolling
Finishing up
Don’t take the loss of your mojo lying down. Get up off the mat and away from the mirror and do something about it. These suggestions are a good start but if you need further help you can contact me here.
I promise I will not bite.
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