How to Make Exercise a Daily Habit

I have an outstanding tip for making exercise a daily habit. A lot of people want to exercise regularly but struggle with executing it over long term. I've been applying this tip to my own exercise habits for a couple of years now. Applying this idea is how I went from a person who wanted to workout regularly but could never stick to an exercise plan to a person who exercises most days of the week. 

Set a Bare Minimum Goal

My trick to make exercise a daily habit is to set the bar so low that there is no way I can allow myself to miss it. I call it my daily bare minimum goal. I set a bare minimum goal that I have to achieve every day. Before you write me off as lazy, hear me out. 

My bare minimum goal is to take 10,000 steps (tracked on my FitBit) and do a two minute (iso-prone) plank. The reason that this bare minimum goal is good for me is because I know it is something that with a little extra effort in my day, I can always achieve.

In order to get 10,000 steps I know I need to make a few laps around my office building during the day, use the bathroom on another floor and park my car really far away from the front door. If I didn't work out that day, this still may not enough to meet my goal, but it gets me most of the way there. On a day that I don't run for exercise, I may have to take a short walk around the neighborhood after dinner to reach my final goal of 10,000 steps.

The two minute plank is a good bare minimum goal for me because it is long enough to be challenging, but not too long to be impossible to achieve on a daily basis. No matter how crazy my day is, I can always find two minutes to get in my plank. 

Your bare minimum goal doesn't have to be the same as mine. My husband's bare minimum goal is to walk one deliberate mile a day. This goal works for him because he works from home and enjoys walking Ollie. He knows that no matter what his day throws at him, he can find 15 minutes for his daily one mile walk. The key is finding your own bare minimum goal that works with your lifestyle. He hasn't missed his mile in three years! (I've seen him walk in the rain, snow and cold!) No one ever got super fit from walking a mile day, but it is a positive step you can take towards better health and establishing healthy habits. 

Your Bare Minimum Goal Shouldn't be Your Only Goal

Don't get me wrong, having a bare minimum daily goal doesn't mean that I don't have bigger, more aggressive goals, plans, and exercise schedules.

The truth is that I do some sort of traditional workout at least four or five days a week, but I meet my bare minimum goals seven days a week. Exercise became a habit for me by starting with my bare minimum and building from there.

Even as I grew consistent with my daily habits, got stronger, and added more workout days, I never changed my bare minimum. The bare minimum is what it is, the bare minimum. That's the beauty of it.

BENEFITS OF A BARE MINIMUM GOAL

I think it is effective for two reasons. First it helps establish daily healthy habits. My habit now is to park ridiculously far away from the front door at the office and use the restroom on another floor. My husband and I often take a quick walk after dinner if I haven't yet met my goal. This is a habit. It is a daily part of my life that I don't have to think or obsess about. I just do it. Not getting my step goal or missing my plank is not an option. It's non-negotiable.

Secondly it helps me feel accomplished and check a healthy goal off my list each day, even if I fell short on other day's goals. Let's face it, sometimes I have the best of intentions but I sleep in too late, have to work late, get stuck in traffic or get roped into an after-work happy hour (the horror!). My bare minimum goals help me achieve a baseline goal no matter what life throws my way. Even if I miss a traditional workout, I know I did something positive for my health today. It's a form of self-compassion. I can feel good about myself even if I missed a workout. 

How to plan your own bare minimum goal

When you are planning your workouts for the week, start with your baseline bare minimum goals, then build on with your exercise plan for the week. The bare minimum isn't intended to be the only thing you ever do to improve your fitness, it's your back-up plan for when real life gets in the way. 

First come up your own bare minimum goals. The key here is to make it so achievable that you can't miss it. It shouldn't take up a lot of time or too much planning on your part, but should be a little bit challenging.

For example, I wouldn't make my goal to walk 5000 steps a day because I do that every day anyway without any additional energy. My 10,000 step goal requires me to make efforts throughout the day to get additional steps and maybe 15-20 minutes at the end of the day if I didn't do a traditional workout that day. It's achievable but requires a little extra effort on my part.

Now 10,000 steps a day might be too low for some people or too aggressive for others. A good way to determine a step goal is to track your steps for three days, average your steps over the three days, then add 3000 steps to the average for a starting daily goal. 

A bare minimum goal doesn't have to be a step goal or even a mileage goal. A great bare minimum goal is to do 15 minutes of any physical activity. Maybe you like Yoga and want to do 5 to 10 sun salutations as your daily bare minimum goal. Find something that fits your preferences and lifestyle. 

Terrible Bare Minimum Goal Ideas

What you shouldn't do is get overly excited and set super aggressive bare minimum goals, this will only set you up for failure. Working out for an hour a day is a great goal to work towards, it is just not an appropriate bare minimum goal. It takes too much time, too much effort and is too easily missed.

Running a 5K is a great personal fitness goal, but it is a terrible bare minimum daily goal. First of all, you always need rest days from running and you may not always have the time in your day to run a 5K.

100 squats a day is not a great bare minimum goal, because it is best to have have rest days in between resistance training sessions.

Your bare minimum goal should be something doesn't require equipment, support of other people (babysitters, a ride, a partner), a time limit (gym hours) or much time out of your day. It also shouldn't be too aggressive or challenging. It should be something gentle enough for everyday without rest. 

No matter what your current fitness level from beginner to advanced, a bare minimum goal can be an effective way to build new healthy habits into your current lifestyle. Will you try it? I'd love to hear your bare minimum goals.

Coach Lea

 

5 x 5 x 5 Workout Body Weight Bootcamp

Hi, fitness friends.

Welcome to another edition of bodyweight bootcamp. This is a weekly post where I share a portion of the beginners bodyweight bootcamp class that I teach every Tuesday evening in Hurst, TX. I'd love it if you would join me for a bootcamp class whether in person in Hurst, TX or try out my workout here. 

5 x 5 x 5 circuits

To complete the 5 x 5 x 5 workout you will perform five reps of each exercise in the circuit for five minutes. Repeat the exercises in the circuit until the five minutes are up. Take a one minute break between circuits. Complete all five circuits for a full body weight workout. 

Get a FREE printable PDF version of this 5x5x5 body weight workout here! 

Circuit 1

Glute Bridge March and Bicycles

Perform 5 reps of each exercise and repeat until the five minutes are up. 

Glute bridge march: Lie on your back with your knees bent and lift your hips off the floor while squeezing your glutes and abs. Bring your knees in towards your chest to march. March on the right leg then left leg equals one rep. Don't forget to breathe!

Bicycles: Lie flat on the floor with the lower back pressed into the ground. Place your hands on either side of your head, do not lock your fingers or pull the head up. Lift your knees to a 45 degree angle. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor and touch your right elbow to the left knee while pulling your knee up towards your head. At the same time, straighten your right leg, keeping it several inches off of the floor, similar to the motion you'd make while pedaling a bicycle. Repeat on other side.

Circuit 2

Squats and Curtsy Squats

Perform 5 reps of each exercise and repeat until the five minutes are up. 

Squat: Starting with your feet hip width apart push your hips back and lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor (like you are sitting back in a chair) or as low as your flexibility allows. In the low position, engage your core, squeeze your glutes and push up to standing in an explosive movement Take a deep breath in as your lower to the squat and breath out as you return up to standing.

Curtsy Squat: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips. Cross right leg behind body and to the left. Bend left knee 90 degrees, or as low your flexibility will allow, toes pointing forward, then return to starting position. Repeat on other side. This is one rep.

Circuit 3

Tricep Dips and Plank Rows

Perform 5 reps of each exercise and repeat until the five minutes are up. 

Plank rows: Start in a high straight arm plank position with your wrists directly under your shoulders with your legs wider than hip width for stability. Keep your body in a straight line from your shoulders to ankles while engaging your core. Do not allow your hips to hike up or sag down.

With your core tight and your glutes engaged lift your right elbow to the ceiling. Repeat with left arm. Row on right arm, then left arm equals one rep.

Circuit 4

Kneeling Up/Down and Lunges

Perform 5 reps on each leg of each exercise and repeat until the five minutes are up.  

Kneeling up/down: Start in a kneeling position on a mat. Leading with your right leg, push yourself up to standing position. While standing, leading with your left leg, lower yourself back down to kneeing position. Repeat on opposite leg, use your left leg to stand and right to return to kneeling.

Lunges: With your feet hip width apart and your toes pointed straight ahead, hold your core stable with your back straight and take one large step to lunge forward until your front knee is lined up over your ankle and your back knee is nearly touching the floor. Do not allow your knee to go past your toes. Push back up to standing and change legs. Lunge on right leg then left leg equals one rep.

Circuit 5

Pushups and Mountain Climbers

Perform 5 reps of each exercise and repeat until the five minutes are up. 

Pushups: Start in a high plank position with your hands placed directly under your shoulders. Keeping your body in a straight line, while engaging your core slowly lower your chest to the floor. Once in the low position, push back up to the starting position. If this is too challenging, drop to your knees. 

Mountain Climbers: Start in a straight arm plank position with shoulders directly over wrists. Step one foot up in line with hip, then step back to plank position. Repeat with opposite foot. This is one rep. Move as quickly as possible while keeping your core engaged and breathing normally. 

Warm up and cool down before and after every workout. It is important to remember that while I am a certified personal trainer, I am not your trainer. Please speak to a doctor or fitness professional that understands your unique fitness level and abilities before beginning any new exercise program. 

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Coach Lea

Avocado Pineapple Protein Smoothie

I made this delicious protein shake that I wanted to share with you. I've been experimenting with different flavor combinations to keep my protein shakes interesting. 

I start with a handful of spinach in the bottom of the blender. I add spinach to every shake I make because you can't taste it and it is an easy way to add in another serving of green vegetables. I added a 1/2 cup of canned pineapples, a 1/2 of avocado, 1/2 of banana, one scoop of vanilla protein powder and water to blend. 

This was seriously delicious. It's a great post-workout recovery drink with a good mix of healthy protein, carbs and fats. The avocado provides healthy fats and gives the shake a creamy smooth texture. This might be my favorite flavor combination yet. 

Avocado pineapple protein smoothie

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Coach Lea

Workout Wednesday Bodyweight Bootcamp: Rep Ladder Circuit

Hi, fitness friends!

I started teaching a beginners' bodyweight bootcamp class this month at ComCardio in Hurst, TX. It is a lot of fun and I am excited about building this class from the ground up. ComCardio is a brand new studio that caters to all fitness levels and abilities. They have a variety of classes including indoor cycling, indoor bodyweight bootcamp (my class!), a dumbbell class and Zumba! I also host a free weekly run club there that is turning out to be a lot of fun. 

I'd love if you would join me on Tuesday nights for my class (first class is free and they offer affordable class packages after that). I know not everyone lives near Hurst, TX so I want to offer a small portion of my weekly classes online, so you can try some of my workouts at home for free. 

The great thing about bodyweight boot camp is that we use our own body as the resistance, so there is no need for additional weights or equipment at this time. As you get stronger, you can add weights to the exercises to progress them.

This first workout in this series starts with the basics of bodyweight exercises: the squat, the pushup and the lunge. I love ladder rep workouts because the intensity increases with each circuit by adding additional reps and time to the isometric holds.

Before beginning your workout, prepare your body for exercise by performing a series of dynamic warm up exercises. This is also a great time to foam roll any tight/overactive muscles.

Squats

Start with your feet about hip width apart with your toes pointing forward. Take a deep breathe in, push your hips back and lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or as low as your flexibility will allow). Exhale as you push yourself back to standing position.

HOLD: Hold the low position for the required time. Feel the burn!

REPS: Lower yourself into position at a tempo of 4 seconds, hold for 2 seconds in the low position, then push up to standing for 1 second. That'e one rep. Repeat for the required reps in the circuit.

Push-Ups

Place hands shoulder-width apart on the floor in a high plank position. Your body should form a straight line from your heels to your head. Engage your abs, bend your elbows, and lower your body until your chest is about one inch above the floor. Do not allow your butt to stick up in the air or your hips to sag as you lower. Press yourself back up. If you do not have the strength to do a full pushup on your toes, drop to your knees to reduce the weight. 

HOLD: Hold the high plank position for the required time. Engage your abs!

REPS: Lower yourself into position at a tempo of 4 seconds, hold for 2 seconds in the low position, then push up high plank for 1 second. That'e one rep. Repeat for the required reps in the circuit.

Lunges

With your feet hip width apart and your toes pointed straight ahead, hold your core stable with your back straight and take one large step to lunge forward until your front knee is lined up over your ankle and your back knee is nearly touching the floor. Do not allow your knee to go past your toes. Push back to starting position and switch legs

HOLD: Hold the lunge position for the required time. 

REPS: Lower yourself into position at a tempo of 4 seconds, hold for 2 seconds in the low position, then push up to standing for 1 second. That'e one rep. Repeat for the required reps in the circuit. Repeat legs!

The Circuits

For the first circuit you will move through each of three exercises without a break, performing the hold followed by the required reps before moving onto the next exercise. Once you complete the circuit, take a 30 second break before moving on to the next one.

For example in the first circuit, you will hold in low squat position for 10 seconds then perform 10 reps. Move onto the push up hold (high plank) for 10 seconds then perform 10 push up reps. Perform the lunge hold on the right leg, then the left leg and finish the circuit with the lunge reps on each leg. Rest for 30 seconds before moving onto the next circuit. 

As you work into the high rep circuit be sure that you are completing the reps with good form. If you feel tired and your form is suffering, rest and restart as often as needed in order to complete the number of reps safely. 

Once you complete the circuits be sure to cool down and stretch before ending your workout. 

It's important to remember that while I am a certified personal trainer, I am not your trainer. Please get clearance from a medical professional before beginning a new exercise program and consult with a fitness professional who knows your unique history, needs and abilities. 

I look forward to sharing a small part of my bodyweight bootcamp classes with you each week!

Try it out and let me know what you think.

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Coach Lea