Fitness for women over 50 Archives - Page 3 of 3

Read more about the article 5 Surprisingly easy ways to keep your body strong

Post author:Kim Devall
Post published:August 24, 2020
Post comments:5 Comments

You want a strong body throughout your 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and beyond, right? Follow these 5 surprisingly easy ways to keep your body strong!

We want to be strong and healthy, but knowing exactly what to do isn’t always easy. If you’re a woman approaching or over 50 who wants to lose weight (FOR GOOD), have more energy and love your body again, I invite you to join our FREE Facebook community.

New here? Thanks for stopping by. After you read this post, check out my other blogs for the woman over 50 who wants to lose body fat while building muscle and eating foods you actually want to eat.

Why you want to keep your body strong

The reasons for keeping our bodies strong can be endless.

As we get older this becomes even more apparent. Things like…

the abililty to raise your arm over your head
walking to the bathroom
getting in the car
standing up from the chair

So, yes, these are basic movements, but what we take for granted today can become difficult or even impossible as we get older, IF

we don’t keep our bodies strong NOW.

Sound like too far into the future? What about…

having more energy
fewer aches and pains
feeling confident
loving how you look with a strong body
biking/running faster

You can see the benefit of these immediately!

Warning signs you may be losing muscle

We naturally start losing muscle early (some say as early as our 20’s or 30’s). By age 40, you could be losing a 1/4 pound of muscle per year. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but by age 60 you could have lost up to 20% of your muscle mass.

It doesn’t happen over night. In fact, it happens so slowly that you may not even notice UNTIL much later in life. The changes occur slowly until one day you may realize you need to grab hold of a railing because your balance is off or you find yourself walking much slower than you once did.

We often just blame it on “getting older”; however, it isn’t due to our age. It’s due to our loss of muscle.

So, what are some warning signs we should be on the watch for?

a weaker hand grip
walking slower (you may not notice. someone else may tell you)
feeling unsteady and needing to hold onto railings when climbing stairs
recovering more slowly from injuries

Not every warning sign will mean you’re losing muscle; however, if you aren’t following a strength training program it can still be a good sign to start.

How do you keep your body strong?

If you’re looking for the ONE thing you need to do…

Well, I’m going to give you 5. Ideally, we’d all do all 5 of these every day. That may not be realistic, but doing as many of them as often as you can will definitely help.

1. Eat the right foods

A strong body needs foods rich in nutrients.

Topping the list of foods we want to eat are foods high in protein. As we get older, we need more protein. And, if you don’t eat enough protein, your body could break down muscle, which will speed up the loss of muscle.

High-protein foods include

chicken breast
lean beef
turkey breast
eggs greek yogurt
fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese

We also want to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, healthy carohydratres and fats too.

2. Add resistance training to your daily schedule

There’s no more effective way to build muscle than to add resistance training to your routine. Resistance can be weights such as dumbbells, or it can be resistance bands and even your own body weight.

While our bodies are naturally losing muscle mass as we age, we can slow or reverse it by building muscle through resistance training. It is possible to have more muscle when you are 50 or 60 than you did when you were 30 or 40.

A critical step to doing this is adding resistance training to your daily routine.

Some of my favorite resistance training exercises can be done with no equipment. All you need is your body.

Upper body – pushups are the best!
Abs – any variation of the plank
Quads and hamstrings – body weight squats

3. Build your retirement "muscle" account

Are you building your retirement “muscle” account?

As you get older (like 80’s, 90’s and beyond), your body will pull funds (ie. muscle) from this account. By building muscle now, you’ll have muscle available to use later, without as dramatic an impact to your overall strength and ability to move.

Just as you’re saving money now while you can earn a living, you can build up muscle. Then, just as you’ll be pulling dollars from your retirement savings when you stop working, You’ll pull from your retirement “muscle” account when you are no longer able to build muscle.

It’s never to late to start building either of these retirement accounts, but I recommend you start NOW.

4. Move more

You’ve heard of Newton’s First Law of Motion, right? An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. To keep our bodies strong, we need to “stay in motion”. It’s much easier to stay in motion than to start moving. If you sit on the couch, in the chair etc watching TV for years, your muscles weaken making it even more difficult to get started. Another great reason to get started today. Walking is an excellent place to start. Click here for more ideas on how you can stay physically active.

So, have you joined our FREE Facebook Community? It’s a great way to connect with like-minded women on a similar path – losing weight, staying strong and energetic as we age.

5. Stretch daily

Stretching keeps your muscles strong and flexible. Without stretching, they can become tight and when you go to use them, they are weak and your risk of joint pain, or pulled muscles is higher.

Our muscles also tend to get tight as we get older, often from lack of use.

If you have a desk job, like me, our hamstrings can get super tight from sitting all day.

Stretching can be done in small blocks of time thoughout the day or all at once. I spend a lot of my stretching time on my legs as they seem to get the tightest. Shoulders and back are also key areas to stretch.

The secret is holding the stretch for 30 seconds to a full minute. You don’t want to too much force on the stretch. It will likely be slightly uncomfortable, but should not HURT.

Pulling it all together... What if you don't...

According to Michael Bemben, an exercise physiologist and professor in the department of health and exercise science at the University of Oklahoma, a woman’s muscle will deterioriate faster than a mans. To make matters even worse, we start off with less muscle than men to begin with. Talk about UNFAIR!

I highly recommend you start building muscle now. Just as you’re building your retirement savings account, think of building your muscle as a retirement account for your strong body.

There’s no time like now to invest in your muscle.

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Read more about the article Top 16 exercises to eliminate flabby arms

Post author:Kim Devall
Post published:August 1, 2020
Post comments:2 Comments

Mix and match these 16 exercises to eliminate flabby arms forever.

New here? Thanks for stopping by. After you read this post, check out my other blogs for the woman over 50 who wants to lose body fat while building muscle and eating foods you actually want to eat.

Getting Started with Exercises to Eliminate Flabby Arms

Where did these flabby arms come from?

Did you look in the mirror and ask “When did my arms become all saggy?”

Not to worry. We are going to take care of that right now.

Sagging or flabby arms are often a part of aging. Not that our age caused them, but lack of use, loss of muslce mass and an increase in overall body fat are to blame.

Will strength training get rid of flabby arms?

YES! Adding lean muscle will eliminate the appearance of fat on your arms.

Adding muscle also increases your metabolism which means more calories burned.

You can’t spot train to burn fat in your arms. You can do specific exercises to build more muscle in your arms.

What you need to know to eliminate flabby arms

Before I jump into my favorite exercises to eliminate flabby arms and build killer arms, I want to lay some ground rules I follow and I highly encourage you to adopt these too.

Contrary to what you may read on the internet, doing high reps with no weights is NOT going to get rid of your flabby arms.

Rule #1: Overload the muscle

You need to overload the muscle. So, what does that mean? In simple terms, use a weight that feels a little heavy.

The best way to explain this is to pick a dumbbell heavy enough that you can only do 10 reps (with good form). Now, the first time you do this you don’t know what weight to use, right?

So, to find the weight right for you, pick a light weight and keep testing it. For example, pick a weight, like 2 pounds, and aim for 10 reps. Did you make it to 10? Could you do more? If you could do more than 10, you need a heavier weight. If you could only do 8, you can either stick with this weight until you can do 10 or you can try a slightly lighter weight.

Side note: 1 rep equals doing the specific exercise one time (ie. one bicep curl)

Create a consistent workout routine

Although we’d all love to workout once and have toned and flab-free arms, it just doesn’t work like that.

You don’t need hours in the gym. The workout I share below can be done in 15 minutes a day, but you need to be consistent. You can do this 2 – 3 days per week as long as you don’t work your arms two days in a row.

If you haven’t already grabbed it, click the button to get my 3 day per week full body at-home workout that you can do in 15 minutes per day.

Now, “I don’t have time” just became a thing of the past.

Make sure your nutrition is on target

Since a big contributor to our flabby arms is excess fat, we need to make sure we’re following a nutritious meal plan.

Did you notice, I said “meal plan” not DIET?

If you also have a goal to lose weight, you’ll need a calorie deficit. In other words, you need to burn more calories than you consume. For some easy ways to reduce calories, click here.

Although you can’t spot reduce and lose fat specifically in your arms (your body and genetics will decide where the fat comes off first), as you lose body fat overall you will lose body fat in your arms too.

Now, let’s get to those exercises to eliminate flabby arms. The two main muscles that give you the appearance of toned, sexy arms are the biceps and the triceps. Your largest arm muscle is the bicep, which is the muscle at the front of your arm.

The tricep is the muscle at the back of the arm. This is the muscle we usually think of when we talk about flabby arms.

It takes both of these muscles to make the arm look toned. In the rest of this blog, I’ll share exercises for both muscles. The secret is to do BOTH. As you’ll see in the sample workout below, you don’t need to do lots of different exercises to eliminate flabby arms. These are here to give you alternatives so you never get bored.

Bicep exercises to eliminate flabby arms

Exercise #1 - Bicep curl

Starting position: Stand tall, shoulders pulled back and arms by your side holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward away from your body.

The curl: Concentrate on squeezing your bicep muscle as you raise your hands toward your shoulder. Raise both weights simultaneously. Elbows should be squeezing against the side of your body.

Exhale as you curl the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight.

Exercise #2 - Alternating bicep curl

Starting position: Stand tall, shoulders pulled back and arms by your side holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward away from your body.

The curl: Concentrate on squeezing your bicep muscle as you raise your hands toward your shoulder. Elbows should be squeezing against the side of your body. Lift only one weight at a time. All the way up and down and then alternate arms.

Exhale as you curl the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight.

Exercise #3 - Hammer curl

The hammer curl is done exactly like the bicep curl (#1 above) with the exception that you are starting with arms by your side with palms facing inward toward your body. As you curl the weights up, the tops of the dumbells face up toward the ceiling.

Exercise #4 - Top curl

Similar to the bicep curl except…

Starting position: Stand tall, shoulders pulled back and arms by your side holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms forward facing away from your body.

Concentrate on squeezing your bicep muscle as you raise your hands/dumbbells to waist level. This is your new starting position.

The curl: Raise both weights simultaneously toward your shoulders. Elbows should be squeezing against the side of your body. Now, only lower the dumbbell to waist level. That is one rep.

Exhale as you curl the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight.

Exercise #5 - Bottom curl

Similar to the top curl except…

Starting position: Stand tall, shoulders pulled back and arms by your side holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward away from your body.

The curl: Concentrate on squeezing your bicep muscle as you raise your hands/dumbbells simultaneously to waist level. Stop. This is your new ending position. Lower the weights back down. Elbows should be squeezing against the side of your body during the entire movement.

Exhale as you curl the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight.

Exercise #6 - Single arm curl with isometric hold

Now, we’re getting a little more fancy.

Starting position: Stand tall, shoulders pulled back and arms by your side holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward away from your body. Curl one weight up to waist level. Let’s say, we start with your Right Arm. Stop and hold it there.

At this point, your Right Arm is curled to waist level. Your left arm is still fully extended.

Sidenote: Your Right arm is going to want to drift downward. Keep it parallel to the floor as the Left Arm curls.

The curl: Concentrate on squeezing both bicep muscles as you raise your left hand/dumbbell toward your shoulder. Elbows should be squeezing against the side of your body.

Your right arm is not moving. Except, for maybe a little shaking.

Exhale as you curl the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight.

Exercise #7 - Seated dumbell curl

Grab a chair or bench for this one.

Starting position: Sitting tall, shoulders pulled back and arms by your side holding a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing forward away from your body.

The curl: Concentrate on squeezing your bicep muscle as you raise your hands toward your shoulder. Raise both weights simultaneously. Elbows should be squeezing against the side of your body.

Exhale as you curl the weight up and inhale as you lower the weight.

Tricep exercises to eliminate flabby arms

Exercise #8 - Single arm tricep kickback

Starting position: Standing, step one leg forward and bend over slightly, keeping your back flat. You can rest one hand on your front leg. Start with your opposite arm down by your side.

Bend your elbow so that the dumbbell is approximately parallel to the floor with your elbow touching your side and palm of your hand facing in toward the center of your body.

The extension: Pushing your arm/dumbbell back and behind you, squeezing the back of your arm (tricep muscle). Hold at the top for a second, squeezing your tricep (back of arm) and bring it back to starting position.

Side note: The top part of your arm from shoulder to elbow should not move much. The primary movement occurs between your elbow and wrist.

Exercise #9 - Double arm tricep kickback

This is the exact exercise as #8 except…

Extend both arms at the same time. If you’re just starting out, stick with #8 until you’re comfortable with the movement.

Exercise #10 - Single arm overhead tricep extension

Starting position: Standing tall with a dumbbell in one hand, lift your arm toward the ceiling with your elbow close to your ear.

Side note: The first time you do this, do it with no weights to get a feel for the exercise.

The extension: Lower your hand/dumbbell behind your head and down toward the middle of your back.

Side note: Only lower the weight as far as is comfortable, keeping your elbow next to your ear at all times.

TIP: Use your opposite hand to hold your arm close to your head.

Exercise #11 - Two arm overhead tricep extension

Starting position: Standing tall with both hands holding one end of the dumbbell, lift your arms toward the ceiling with your elbows close to your ears.

The extension: Lower the weight behind your head and toward your middle back. Only lower the weight as far as is comfortable and bring the weight back up to starting position.

Exercise #12 - Seated tricep dip

There is a very small range of movement with this one. For a more advanced version, see the chair/bench tricep dip below.

Starting position: Seated on the floor. Knees bent, feet on the floor. Hands on the floor by your sides. Squeeze the back of your arm as you extend your arms and raise your butt off the floor.

The dip: Bending your elbows lower your butt toward the floor. Squeeze your tricep (back of arm) as you extend and lower.

NOTE: Find the hand position that feels best to you. Some women have wrist issues so if this bothers your wrist, skip it and do a different tricip exercise.

I know it’s difficult to see from these photos. My butt is only an inch or two off the floor in the far right photo. As I said, there is a very small range of motion invovled.

Exercise #13 - Chair/bench tricep dip

This is more advanced. If you’re new to tricep dips, start with the seated tricep dip above.

Starting position: Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair or bench. Hands on the bench close to your sides (even under your butt).

With feet planted on the floor and legs extended in front of you, move your body forward off the bench.

The dip: Keeping your body as close to the bench as you can, lower your body toward the floor as far as is comfortable (think of it as nearly scraping your back against the bench) and then back up.

Elbows should be scraping the sides of your body as you start to lower and then they are pointed straight to the back of the room (not out to the side) as you lower.

Exercise #14 - Tricep knee pushups

Did you see the word “PUSHUP” and already decide that’s not for you?

If so, I ask you to reconsider. Pushups are HARD, true. But, they are one the best exercises to eliminate flabby arms. You’ll also gain a new physical strength, and mental toughness and holy crap, an amazing sense of accomplishment.

AND, I’m going to give you some variations. You’ll be doing #15 before you know it!

You want to gain confidence? Do pushups. Most women can’t do them (only because they don’t try). You will have earned bragging rights if you do these.

OK, enough about that. Time to get to work.

Starting position: Hands on the floor. With knees all the way to your toes on the floor, lean your body forward so that your chest is above your hands.

Side note: The more narrow your hands (ie. the closer they are to each other), the harder it will be SO… start with them a little wider and bring them in as you get stronger.

A wider hand position will target more of the chest instead of the triceps, but that’s ok. Do what you can do.

The Push up: Lower your body toward the floor, arms should be scraping the sides of your body with elbows pointing to the back of the room.

Extend back up to starting position.

Exercise #15 - Tricep full pushups

If you’re doing the full pushups on your toes, give yourself a pat on the back. This is NOT a beginner exercise.

Once you feel you have conquered the tricep pushup on your knees, you’re ready to start adding in some full pushups.

When starting out, mix these in with #14. Do as many of these on your toes as you can (maybe 1 or 2), then drop to your knees to finish.

The only difference with the full (on your toes) version is that YOU ARE ON YOUR TOES instead of your knees.

Exercise #16 - Lying tricep extension

This is a phenomenal exercise and a more advance one. You can build amazing arms without this one, but if you’re ready to try it, let’s go.

Starting position: Lying on the floor on your right side. Right arm reaches up and holds onto your left shoulder.

Left hand is on the floor near your right arm pit.

Legs are extended and can bend as is comfortable.

The extension: Press your body upward with your left hand. Then lower back to the floor.

Sidenote: Try not to rest on the floor. Just briefly tap down and right back up.

Pulling it all together with exercises to eliminate flabby arms

You can use these 16 exercises to change up your workout as you see fit. Or pick the one’s you like best and stick with those. Just make sure to include a mixture of bicep and tricip exercises.

Try this for a great 15 minute arm workout:

Do 10 reps of each of these exercises. Then repeat 2 – 3 times.

Bicep curl
Hammer curl
Single arm tricep curl
Single arm overhead extension

Although this blog focused on our arms, you won’t want to neglect the rest of your body.

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to grab my 3 day full body at-home workout that you can also do in 15 minutes a day.

Have you joined our FREE Facebook community yet? If not, just click the button below to join.

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Read more about the article 5 Reasons you want to start increasing your activity today

Post author:Kim Devall
Post published:May 31, 2020
Post comments:4 Comments

What comes to mind when you think of increasing your activity?

Do you think of exercise?

Do you think of cleaning your house?

In this blog, I’ll share the differences between physical activity and exercise and 5 reasons why you should consider both as you start increasing your activity.

New here? Thanks for stopping by. After you read this post, check out my other blogs for the woman over 50 who wants to lose weight while eating foods you actually want to eat.

How is physical activity different from exercise?

Physical activity is any movement of the body that requires energy expenditure, such as playing, working, active transportation (ie. biking, walking), house chores, yard work and gardening.

Exercise is a subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive and purposeful with the intent of improving one or more compenents of physical fitness.

Physical activity

Exercise

There are 5 components of overall physical fitness. You can start increasing your activity today with a variety of physical activity including planned exercise to improve one or more of these aspects of fitness.

5 Components of Physical Fitness

#1 - AEROBIC FITNESS

Aerobic fitness refers to how well your body delivers oxygen to your heart, lungs, arteries etc. Building your endurance makes every day living activities easier.

Any activity that gets your heart rate up is working to improve your overall endurance.

Some great examples to start increasing your activity are brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and biking.

#2 - MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE

If you following a strength training program, muscular strength would be how much weight you can lift, ie. 10 pound dummbell. Muscular endurance would be how many times can you lift that 10 pound dumbbell.

Thinking of starting a strength training program? Grab my FREE 7-day workout plan.

#3 - FLEXIBILITY

Have you noticed as you get older, your muscles feel tighter?

Maybe you’ve noticed it’s getting harder to lift your arms up over your head or you’re finding it hard to touch your toes.

It happens to all of us (or most of us).

As you start increasing your activity, adding in stretching and yoga are great ways to improve your flexibility.

There are several benefits you may experience as your flexibility improves:

less back pain
less risk of injury from tight muscles and tendons
better sleep
better range of motion

#4 - BALANCE

Balance is another aspect of our health that often declines as we get older.

You can counter that natural decline as you start increasing your activity.

You can improve your balance by:

strengthening the muscles in your calves and upper legs.
Standing on one foot throughout your daily activities. For example, while washing dishes or drying your hair in the morning, try standing on one foot for a few seconds and switch to the other.

#5 - AGILITY

You can think of agility as your physical quickness. Since agility requires a combination of coordination, balance, speed, endurance and strength, as you improve in those areas, your agility will improve too.

Reason #1 to Start Increasing Your Activity

The World Health Organization has estimated that physical inactivity is the main cause for approximately:

21–25% of breast and colon cancers
27% of diabetes
30% of ischaemic heart disease burden.

Reason #2 to Start Increasing Your Activity

Control your blood pressure/Reduce your risk of hypertension
Improve your mood and reduce feelings of depression or sadness
Improve your balance and lower the risk of falls.
Reduce levels of stress or anxiety

Reason #3 to Start Increasing Your Activity

“Taking it easy” as we get older is thought to be more the blame as we lose the ability to do things on our own than our age.

Years of inactivity can also lead to more doctor and hospital visits and more use of prescription medications. Remember though, it is never too late to start increasing your activity.

Reason #4 to Start Increasing Your Activity

Improve your overall strength so you can remain independent

Reach and/or maintain a healthy weight

Reason #5 to Start Increasing Your Activity

Physical activity may improve or help you maintain your cognitive function as you age.

How can I get more non-exercise activity?

Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Walk/bike to work
Walking meetings
Gardening
Playing outdoor games with grandkids
Vacccuuming or other cleaning throughout the week instead of all on one day
Use a standing desk at work
Park farther away from the building
Ride a stationary bike while watching TV
Walking the dog

If you found this helpful, please share with others. If you’d like to be part of a community of like-minded women on a journey to lose weight while eating foods you actually want to eat, we’d love to have you join our Facebook community.

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Read more about the article Use this time to create your at-home fitness routine

Post author:Kim Devall
Post published:March 30, 2020
Post comments:3 Comments

Which group are you?

Missing your gym that is currently closed due to COVID19 or

Ready to take advantage of your extra time at home and start a fitness routine?

Either way, in this post you’ll find some tips to use this time to create your at-home fitness routine.

If you’re new to my blog, Welcome! I’m so glad you are here. My goal is to provide you with tips that help you stay strong and active as you age.

Here are some of my other blogs to check out after you read this one.

Create your at-home fitness routine - Find a space in your home

You don’t need a lot of space, but it’s best if you can dedicate a space, room or even a corner of a room as your “exercise area”. You’ll need about the length of your body for exercises like pushups.

Create your at-home fitness routine - Make it fun!

So, what if you don’t have any fitness equipment at home? That’s ok. There are plenty of exercises you can do with no equipment at all. I share some of those below.

We don’t have to stop there though. You have plenty of things in your home that can be used as your equipment. This is when we get to be creative.

So, walk around your house and look at everything with a different purpose in mind. The best place I like to start is the panty.

If it weighs a pound or so, it can be used as resistance for various exercises. Grab a variety of different sizes.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Canned goods – no glass – none of us want spaghetti sauce all over the carpet! Canned goods come in all sizes so you can find one that works best for every exercise.

Miscellaneous plastic bottles – things like laundry detergent, liquid bath soap, juice, shampoo, contact solution. The list of possibilities is endless.

How about a case of water? This would be great for exercises like squats. A full case of 16.9 oz bottles will be a little over 25 pounds. Hold the case on both sides in front of you as you squat.

Click the button below to grab a copy of your free 7- day at-home workout plan.

This plan incorporates bodyweight-only exercises as well as some household items you collected above.

You might also want to check out one of my past blogs – Secrets to a strong, healthy body – that shows photos and more common exercises you can try.

Create an at-home fitness routine that doesn't require any equipment

You can create an entire workout with no equipment at all. Here’s an idea of how you could create a workout with no equipment.

15 pushups (chest)
25 bodyweight squats (quads)
10 burpees (cardio)
10 tricep pushups (triceps)
25 glute bridges (butt)
Jumping Jacks for 1 minute (cardio)
15 V-pushups (shoulders)
15 Lunges both sides (hamstrings)
25 situps
Stretch and DONE!

You can do it one time through or stop at the situps and repeat. Just remember to add in the stretch at the end.

Create your at-home fitness routine - pick a consistent time

When creating a routine or habit, it’s best if you can find a time of day that you can consistently exercise. For some, like me, that’s first thing in the morning after you roll out of bed.

For others, that may be at the end of the day. Pick what works best for you, schedule it in your calendar and keep your appointment!

Create your at-home fitness routine - find a virtual accountability partner

Especially when you’re first starting a fitness program, an accountability partner can come in super handy.

Grab(virtually) a friend that also wants to start exercising.

Agree to check in with each other and see how the workout went.

You can help encourage each other and knowing you have a check -in will help keep you from missing that appointment you put on your calendar to workout.

You can make a game of it too. Whoever misses the most workouts, buys the other one a massage, dinner, etc.

And, if you both stick to the plan you reward yourselves with a shopping trip. You pick the rewards but have fun with it.

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Read more about the article Ladies, start building muscle to feel sexy

Post author:Kim Devall
Post published:January 26, 2020
Post comments:4 Comments

Are you approaching or even over 50? Have you given up on the idea of ever feeling sexy again? Think that is for the women under 40?

Then, I’m here to tell you it is time to make some changes!

Keep reading for tips on building muscle to feel sexy.

What’s so magical about turning 50 anyway? For many of us, we have 40 – 50 more years to live. We’re not winding down. We’re just getting started! AND, we’re far smarter than we were for the first 50 years. As good as the first 50 were, the second 50 should be even better. Agree? We’re never too old to feel sexy. So, if you’re not feeling sexy right now, keep reading… THAT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE!

If you’re ready to start building muscle and not sure where to start, grab your 7-day workout plan.

There is a 3 days-a- week and a 4 days-a- week option. Basic exercises you can do at home too!

If you’re new to my blog, Welcome! I’m so glad you are here. My goal is to provide you with tips that help you stay strong and active as you age.

Here are some of my other blogs to check out after you read this one.

Feeling sexy is a state of mind

Feeling sexy is all about how you feel on the inside. If you’re like me, it’s hard to FEEL sexy if you don’t think you LOOK sexy. And, looking sexy is different for all of us. The actual external “look” doesn’t matter. It’s how you feel about how you look. I LOVE muscle. It leaves me feeling sexier and is one of the many reasons I will never stop lifting. So, if building muscle leaves you feeling sexier, are you willing to give it a try? Never considered lifting weights before? Not sure it’s “YOUR THING”?

When was the last time you looked in the mirror and said “Damn I look sexy!”?

If it’s been a while, are you ready to get to work and change that? Are you ready to start building muscle to feel sexy?

Was that a YES! I heard?

Awesome. Let’s get started.

What does building muscle to feel sexy look like for you?

This isn’t about what your husband or partner thinks. This is about what makes YOU feel sexy.

How much muscle will leave you feeling sexy? That is a personal preference. There are definitely extremes you’ll see in bodybuilding competitions. If that’s your thing, go for it.

For me, I want to stop somewhere short of that. However, I haven’t reached my peak muscle building yet. I highly doubt I ever will, my genetics will never allow me to go to that extreme.

If you’re worried about developing too much muscle, you can stop worrying. It is nearly impossible for women to build excessive muscle. Our bodies are not built for that.

How much muscle would you like to build to feel sexy? Picture yourself with some added muscular definition. Maybe toned arms or sleek legs? How does that make you feel?

How does building muscle leave you feeling sexier?

Building muscle is so much more than feeling sexy. And, feeling sexy is more than just building muscle.

However, building muscle can lead to feeling sexy and confident.

Yes, feeling sexy and confident doesn’t lie solely with your external physical appearance.

Ever had a bad hair day? If so, then perhaps you can relate to this.

Just like a perfect hair day can leave you feeling confident and beautiful, feeling proud of your toned arms can boost your confidence and have you shopping for those sleeveless tops instead of hiding behind sleeves.

Think I'm crazy? Does building muscle to feel sexy work?

Sound vain? First off who cares? Second, just wait… You worked hard for those toned arms. You should feel proud to show them off. Feeling confident about how you look will spill over into the rest of your life too – how you present yourself at work, speak up more in meetings, and stand taller. You may also be more willing to take a risk and try something new. I realize this may seem extreme; however, I will say it anyway. Building muscle can totally change your life!

Are you ready to totally change your life?

Building muscle will leave you feeling sexy.

It will also increase your confidence, help you sleep better, burn more calories, reduce the risk of osteoporosis and many chronic illnesses. Think of these as the side – effects of building muscle. These may not be your reason for building muscle, but if you’re ok with these, it’s time to get started.

How do you get started if you're over 50 and have never lifted before?

First, grab the First 5 Steps to lose weight and have more energy which will help you get clear on what you want to accomplish. Second, take a moment to reflect on where you are starting. Have you been doing some other form of exercise or are you starting out at ground zero? If you’re at ground zero, no worries. This is the perfect time to get started. On a scale of 1 – 10, how important is it for you to feel sexy? If it isn’t important to you, it isn’t going to happen. Building muscle won’t happen overnight. There’s no magic pill. It will take some work. On the scale of 1 -1 0, you’ll want to be somewhere around a 7 so that you can stick to it long enough to start seeing results. As you build muscle and start loving the look, your motivation to keep going will get stronger.

What muscles should you build to feel sexy?

Whatever muscle makes YOU feel sexy.

This will be different for everyone and there is no right or wrong answer. This may be a hard question to answer if you haven’t worked on building any muscle yet.

One way to determine this is to look around at other women you run into at work, while shopping, in magazines, on TV, etc. Are there specific muscles you see in other women that catch your eye and you like?

If you’re not sure what muscles will leave you feeling sexy, I have some suggestions for you to consider. Keep in mind, ideally, you should be building muscle for all of these.

Building muscle to feel sexy starts with ARMS

When I started lifting, I had NO idea the impact it would make on my life. Stick with me and it can have the same impact on YOU! So, let’s start with arms. Arms include your biceps and triceps. Closely linked to the look of your arms are shoulders. Those three muscle groups create the full upper body look. The arms are also what is most visible to the outside world. Don’t get me wrong, you aren’t doing this for them. However, the first time a stranger in line at the grocery says, “Wow, you have great arms.”, it will make you smile and feel proud of your hard work. I guarantee you, that stranger in the grocery line has no idea the impact they just made with that simple compliment. It is HUGE! It motivates me to work out even harder. I think it will you too. Check out my article on Secrets to a strong, healthy female body for exercises you can do for your bicep, tricep, and shoulders.

You can also grab your 7-day full body workout plan to help you get started.

Read more about the article How to remove these top 10 excuses for not exercising

Post author:Kim Devall
Post published:January 20, 2020
Post comments:0 Comments

Excuses, we all have them. They are often disguised as reasons. The secret is knowing when our reasons are nothing more than an excuse. A reason lets us off the hook. We don’t feel guilty if we have a “reason”. Let’s be brutally honest and call a spade a spade. Here are the top 10 excuses for not exercising. We can rationalize all day. In the end, they are still just excuses.

If you’re new to my blog, Welcome! I’m so glad you are here. My goal is to provide you with tips that help you stay strong and active as you age.

Here are some of my other blogs to check out after you read this one.

No guilt or shame here. If you’ve used one or more of these, you’re in good company. We’ve all used them at some point for something we really didn’t want to do.

No worries. Let’s dive in as I share the top 10 most common excuses and how you can remove them, start exercising and get in your best shape and health.

Excuse #1 - I don't have time.

This is by far one of the most used excuses for not exercising. I get it. We are all busy. The reality is that if you are waiting to find the time to exercise, you will probably be waiting a long time.

How likely is it that you will wake up tomorrow with “free” time you don’t know what to do with? Yeah, me neither.

Instead, you will need to make the time. There are people busier than you and me that make the time to exercise. It is all about prioritizing. If they can do it so can you and I.

Split your exercise into small chunks of time.

I think we often feel like if we don’t have an hour to dedicate to exercise, we don’t have time to exercise.

Try breaking your exercise up into smaller 10 – 15 minute sessions. When I’ve been short on time, I will get to the office 15 -20 minutes early and walk around the building at a pretty good clip. Not a leisurely stroll, but a fast walk.

It gets my blood moving, my heart rate elevated and I am more energized to start my workday too. You can also do this same thing at lunch or even mid-day.

Do you ever watch TV?

Where else could you make some time? Do you ever watch TV? Could you exercise while watching TV?

If you want to exercise, you will make the time and if you don’t you will use the excuse “I don’t have time”. Which will you choose?

Excuse #2 - I'm too tired.

I’m too tired has been one of my excuses for not exercising on many occasions. This may sound crazy, trust me and try it – exercise actually gives you energy.

Yes! you will be less tired after you exercise than when you started.

I have had to remind myself this many times and it is ALWAYS true. The hardest part is convincing yourself to start moving when you’d rather sit and veg on the couch. I’ll let you in on a secret that works like a charm for me.

Here's my secret...

You have to try this one. On those days I feel tired and don’t have the energy to exercise, I give myself permission to stop after 10 minutes if I’m still feeling tired.

99% of the time, the endorphins have kicked in, I’m ready to rock and roll and I have no desire to stop.

Excuse #3 - I don't like to exercise.

I didn’t start out liking exercise. I started because I knew I should. Because I loved the results, I began loving exercise. I love the energy it gives me and the look of muscle. I love the feel of the endorphin rush. It’s such a great feeling!

Not everyone likes to exercise. However, I have yet to meet someone who didn’t like the results when they stuck to it. Whether you’re going for physical results (stronger, leaner body), you want to be healthier (reduce your risk of health issues), or sleep better, the results can change your life.

"You can have Results or Excuses - Not both."

– Arnold Schwarzenegger

Results don’t happen overnight. You need to stick with it long enough to start seeing results, then you may be hooked like I am.

First, you have to find an exercise you like or can at least tolerate. You can only force yourself for so long and then you’ll end up quitting.

Excuse #4 - I'm too old/too out of shape to exercise.

You’re never too old or too out of shape to start exercising. However, consult with your doctor to determine if there are any activities you should avoid due to your physical abilities or other chronic illnesses.

Once you’ve been cleared by your doctor, take it slow. Start where you are and gradually increase. If your starting place is zero, meaning you have not done any exercise consistently for quite a while then going from zero to an hour workout is too much. Start with just 5 minutes. A great place to start is walking. Or if you have joint issues, swimming might be a good option for you.

Pick something you enjoy, set a timer and take that first step. You’ll be amazed at how fast that 5 minutes will go. Stick with the 5 minutes for a few days or until you start feeling like you could do more. Then as you are ready, start increasing by 1 minute.

Soon this will no longer be one of your excuses for not exercising.

As you’re busting all of your excuses, you can get started by following my 7-day strength training workout plan. It is totally FREE and gives your a 3 day-a week option and a 4 day-a-week option.

Excuse #5 - I'm not motivated to exercise.

Start by thinking about why you want to exercise in the first place. If you’re doing it for someone else or someone told you “you should”, you are probably going to find it difficult to “find the motivation.”

I can assure you though – You will realize amazing benefits from exercising. Some of the benefits of exercise are:

Better Health
More eneregy
Improved mobility
Sleeping better
Loving your new physical transformation
Increased productivity
Feeling sexy and more youthful

"Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. Focus on all the reasons you must make it happen."

Do you have a goal to train for?

If these benefits aren’t enough to get you motivated, dive deeper into why you want to exercise. Do you have an activity you’d like to do? Maybe it is going on a specific hike you haven’t had the endurance to do in the past.

Maybe you want to walk/run a 5k. Find a goal that will be fun and motivating. Even better, find a friend to do it with you.

Create a reward system

Then, you can also take it a step further and create a reward system. For example, if you walk 2 miles every day this week, you will treat yourself to a pedicure/ massage/ an hour by yourself to read a book.

Pick a reward that you will look forward to.

Create a visual of your success

Personally, I love the visual of marking days off my calendar. Sound silly? Maybe, but it works for me. Maybe it will work for you too. Grab a calendar and start marking off the days every time you workout. How many days can you mark off in a month? You may get like me and hate seeing a day not marked off!

And with all that, you may still have days that you are not motivated to exercise. That’s completely normal. This is when discipline comes into play.

This is about progress, not perfection. Our goal is to limit our excuses for not exercising even if we don’t eliminate them completely.

Excuse #6 - I've tried before and I couldn't stick with it.

Even more reason to try something different.

Find a different exercise. Don't force yourself to do an exercise you hate.
Start small. Increase gradually.
Know why you are wanting to exercise and your reason is important to YOU.
Do it with a friend.
Have an accountability partner or coach.
Create a reward system
Try one of the other recommendations in this blog

Excuse #7 - Exercise is boring

Exercise does not have to be boring. Find something you enjoy. Periodically, change it up.

I can easily get bored so I change my workouts every 6 – 8 weeks.

Exercising with a friend is another sure-fire way to take away the boredom!

You can also put on a podcast, listen to a book on audible or turn your exercise into a competition – with yourself.

Create a competition with yourself

I’m not big on competing with others, but I LOVE competing with myself. Can I beat my personal best? Lift one more rep, use a heavier weight, knock a few seconds off my walk. This gets me fired up every time.

I was a runner for years and LOVE it; however, my back just can’t tolerate the impact anymore. I switched to speed walking, set my timer and I’m off. Beating the previous time always gets me going. Sometimes I can beat it and sometimes I come up a bit short. That’s ok, it was still great exercise and I had fun in the process.

Speed walking might not be for you, but find what is and make a game/competition with it.

Excuse #8 - I don't like to sweat and then have to take another shower

Another shower. RE-do my makeup and hair! Yep, I’ve used this one. Instead of 30 minutes to work out, now you need 60 – 90 minutes, right?

I’ve been there, but it doesn’t have to be one of our excuses for not exercising. So, what do you do? Here are a couple of options that have worked for me:

Not every workout has to be a sweat-dripping workout. If you’re in a hurry and have to head out soon, try a workout that won’t leave you sweaty. Perhaps some yoga or strength training. Save your cardio for another day.
Workout in the morning before you’ve had your shower. This is my choice 99% of the time. I also love starting my day energized from a workout so it’s a win-win.

"If I waited until I got all my ducks in a row I'd never get across the street. Sometimes you just have to gather up what you've got and make a run for it."

Excuse #9 - I have too much going on right now.

Ok, you’re busy. There’s a lot going on. You’ll just wait until you can commit 100% to a fitness routine. Sound familiar? If so, join the club!

Think about it this way. Your health is far too important to put aside until you have TIME.

Most likely next week, next month, next year won’t be any less busy.
If you can’t fully commit to a fitness routine, could you commit 50%? Think about where you will be next year if you commit 50% NOW compared to if you WAIT until you can commit 100%?
Doing something is far better than waiting and doing NOTHING.

Excuse #10 - I will do it later. It's just not that important to me. I'll get to it someday.

This is very similar to excuse #9 and at the same time isn’t even really an excuse. You just don’t want to. And, that of course, is your choice.

If it isn’t important to you then you aren’t going to do it so no sense pretending.

However, I do caution you that time will fly by. Keep a close watch on your health. Are you maintaining a healthy weight?

Consequences are not immediate

The consequences of not exercising are not immediate. You won’t wake up after you missed a workout and have no muscle strength, be wheel-chair bound or be out of breath when you walk up the stairs. These things happen over time.

The problem can come when you forget about your fitness for years and then suddenly realize that you’ve lost mobility, have no energy, have put on 30 pounds, and have high blood pressure.

You can start exercising at that point. However, the sooner you start the easier it will be.

There are far too many benefits of exercise to completely ignore. If you skipped over it, go back to excuse #5 for some of the benefits of exercise.

Be sure to download Your Key to Unlocking Weight Loss Secrets which details the “key players” that need to be aligned to create YOUR weight loss success story.

Pin it now. Read it later.

Read more about the article Secrets to a Strong, Healthy Female Body

Post author:Kim Devall
Post published:January 6, 2020
Post comments:13 Comments

Not sure why you need a strong body? Think you're too old, too out of shape to start now?

This is a common misconception. So, let me start by saying, you are NEVER too old or too out of shape to get started. EVER!

In this post, I’ll share the secrets to a strong, healthy female body, the importance of strength training and how you can get started today!

Grab your 7-day workout plan

If you’re new to my blog, Welcome! I’m so glad you are here. My goal is to provide you with tips that help you stay strong and active as you age.

Here are some of my other blogs to check out after you read this one.

Let's define a Strong, Healthy Female Body

While this will be different for everyone, in general, a strong, healthy body is one that is free of disease, physical pain and has the strength needed for all the activities you wish to pursue.

Your activities may be running errands, going to work, climbing stairs or if you’re more adventurous it may include hiking, skiing, running, sightseeing, dancing, tennis, soccer and, of course, chasing your kids or grandkids.

Regardless of your preference of activities, you’ll want to have the physical strength that allows you to participate, right?

Want to see how fit you already are?

Before we dive into creating your strong, healthy body. You may want to take a pre-fit test. This is a great way to measure your progress throughout your fitness journey. See Mayo Clinic for a more indepth fit test you can take. Here are the highlights of the strength portion of the fit test:

Push up Test

# of pushups by age for "good" fitness rating

You can do these on your knees or toes. With a strong back and core and hands a little outside shoulder width, lower your chest toward the floor.

Try to get within an inch of the floor and then return to starting position. See how many can you do before you need to stop.

If you haven’t done a pushup in years, you may only be able to do one or maybe you can only go down a couple inches, that’s ok. Just do what you can.

For a fitness rating of good, women over 55 should strive for 10.

If you aren’t at the recommended number, no worries. Now, you have a goal to work toward.

women over 35 — 19

women over 45 — 14

women over 55 — 10

women over 65 — 10

Sit up Test

# of crunches in 1 minute for "good" fitness rating

Laying on your back with knees bent and feet on the floor, cross arms across your chest, lift head and shoulders off the floor and back down.

Although this is called a “situp test”, you are not doing a full situp. You only want to crunch up far enough to lift your head, shoulders and upper back off the floor. Feel a nice squeeze in your abs and release back to the floor.

Keep your head neutral. In other words, make sure you have enough room between your chin and top of your chest to place your fist.

Count how many you can do in 1 minute.

women over 35 — 30

women over 45 — 25

women over 55 — 21

women over 65 — 12

How did you do? Write down your results and keep them handy. After you’ve followed a strength training program for a few weeks (say, 6 – 8 weeks) you’ll want to re-take the fit test and see how you’ve improved!

It’s NOT about where you are today, it’s about where you will be in 6-8 weeks.

Are you ready to get a Strong, Healthy Female Body?

Once you’ve been cleared by your physician, it’s time to consider strength training. So, what exactly is strength training? If your mind immediately goes to the bulky men in the gym grunting and hollering, well, that is one way to do it. AND, not how we are going to approach it. Strength training is working your muscles by adding resistance to movements in a slow and controlled manner. If you’re just getting started that resistance may be in the form of your own body weight. I’ll get into some specific exercises in a moment. In case you’re still not sure if strength training is for you, check out these benefits.

9 Benefits of Strength Training your way to a Strong, Healthy Female Body

The benefits of strength training are numerous. Here are a few of them.

Without a doubt, preventing the natural loss of muscle is a key benefit. We start losing muscle mass as early as age 30 and more significantly by age 50.

Should you care about losing muscle mass? I say, YES!

2. Building muscular strength allows us to continue everyday activities like lifting the grocery bags out of the car, reaching for the top shelf, and carrying luggage through the airport.

3. While we are gaining muscle mass, strength training also helps reduce body fat.

4. Taking preventative measures now with strength training will pay off as we get older, with increased bone density and a lower risk of osteoporosis.

5. Did you know muscle burns more calories than fat? So, by building muscle, you are also keeping the excess weight off.

Your muscles are burning calories even when you’re not working out!

6. Muscle also helps improve your balance which becomes increasingly important as we age and are at a greater risk of falls.

7. Strength training is also known to help reduce signs and symptoms of some chronic conditions like arthritis, obesity, depression and type 2 diabetes.

8. We all want more energy, right? Exercise including strength training boosts energy levels and improves mood through elevated endorphins.

9. If for no other reason, strength training may enhance your overall quality of life and improve your ability to do everyday activities. For me personally, my number one goal is to stay active for as long as humanly possible; therefore, I am a diehard fan of strength training.

If you’re ready to give it a try, here are some of my favorite exercises. These are great for beginners as well as the experienced weight lifter.

Beginner Exercises for a Strong, Healthy Female Body

Always warm up with 5 – 10 minutes of brisk walking, or any form of cardiovascular movement to get your heart rate up.

Although there are tons of exercises you could be doing, in this blog, I will focus on one exercise per major body part.

Upper Body Exercise - Bicep Curl

Standing tall with arms by your sides, keep your elbows touching your sides as you lift your hand, palms facing up, toward your shoulder and back down.

Start with no weights in your hand. Concentrate on squeezing your bicep muscle as you lift your hand toward the shoulder.

Exhale as you lift arms up and inhale as your arms lower.

Upper Body Exercise - Single Arm Tricep Kickback

Standing, step one leg forward and bend over slightly. You can rest one hand on your front leg. Start with your opposite arm down by your side.

Lift arm to 90 ° angle with elbow touching your side and palm of your hand facing in toward the center of your body

Lower arm down and behind you, squeezing the back of your arm (tricep muscle) and back to starting position.

Upper Body Exercise - Shoulder Press

Standing, bend elbows bring both arms up to shoulder height with elbows at 90 ° and palms facing forward. Press arms overhead and back down.

Exhale as you push the weight up. Inhale on the way down.

Keep your core tight (squeeze your abs and glutes) so that you don’t lean backward. If you have a mirror, check to make sure your back stays flat.

Upper Body Exercise - Chest Press

Laying on your back on the floor. Bring arms to 90° at chest level, with palms facing toward feet. Press arms up over chest, bringing hands to near touching at the top and back down stopping before your elbows touch the floor.

Upper Body Exercise - Back - Lat Pulldown

You can do the lat pulldown with a band or with arms only. To get a good feel of the muscles working, do a few without a band. This way you can really concentrate on squeezing your back as you lower your arms.

Standing, bring both arms up overhead, squeeze your back as you lower your arms to shoulder level and back up.

Lower Body Exercise - Quads - Wide Stance Body Squats

Standing with feet wider than shoulders, toes slightly pointed out, grasp hands in front of body, bend knees and lower body toward floor keeping back straight and glutes pointing toward the floor. Squeeze your glutes (butt) as you stand back up.

Lower Body Exercise - Hamstrings - Deadlift

Standing, with arms holding dumbbells, palms facing your body, and knees slightly bent, bend at the hip keeping back flat until your hands are near shins and you feel a slight tightness in your hamstring (back of your leg) and return to standing.

Squeeze your glutes as your rise.

Core Exercise - Abs - Plank hold

On the floor, start on your hands and knees. Lower arms so that you are resting on your elbows and forearms. Elbows should be directly below your shoulder. You can stay here or walk your feet out so that you are on your elbows and toes.

Hold for 15 seconds. Gradually increase as you get stronger.

Creating a Fitness Plan for a Strong, Healthy Female Body

So, now you have some exercises to get started. You may be wondering how often should I do these, when do I add weights, how many reps, how much weight? Am I right?

I’ve pulled all of this together in a one-page workout plan with two options to get you started. Grab your copy and get started today.

If you're just getting started...

Here are some recommendations to get you started.

– One set of each exercise. A set is one round of the exercise without resting.

– Each set should be 10 – 15 reps. (ie. 10 – 15 bicep curls = 1 set)

– Use body weight only – focus on how to do the exercise properly before adding any additional weight.

– Follow this plan 3 times a week with at least one day of rest between workouts, preferably with no more than 2 rest days in between workouts. For example, Mon, Wed, Fri or Tues, Thurs, Sat

If you have some experience with strength training...

– Three sets of each exercise. A set is one round of the exercise without resting.

– Each set should be 10 reps. (ie. 10 bicep curls = 1 set)

– Use a dumbbell that allows you to get 10 reps with good form.

– If you choose to workout more than 3 days a week, split the exercises into 2 or more groups so that you aren’t working the same muscle 2 days in a row.

– An example workout might be Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders, Abs in one group and Chest, Back, Quads and Hamstrings in another group.

– Mix them up and see which exercises you like doing together. It’s all your personal preference.

Read more about the article Easy Steps for Starting your Fitness Routine

Post author:Kim Devall
Post published:December 23, 2019
Post comments:4 Comments

If you’re new to my blog, Welcome! I’m so glad you are here. Thanks for stopping by. After you read this post, check out my other blogs for the health-conscious woman.

Ready to start exercising and have no idea where to start?

If you haven’t exercised in a while, starting your fitness routine can be confusing. Where do you start? No worries, I’ve got your back.

Here are some easy steps for starting your fitness routine.

OK, let’s do this!

Step 1 for starting your fitness routine

Determine your fitness goal

What would you like to accomplish? There is no right or wrong goal.

This is YOUR goal.

Some ideas to get you thinking are:

Lose weight
Build muscle
Increase endurance
Improve flexibility or balance

Have more energy
Fewer colds
Feel more confident when you look in the mirror
Feel more joy and happiness

If you’re interested in losing weight, grab Your Key to Unlocking Weight Loss Secrets!

Step 2 for starting your fitness routine

Consult your doctor

Always discuss your plans to start a fitness routine with your physician first. If you have any pre-existing health concerns, your doctor can advise whether it is appropriate for you to include or avoid specific exercises.

Step 3 for starting your fitness routine

Assess your current fitness level

Ok, you’ve been cleared by your doctor. One last thing before getting started.

You’ll want to take photos and measurements. OK, well, maybe you won’t “want” to take them, but trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

As you work toward your fitness goal, you will be amazed at how motivating it is to look back at where you started. The photos and measurements will come in handy.

There may be times when you think you’re not making any progress; HOWEVER, when you compare measurements you may find you’ve lost inches around your waist, thighs etc.

Step 4 for starting your fitness routine

What type of exercise should you do?

Most importantly – one you enjoy and can stick to.

I, personally, like having a variety of forms of exercise in my routine. This helps keep me from getting bored AND different types of exercise offer different physical benefits.

Some forms of exercise to consider:

Cardio – Do you enjoy walking, running, dancing, HIIT (high intensity interval training, or biking? These are all great cardio exercises that will get your heart rate up. If you’re just getting started, take it slow. You can increase intensity, speed etc as you build endurance.
Strength training – my favorite. This is about building muscle and functional strength (ability to lift groceries, children, suitcase, open a jar, etc).
Yoga – This is great for improving your flexibility, reducing stress, and can your increase strength as well.
Stretching – This is probably the most important of all and the one most often ignored. As you start exercising, your muscles will get tight. Stretching will help keep you limber, which aids in reducing the risk of injuries.

Step 5 for starting your fitness routine

Create a plan

OK, so now we are starting to get into the nitty gritty (is that actually a word?)

You’ve picked out the forms of exercise you’re going to do, right?

Next, you need to decide:

How many days a week will you workout
What time of day will you workout.
How long will you workout
Where will you workout
Do you need any equipment

Sample plan for walking

You decided to start your fitness routine with walking. Here’s how your plan might look:

Let’s say you’re going to walk 3 days a week for 30 minutes at a pace that gets your heart rate up.
And, you’ve decided Mon, Wed and Sat will work best.
You prefer walking outside as long as the weather allows. You have the treadmill at the gym as your back-up plan.
You’ll want to get a good pair of walking shoes, if you don’t already have a pair.

Sample plan that includes strength training

You’re ready to jump all in with a fitness routine that includes strength training, cardio, yoga and stretching.

If you’re just getting started , I would not recommend doing all of this on day 1. You can gradually work up to this.

Let’s say you’ll do strength training intermixed with HIIT (high intensity interval training) 4 days a week on Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri
You want to work on your flexibility so you plan to do 30 minutes of yoga or stretching on Wed and Sat
Are you wondering if you get a rest day? OK, if you insist (ha ha). Sundays will be your rest day.
You plan to workout at home on most days, so you’ll need some equipment. I would recommend getting a couple sets of light to medium weight dumbbells, a workout mat and a good pair of shoes.

My recommendation

If you’re just getting started, remember to take it slow. I would recommend starting with 2 – 3 days a week and sticking to walking. Once you’ve created consistency of 3 days a week, think about adding in some strength training.

Step 6 for starting your fitness routine

Grab a friend

Do you worry about being able to stick to your fitness routine? Here’s the secret…

Grab a friend and keep it fun!! Agree to hold each other accountable.

This is how I started out and it worked so well. If I didn’t feel like working out, my friend would convince me to join her. On the days she didn’t feel like it, I would encourage her to join me.

We probably worked out 2 – 3 times more often than we would have on our own.

You’ve got this! Need some help starting your fitness routine?

Be sure to grab your FREE 7-day workout plan.