Workout Tips

Remember this clean eating post from our real mom Jen Senecal? The response was amazing and we had many requests for workout tips. Jen put a list of tips together to keep all of us motivated while following our fitness plans. 

Jen-
So you’ve started eating healthier and you’re ready to jump into a workout routine. But you don’t know where to start. Or who to turn to. Or what color sneakers you should buy. (Always go with hot pink.) To help motivate, I’ve put together a list of some workout tips that I practice regularly. The rest, as they say, is up to you. But you already knew that.

Workout tips:
1. Anything is better than nothing. Get your body moving. If you live within walking distance of stores, markets, coffee shops (or, yes, even ice cream shops), walk there instead of driving. If you can take the stairs instead of an elevator, do it. When you’re at the park with your kids, play WITH them.Most parks have monkey bars and pull-up bars and rock walls—do it with them instead of watching them. If your husband (or wife) wants a little hanky panky TWO times this week, GO FOR IT. Get that heart rate up any way you can to get you out of the idle funk.

2. With that being said, PUSH YOURSELF. When you think you can’t do any more, do more. If you’re at 18:28 minutes on a treadmill and think you’re going to absolutely pass out if you don’t stop immediately, push to 19 minutes before stopping. If you’re doing a timed circuit training and your time ends before your completed set does, complete the set anyway. It’s those little tiny pushes that add up to bigger pushes each time. DON’T LET YOURSELF OFF THE HOOK. Your body is more capable than you think. It’s just getting your mind to believe it.

3. Set a goal. Decide what it is that you want to achieve. Weight loss? Toning? Muscle gains? Endurance training? The ability to run around with your kids without panting? Once you figure out what it is you want, you can build your routines around that goal. A clear path is easier made once you tell yourself what it is you’re trying to achieve.

4. Use your kids. On days that I know I won’t be able to fit cardio in at the gym, I’ll pick up my 4 year-old and walk up and down our staircase with her in my arms (carefully) for 10-15 minutes. Or give my 5 year-old a piggy-back ride while running around our backyard. Other great exercises to do at home with your kids are having them get on your back while you plank (even if it’s for 20 second bursts) or do a seated wall squat with one of them sitting on your quads. I often grab my 2 year-old and hold her under her arms and do bicep girls as I raise her up and down. And one of our favorite things to do as a family is put some music on loudly and DANCE. I’m completely sweating after 25 minutes of dancing with the girls. Those little cuties aren’t just around to give you anxiety and leave trails of toilet paper through the house. They can help you get in shape, too!

5. Find your thing. You gotta love what you’re doing or else you won’t stick with it. The options are endless now, from anti-gravity yoga to TRX Suspension training to crossfit to runners’ groups to dance classes to kickboxing to barre to strongwomen (and man) competitions. There is most definitely a thing out there for you—just don’t be afraid to go find it. Groupon and other social deal sites always put out coupons for fitness studios- USE THEM to find your thing.

6. Phone apps are your friend. There are all types of phone apps that motivate, track and provide workouts. To name just a few: Gain Fitness places world-class trainers on your phone with exercise tutorial videos and comprehensive workouts; Myfitnesspal is great for logging your cardio and strength sessions and calorie burns (also logs food); Cyclemeter is a comprehensive fitness program for bikers, runners, walkers, and more; Fitbit works simultaneously with a Fitbit tracker (that you have to buy and wear) and tracks everything from your steps to your sleeping patterns (As Nike+ app tracks a Nike Feulband); Runkeeper sets and records goals and tracks miles; iWod Fitness provides Workouts of the Day (WODs) and video tutorials; Charity Miles donates a dollar amount based on your mileage to a
charity of choice. There are so many more that are great. Use them!

7. Find a support team. If you do better with someone holding you accountable for your workouts, (and, really, don’t we all), find a fitness buddy. My great friend and business partner just began a FitSquad, locally, for moms who want to work out. She hosts crossfit circuit sessions at her house, where we all bring our kids and take turns watching them while two of us work out (aka- get our butts kicked). Not only is it essentially a gigantic playdate for the kids, it’s an instant support system and a way to meet new friends. We push and motivate each other and it’s become a highlight of our week. Why not start one in the town you live in, among your friends?

8. Look for inspiration. Not just at photos of people who look how you wanna look. Look for pages and sites that give you exercise regiments. That share their fitness stories. That offer recipes. That remain positive and encouraging. These pages will push you. I follow so many fitness competitors on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, not because I want to compete in shows or that it’s my goal, but because these are places that tell me how they do what they do. I take bits and pieces from their stories and adapt them to my own life. (I also have my eye on a certain ass on Instagram and I will keep going til I get it.)

9. Make your cardio count. I’m sure by now you’ve heard the term HIIT. It means High-Intensity Interval Training and is an endurance-building, fatburning machine. This form of cardio involves cycles of high-intensity bursts with low to moderate recovery. An example would be, after a warm-up,
sprinting at max capacity for 30 seconds and following it with 60 seconds of walking (or jogging) and then repeating the cycle for 15 minutes or whatever cycle count you’ve set a goal for.  In less than 30 minutes, you’ve efficiently burned high calories, increased aerobic capacity, increased lactate threshold
(meaning you will get sore less), and improved glycemic metabolism (meaning your muscles use glucose rather than it being stored as fat). Doing a HIIT workout for 15-20 minutes will do more wonders for your body than jogging steady on a treadmill for an hour.

10.Get a good playlist. I’m a music girl. I need high-energy, feel-good beats to listen to when I work out. (If I’m not doing a class or group session of some sort.) Some of my current faves are Calvin Harris’ “Let’s Go,” Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us,” “Krewella’s “Alive,” Dev’s “In the Dark,” Avicii’s “Levels,” and Flo Rida’s “Good Feeling.”

11.Drink a lot of water and eat enough calories. SO IMPORTANT. You need to stay hydrated and I admit that this is my biggest challenge. I’ve recently bought a large jug to refill throughout the day and carry with me, because you will most definitely feel the lack of energy in your workouts if you skip
the water. (Iced coffee can only count for so much.) And I think a big mistake that a lot of people make is cutting major calories out of your diet while amping up your activity levels. You need calories to sustain your workouts. Of course, they should be clean calories and nutrient-rich foods, but don’t be
afraid to eat. If you deprive your body of too many calories on a regular basis, your body will go into starvation mode and lower its metabolism and energy usage to hang onto every last molecule it can for survival (even if short term, you notice weight loss). Being active means you need energy. I eat somewhere around 2,000 calories a day (which is based on my fitness level), but I never count them and I never pull them out because I think they are harming me. I look at calories as fuel and I try to create that fuel out of the best possible foods that my body will be able to utilize. If you want to track your calories for a week to see where you stand, try using MyFitnessPal. It will also break down your protein, carbs, fat, and other nutrient profiles. It’s a great starting point to know where you should adjust and tweak to find that balance of food intake with energy levels and body response.

12. If you want to see muscular development and change, you gotta pick up those weights. Don’t be intimated by weight lifting. This is the bulk of my workouts each week. You can find workout routines online at places like muscleandstrength.com or oxygenmag.com (or ask a friend who already does them for their routine or suggestions) and YouTube videos on how to do every exercise out there. If weightlifting is your thing and you want to focus on that, break up your week into body parts and start with weight you’re comfortable with (I break it up over 4 days right now). If you don’t know where something is in your gym, just ask someone for help. If you need help understanding how something works at the gym, ask the person next to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re lifting 5 lb. dumb bells or 50 lb. dumb bells—you’re doing your thing and that’s all that matters. For me, a huge part of getting over that initial intimidation of being among a sea of big guys lifting at the weight area of my gym was to go in with a plan. I had my exercises stored in my phone. I would ask if I couldn’t figure out a machine. People are willing to help and will support you. Weight lifting can change your life, I promise. (And no- you won’t get bulky. I promise that, too.) (Side note- there are other exercise regiments that utilize weight-training. This tip was geared toward anyone who is interested in bodybuilding specifically.)

13.Keep notes. Each week, I keep track of my strength exercise in MyFitnessPal so that I note my progress. It’s easy to do and something to keep you busy in that minute between sets. Keep notes during crossfit workouts or jot down your times on your runs, too. Remember, we don’t strive for perfection; We strive for progress. Progress motivates. (And if you have mommy-brain, like I do, you’ll never remember otherwise.)

14. Be patient. Changing your body (internally or out) takes time. If you keep at it, you will progress and while you may think it’s not happening fast enough (or at all), it’s happening. Try not to focus on a scale number or time frame. (The only time I weigh myself is at a doctor’s office.) Focus on the positive
changes you see within yourself—whether it’s strength or tone or being able to do 10 push-ups at once–and don’t dwell on anything else. Focus on how you feel. On your elevated energy levels. On your general state of well-being. If you train your brain to really SEE all the good changes, you’ll stay in a place of happiness, which will keep pushing you. We are our own worst critics, so don’t fall into that trap. Every change is a success. Keep at it.

15. Make time. Schedule it in. There is 30-60 minutes (and even less if you’re doing certain workout programs) somewhere in your day that you can spare. There are some days when it’s not possible to get to the gym because of an event or other circumstance, but don’t give up on the others because you’re
tired or don’t feel like it. (In fact, sometimes those days end up giving you the best workout.) Don’t tell yourself that you’ll start tomorrow or next Monday. Start today. Look at your workout as a meeting you can’t skip and show up. Being healthy is a commitment, but it’s one you NEVER regret afterwards.
And once you get going, you’ll crave it and work your schedule around it.

16. Register for athletic events! This is probably my best piece of workout advice. This is the ultimate fitness goal and not only does it give you something to work toward, it bonds you with a team of old or new friends in your training together. Sign up for local 5Ks, obstacle course races, scavenger hunts, fundraiser walks, biking events, a triathlon—ANYTHING. The second you register, you know you have to start training. (There are phone apps to help you do this, too!) I just completed my first Tough Mudder three weeks ago and while I was TERRIFIED when I signed up, the experience of training, teamwork, camaraderie and accomplishment was like none other. I’m now registered for Spartan Beast in September, with a new team, and I’m driven to push hard, with friends that I love. I can’t say it enough- find an athletic event and sign up today!Being fit is a commitment that is like any other in our lives. We commit to being a good parent or to caring for our pets or to the demands of our jobs, but sometimes we forget about the most important commitmen
t of all: ourselves. When that should
really be our number one focus. I think what I love most about this lifestyle is that my daughters are picking up on it. They ask if I’m going to the gym daily or how my workout was or what kind of exercises I did. They tell people that their mommy (and daddy) is strong and can do anything. They plank when I’m not looking. They understand that a piece of my day is carved out to take care of myself, and that it’s OK to do that. I want them to grow to be strong, healthy women and I know the best way to do that is to keep doing my thing.

** Jen Senecal is a mom to three girls, a writer, blogger and graphic designer. Read more on her foray into parenthood at keekoin or visit her atRhody Mamas. Find her on Instagram and Twitter at 
@JenSenecal