10 minute workouts

My friend shared with me a really great sight full of 10 minute work outs!  I love doing a bunch of these for a work out.  Especially if your at home.  This arm one leaves me feeling like jello every time! The best motivator line: "Just think when you wave at someone, your arms won't wave back!"

Popsugar Fit Tv

Can I Give 1%?

Did you know that 15 minutes is 1% of your day. 

I am most happy when I study the teachings of Jesus Christ. I am most happy when I take time to study the scriptures. Living a healthy life is also living a healthy spiritual life. 

I was thinking we have been asked to study the scriptures everyday. Then during one of my group scripture studies someone pointed out to me that 15 minutes of scripture is only 1% of your day. Is it that hard to give 1% of your day to the Lord? 

Then it got me thinking can't I give more than 1% of my time to serving, or teaching, or learning about Jesus Christ and his gospel? I began thinking about tithing and how we pay 10% of what we earn to the Lord and his church, wouldn't it seem like we should at least be giving 10% of our time to the Savior, so we can be instruments for him to bring people to the gospel? 

10% of your day is 144 minutes thats 2 hours and 24 min. I am not saying that this time should just be studying the scriptures, but if we get so busy in our lives that we can't give the Lord, who gave us everything he had, 10% of what he has already given us, shouldn't we filter out some of the less productive things in our life to make us happier by giving back to our Savior? If 10% seems like too much at least strive to make time for 1% of your day to get to know our Savior better. Can you give 1%?

Healthy Habits: Breakfast

So, I will be honest here. Since I started going back to work about a month ago, 

I have been struggling with my first healthy habit goal.  

But this week is a new week, 

and I've decided to start trying to develop my morning habits once again. 

In addition in my goal to do some "wake-up" exercises, 

I am adding another healthy habit to the mix.

Eating breakfast.

While this might sound like a silly goal to those people 

who can't imagine starting their day without eating breakfast, 

this is something I've struggled with my whole life.

I don't usually have much of an appetite in the morning,

and a few extra minutes of sleep are almost always worth more to me than eating something. 

But there is a lot of research and information about there about why breakfast is important. 

(Just google "why eat breakfast?")

So I've been trying to eat something in the morning, even if it is something small:

green smoothies, yogurt, a banana, or even the traditional bowl of cereal. 

 Just like doing a little bit of exercising,

I have found that eating something gives me a little extra energy boost.

And as a Kindergarten teacher,

that is something I could use every single day.

Dieting.

Dieting.  I believe this word to be evil.  (my opinion)  It seems the world is always coming up with some way to lose weight.  Don't eat this, do eat a lot of that, take this pill, give yourself this shot, and so on and so forth.  And yet who has really found the key to a successful maintained healthy body from all that dieting?!

A healthy body is a lifestyle.  Not a temporary pill.  Not starvation.  Not eating only 3 kinds of food.
It is proven that women who eat breakfast compared to women who skip it are able to lose more weight faster or maintain their healthy weight easier.

Moderation in all things.  There are so many healthy foods out there.  It would be a shame to only eat egg whites and salad all day everyday.  Things like Carbs are good for you.  It gives you energy.  Eat it.  Then exercise to keep it balanced.  It's all about a variety of healthy foods, portions, and yes enjoying that piece of cake every once in a while.  The more you limit yourself the harder it is to keep that lifestyle and the faster your body will revert back to being unhealthy and overweight when you give up that lifestyle. So why not enjoy your lifestyle, enjoy the food you eat, and maintain a healthy weight at the same time.

Small changes I have found to make for a healthier lifestyle:
-Don't add extra salt when cooking things.  Often times the natural flavor of the food is plenty and you won't even need to add any salt.
-Eat breakfast.
-Carry a water bottle everywhere you go.  This will make you drink water.  The more water you drink the better.
-Don't eat within 2 hours of going to bed.
-Exercise daily. (This is a bigger one)  It is important to be physically active.  Even if all you have time for is a few push ups and sit ups before bed time, do it.  It will keep you going longer.

Remember.  You can train your body to be healthy.  Instead of dieting, make a happy habit.  You don't have to punish yourself for the rest of your life to stay healthy.  God didn't intend it to be that way.

Healthy Habits: Morning Exercise Update

I have been looking around for some exercises that will work for my morning workout goal.
I wanted to find things that I can do at home for 10-20 minutes.

Here is what I've been trying:

• Good Morning Yoga Sequence from MindBodyGreen-- I put on some calm, instrumental music and tried out each pose. This was still a workout, even though it felt a bit more relaxing. :)

• Free YouTube video workouts from Fitness Blender -- there are a lot of different workouts to choose from. This morning, I tried this one for abs:

 

These other YouTube videos look like they might also be worth a try...if you can handle cheesy workout instructor talk, haha.

• 10 Minute Cardio Workout at Home
• Fat Blasting 10 Minute Workout
• BeFit videos- another channel with a lot of options

I've been trying to work different parts of my body every day, and it has been feeling great to move and get my heart rate up in the mornings. It's short and simple, but consistent, which is really working for me right now.

One Step At A Time.

Since I'm sure the Olympics are one thing everyone in the world knows about, I think it's fair to say that EVERYONE is feeling a little bit less of an Olympic athlete. Except, of course, for the Olympic athletes.

I got these from Google Images by typing in 2012 Olympics. 

What I'm trying to say is that it can be hard to watch 16- and 17-year-olds propel themselves off of a vault, turn at least three times in the air, and then land safely and gracefully without a single step or hop. All the while, you're thinking: Man. I really should do some push-ups today. But... this ice-cream sounds better. 

Watching the Olympics can be discouraging for so many people. But I say we take the amazing feats of these young adults and turn them into inspiration. Do you know the sacrifices these athletes have to make to maintain their physique? I once heard an athlete (via an inspiration advertisement) say that he hadn't ordered dessert in four years. FOUR YEARS. These kids don't have social lives, they don't have GNO's or parties, they don't have any spare time except for eating or sleeping, they don't even get to enjoy ice cream--which is happiness whipped into a perfectly delectable frozen cream and sugar substance.

So, ask yourself this question: how badly do you want the "perfect" body? Also, ask yourself this question: how many of those world-class athletes have the "perfect" body? I will answer that one for you: none. They don't have "perfect" bodies. They have healthy bodies. And guess what? You can have a healthy body, too. 

Those athletes didn't start out as experts. They had to put in their hours, put in their time. You don't have to sacrifice what they have, but you do have to sacrifice a little. 

Here's my advice: take this healthy thing one step at a time. Every day, make a plan. Make one conscious healthy decision. Whether that is exercising for ten minutes or two hours, eating yogurt instead of ice cream for one meal, or going to bed an hour early instead of watching the Tonight Show, that's one more step in the right direction. 

Pretty soon, you'll have so many steps under your belt, you won't ever be able to go back. 

Healthy Habits: Morning Jump Start

My healthy habit focus right now is exercise.

As a teacher on summer vacation, my mornings have been pretty lazy. 

All too often these slow, lazy mornings lead to an unproductive day. 

I decided to start my day off in a more active way 

by making a small change to my morning routine.

Now, I'm not usually one for exercise videos, but I needed some motivation.

Netflix instant stream has these 10-minute Solution workout videos.

I decided to give it a try, and did one, 10-minute video each weekday last week. 

 

Even though I was only exercising for a short amount of time,

it really helped me to start the day off right. 

I felt like I had more energy and motivation to be productive during the day.

This week, I felt like I could do more and increased the time to 20 minutes.

 

Sadly, these videos will no longer be available on Netflix, starting tomorrow. 

So, my willpower to maintain this habit is being tested a little bit. 

But I'm feeling pretty determined, 

because 10-20 minutes in the morning feels really doable. 

I think it's something I can keep up, even when I go back to work.

 

At least these videos have given me some ideas and a place to start.

I may have to use a timer and add my own music,

but I will be exercising first thing tomorrow morning. 

Healthy Habits

Whenever I think about changing my eating and exercise habits, 

I get really overwhelmed.

There are so many things I could be better at!

But getting overwhelmed is a big barrier to making changes. 

So I've decided to start with smaller goals.

I'm going to focus on one or two healthy habits at a time.

That just feels more manageable. 

Well, now that I have a plan, 

it's time to start doing something about it.

Let the changes begin.