Wealden Times | WT217 | March 2020 | Good Living supplement inside
Wealden Times - The lifestyle magazine for the Weald
Wealden Times - The lifestyle magazine for the Weald
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The fear of f itness<br />
Don’t be put off before you’ve begun, Sarah Maxwell<br />
explains how realistic goals will get you on track<br />
I<br />
recently ran a 10-day quit sugar<br />
course on Facebook with many<br />
people from all around the world.<br />
As well as looking at how sugar is<br />
now in the most unlikely everyday<br />
foods, finding out from our food<br />
diaries just how much hidden sugar<br />
we were all eating, supporting each<br />
other in our journeys of discovery and<br />
sharing sugar-free recipes, I included<br />
videos with 10 minutes of exercise<br />
for people to follow each day.<br />
Everyone who signed up to the<br />
course wanted to feel good about<br />
themselves and learn to incorporate a<br />
little exercise into their life – especially<br />
after the Christmas excesses.<br />
Everyone engaged wholeheartedly<br />
with the nutrition, food diaries,<br />
sharing recipes and supporting<br />
each other. The one thing that was<br />
really apparent though, was that<br />
many were reluctant to begin the<br />
exercises, even though they had<br />
been enthusiastic before the start.<br />
Exercise can be a scary word for<br />
many and often we have a rigid view<br />
of what constitutes exercise. Picture<br />
perfect fit bodies on Instagram,<br />
daily Facebook updates on how<br />
many miles your fit friend ran the<br />
previous day... It’s no wonder you<br />
can be put off before you even start!<br />
This is why it is so important to<br />
change your perception of what<br />
physical fitness is supposed to be and<br />
in particular what it means for you.<br />
So, if you’ve been thinking about<br />
exercise but instead have just<br />
found yourself going through all<br />
the reasons why you can’t exercise,<br />
don’t like gyms, don’t know where<br />
to start and don’t have enough<br />
time, trust me, you are not alone!<br />
It doesn’t have to be that way.<br />
Let me show you how…<br />
1Have an honest conversation<br />
with yourself about the value<br />
of your health. Regardless of how<br />
rich, successful and beautiful you<br />
are, none of this matters if you’re not<br />
healthy enough to enjoy it. If you see<br />
exercise as maintaining or improving<br />
your health, you have more of a<br />
motivator and are less likely to see it<br />
as something to punish yourself with.<br />
2Start your day with a positive<br />
mindset. As soon as you get out<br />
of bed do some mobility exercises<br />
loosening your shoulders, circling<br />
your hips and gently warming<br />
your body up. This is not only a<br />
great way to gently wake yourself<br />
up it will also start your positive<br />
mental process for the day ahead.<br />
manage your expectations.<br />
3<br />
I have found that after many<br />
years of being a fitness trainer one<br />
of the common reasons for failure is<br />
over commitment. The idea behind<br />
fitness isn’t to make a quick change<br />
it is about creating something that is<br />
sustainable and enjoyable. I’m all for<br />
goals, but don’t set yourself up for<br />
failure, be realistic about what you<br />
have time and the ability to achieve.<br />
4Be aware of social media and take<br />
it with a pinch of salt. Unrealistic<br />
images can play havoc with selfesteem.<br />
Those just-got-out-of-bedwithout-my-make-up-shots?<br />
There is a<br />
team of specialists behind them. These<br />
are people who want you to think<br />
they look like that all of the time.<br />
5find a personal Trainer who<br />
can motivate you. If you really<br />
can’t motivate yourself to get started,<br />
consider taking on a personal<br />
trainer for a few sessions either<br />
on your own or with a few likeminded<br />
friends. This can be a great<br />
way to get you started, motivated<br />
and enable you to start exercising<br />
in a safe and effective way.<br />
“One of the common<br />
reasons for failure is<br />
over commitment”<br />
6There are so many great online<br />
fitness courses and classes<br />
available. You don’t even have<br />
to leave the house to get fit. The<br />
bottom line? Exercise shouldn’t<br />
be stressful so don’t force yourself<br />
to do something you don’t enjoy.<br />
Don’t forget, a short walk counts as<br />
exercise, find something that makes<br />
you feel great, doesn’t add to your<br />
stress levels and is realistic for you.<br />
Exercise of the month:<br />
5 MINUTES OF MOVEMENT EVERY DAY<br />
This can be dancing to your favourite<br />
song, going up and down the stairs,<br />
following an online exercise class.<br />
Whatever it is, enjoy it, it’s only 5 minutes!<br />
Sarah Maxwell is a multiple awardwinning<br />
Fitness and Lifestyle coach<br />
and mum of two who juggles a lot<br />
of balls. Find out more about Sarah<br />
and her work at sarahmaxwell.com<br />
Sarah shares her Fitness and<br />
Lifestyle tips on Instagram<br />
@sarahmaxwelllifestyle<br />
123 wealdentimes.co.uk
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