Boost Your Mood: Workout

So this week to carry on the boost your mood series I wanted to talk about working out. Working out makes me feel so much better mentally and physically. Now I’m not talking about busting your ass off in a gym six hours every day, I myself can’t even go to a gym because I’m too scared haha, I much prefer to work out in the comfort of my own home! I am currently on week 4 of the BBG (Bikini Body Guide) as well as trying to practice yogalates at least twice a week and next week I’m going to my first session of Zumba! I really enjoy BBG and know that if I eat a balanced diet aswell I will see results! I did weeks 1-9 last summer and did see a difference unfortunately I stopped and took the new year to start again but I do have to push myself to do it! (I hate leaving my bed in the morning haha) So I thought I would give some tips based off my own experience to try and help motivate you!

1. GET STARTED

Grab yourself some clothes to work out in! Doesn’t have to be anything expensive, many high street stores are offering affordable sportswear. I’ve got really nice pieces from places like Primark and H&M but the most important thing is to be comfortable so leggings and a baggy top will do if that’s what you want! Plan a workout schedule for the week around the times that you work, go to college etc. This way you can get into a routine and try to stick to it. Maybe even purchase a program or buy a dvd. I would recommend BBG which is around £30 or the Solomon Yogalates dvd which I brought on amazon for £6! Definitely research different ways to work out and join communities on social media sites to help keep you motivated and get you started. If you want to start going to a gym to have access to more advanced machines I would find the closest one or ask a friend to join with you to make it more social and fun!

2. JUST MOVE

Find some sort of exercising that you love! If you love to dance join a Zumba class or just bust out some moves along to the harder dances on just dance if you have a wii or just pop on your favourite classics and jump around (as well as pretending to sing with the hairbrush of course haha). If you want to relax while you work out I would really recommend a form of yoga. I love listening to calming sounds while I know I’m working on my flexibility and core strength. Try lots of different things and just find what you enjoy most! I like to run and I started out with the couch to 5k which helped massively instead of just running and feeling defeated I could actually feel and see myself getting better! Swimming, cycling and

rock climbing are other social fun ways to get moving!

3. PUSH YOURSELF

I know it is so hard. Some mornings it takes me around 2 hours to get up and convince myself to actually put on my sports gear and get my equipment out but once I’ve completed it I feel so much better! I like to work out in the morning since it just works with my schedule better and it puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day! I feel like I’ve accomplished something and if I do push myself to get up early I also have a lot more time to do whatever is on my to-do list! It makes me focus for the rest of the day! You can have all the motivation in the world but it’s really all about the self-discipline. I try to get into a good headspace before I go to bed and put out all the equipment I need and the clothes I’m going to wear so it’s all ready in the morning and I can just get up and go. I also find writing a list the day before of what I need to do the next day and crossing it off really helps because I’ve written it down it makes me want to do it more!

I hope that this has helped you and once you start seeing progress there won’t be any turning back! Have fun!

See you next week

Catrina x