Changing Lanes & Balance Amidst Chaos
The fact that you'll constantly change lanes in life is a given, and finding balance amidst the chaos is challenging, to say the least. Life is always unpredictable and as we transition from children to life after grade school and beyond, we often find ourselves struggling to adjust, let alone lead a fit life. I have finally reached a point where I'm committed to being healthy, balanced and in shape regardless of the situation or current stage of life that I'm in. Yes, that can be and often is very challenging, but that just means dedication and hard work are required. For me, just doing it (as Nike would say) and believing in myself has worked wonders and continues to lead me in the right direction - I'm not always successful and I don't always accomplish what I want, but I keep trying and that's what counts.
It's easy to get caught up thinking you're too busy or too tired or too poor or too fill in the blank to maintain consistency when it comes to eating right and being active. The funny thing is though, life in general started becoming so much easier and more enjoyable when I pushed those things aside and put a fit life at the top of my priority list. Even though I'm still quite young, I've been in many of the various "life lanes" and I fully understand the challenging that come along with them - I've been a student, a full time worker, a commuter, a long term girlfriend, a lost soul searching for purpose, a follower, a leader, and much more. In most of these "life lanes" though, I've found that being busy is what makes it so hard to stick with a fit life. Accordingly, I started doing a workout that I can do in 10 minute segments... when I'm really busy, I can do 10 minutes here and there throughout the day to piece together a 20-40 minute workout, or when I have more time available I can do a few segments back to back. The best part is, even when I change lanes (for instance, going from a student to a full time worker bee, from a local to a commuter, from a single individual to in a relationship or vice-versa, etc...) my quickie workout segment routine is always there to have my back. Check it out and try it for yourself!
Rachel's Minute to Win It
(10 Minute Workout Segment)
1 minute jumping jacks
1 minute jump rope (imaginary if you don't have one)
1 minute squats
30 second high knees
1 minute sumo squats
30 second butt kicks
(5 minutes already done!)
30 second plank
30 second bicycle crunches
30 second reverse crunches
1 minute jumping jacks
1 minute punches
(I prefer to do what I call dip punches: dip to the left like your dodging a punch and punch with your right arm then dip to the right and punch with your left arm and continue going back and forth)
1 minute jump rope (imaginary if you don't have one)
30 second plank
(10 minutes - you did it!)
Remember
- Do 2-4 sets at various times throughout the day if you're extra busy or do them back to back for a once a day workout
- Exchange certain exercises for others if you prefer - tailor it to your needs and preferences
- If you don't want to be glued to a timer, time yourself the first time through each exercise to figure out exactly how many reps you do in the 1 minute or 30 second time frame. That way, you can just count reps when it's not convenient to time yourself. However, if you do this, remember to maintain the same speed when you do it so that you're not going to fast and therefore doing it in less time.
- STRETCH when you're done and BREATHE through the pain!
...also check out...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/estelle-underwood/workout_b_1335098.html
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