Monday Motivation: Take a breather

This is not your typical Monday Motivation post. I’m not going to tell you to push harder, find balance or jump. Instead, I’m going to tell you to rest. Take a breather. Chill out.

Rest days are vital to you on your fitness journey. Your body needs rest to rebuild and recuperate. They also help you avoid injury so you can stay at the top of your game. But, a rest day doesn’t mean indulging in everything under the sun. Stick to your healthy eating and remember to still drink lots of water.

In order to cash in on all the training, get the rest. If you can’t run as fast as you want to, you haven’t rested enough. – Ted Corbitt 

Rest days:

1. Rebuild and repair muscle tissue.
2. Build strength.
3. Replenish fluids and energy stores.
4. Minimize fatigue.
5. Refresh our mental energy.
6. Reduce the risk of injury.

So go ahead, give yourself the day off. And get right back into it tomorrow! 💜

Monday Motivation: Sweat, Achieve, Succeed!

Guess what? You have a brand new week ahead of you to slay dragons, achieve goals, sweat more, gripe less and ditch the fear! 

Think you can handle it? I know you can! 

Overcoming your fear and going outside of your comfort zone are two big steps that will catapult you toward achieving your goals. But just reaching goals won’t make you happy. You have to stay positive, gripe less, and be thankful more. Whatever dragons you face, face them head on!

My focus this week isn’t just sweating more, but clearing my mind and finding inner peace. I really want to get into meditating and hope anyone that has suggestions on books to read on this topic will put the title in the comments below. Here’s to a happy and healthy, dragon slaying, fearless and sweaty week! 💪

Monday Motivation: Find your balance

Fitness and health is a balancing act. Balance allows us to remain successful in our efforts towards our goals. To remain sane and happy in our pursuit. Tipping the scale too much to the fitness side can be just as unsatisfying as tipping it too far the other way. But balance also requires patience and kindness. Trying too hard and too fast to get back into our fitness routine, to change overnight, will cause burnout. You have to have patience. Drowning yourself in guilt for indulging over the weekend will push you off course. You have to be kind to yourself.

Strive each day for balance.

Everyone’s balancing act is different and no one can tell you what ratio of fitness, life, and indulgence is right for you. You have to know yourself, know what makes you happy, to ultimately find YOUR balance. Once you find it you’ll be well on your way to reaching your goals and living a healthy, happy life! 

Monday Motivation: Always be improving

“To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.” -Steve Prefontaine

Today, reflect on how far you’ve come and imagine how far you will go. Be determined. Be focused. Always be growing and improving. You may walk the same road twice, run the same miles, bike the same hills, but always you’ll be in a different place in your life. Every day is different. Every day is a new day to give everything you have, to be your best, to improve on yesterday. You will be stronger than you were yesterday. You will reach your goals. Dare to be your best, to always be improving, and to chase your dreams one mile at a time! 

Run happy knees: Do this simple trick

Knee pain. It can make for agonizing runs and even stop a runner in their tracks. I’ve talked about my own knee pain before and how wearing a compression sleeve or foam rolling may help. However, according to a recent study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, there may be a simple trick you can do while running to help avoid this pain altogether. (Insert happy dance here! 💃)

So what is this simple trick? Lean forward.
Leaning forward can alleviate pain by reducing the load on your joints. In other words, your knees won’t absorb as much shock from you pounding the pavement (or treadmill).

Perfect the technique: A subtle tweak
To perfect this technique, bend at your hip so that your torso is 7 to 10 degrees farther forward. “When you shift the center mass of your body forward,” comments lead author of the study Dr. Christopher Powers of the University of Southern California, “it reduces the torque at your knee and instead puts the weight into your hips.” He also cautions runners to not overdo it by leaning too far forward. Enlist the help of a friend to watch or video-record you running, to see that you are bending at the hip and not leaning too far forward.

Here’s to run happy knees! 💜