Make Fitness A Practice For The Long Game We all hear about the quick fitness 3-minute results or hear about someone that reduced their weight by 100 lbs. without any of the details of what it took them to do that and then feel horrible about where we are starting. Toda we are writing about how Fitness Requires Practicing The Long Game Ideas For Your Best Life - be sure to let us know any thoughts, ideas or comments below this post. The media makes it seem like physical transformations should be an expedited process and that noticeable results can be an overnight process. This notion is far from the truth. Buying into these ideas will only leave you discouraged and burnt out in a short amount of time. It is crucial that you understand that transforming your body can certainly be an enjoyable, fulfilling process, but it takes definitely takes time and consistent daily effort! The people that you see on magazine covers and infomercials didn’t get their physique by knocking out a few sets on whatever product they are pushing “15 minutes per day, twice a week.” Having a sound understanding of the investment required to achieve your fitness goals is a must if you plan on sticking with your resolution and avoiding the disappointment of not seeing the results you are looking for overnight. Enjoyment Promotes Consistency The biggest determining factor of your success in any goal you set for yourself, especially regarding fitness, is consistency. Without it, the workout program you choose, and the eating strategy you follow don’t mean a thing. That being said, your fitness journey needs to be one that you enjoy first and foremost. Human nature is inherently prone to avoiding unpleasant experiences and seeking enjoyment whenever possible. Going to the gym and eating healthy can’t be a miserable endeavour, or you will not be consistent. Having fun while being disciplined and working consistently on your goals and vision for your transformation will undoubtedly happen if you keep on keeping on while never quitting! If you haven’t exercised in a while or are looking for something simple you can do every single day commit to a daily walking practice. It’s the perfect low-impact way to exercise. It’s easy to do, you don’t need any special equipment and you can start at the fitness level you’re at. If you’re a beginner and not in the best of shape, start by going for a 10-or-15-minute walk around the neighbourhood and work your way up from there. If you’re already in great shape, walking can still provide an effective workout. Walk fast and incorporate some hills and even stairs. Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. If you’re like many people today, chances are you haven’t exercised much since you got out of school and need to start with tiny winnable steps. Maybe your doctor suggested that you move around more, or maybe you just want to be proactive about your health and well-being. In either case, walking is the perfect way to start. Find your best pair of comfortable shoes, put them on and go for a stroll through your neighbourhood. You could also find a local park with a nice path you can walk on. If the weather doesn’t permit walking outside, head to your local mall and walk or hop on a treadmill. This is how simple getting started can be for you. We wrote this blog post - Seven Small Simple Steps For Big Life Changes - https://www.wendybottrell.com/blog/practice-these-seven-small-simple-steps-for-big-life-changes and we wrote How To Make Big Changes By Tiny Steps - https://www.wendybottrell.com/blog/how-to-make-big-changes-by-tiny-steps and finally we wrote How To Choose Your Most Important Tiny Change - https://www.wendybottrell.com/blog/how-to-choose-your-most-important-tiny-change Are you up for the challenge and ready to practice the long game of fitness for your best healthy life? Join Us For The 21-Day Walking Challenge https://bit.ly/3sb2Gi2 Research has shown that walking at a lively pace of at least 150 minutes a week can help you: •Think better, feel better and sleep better. •Reduce your risk of serious diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and several types of cancer. •Improve your blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels. •Increase your energy and stamina. •Improve your mental and emotional well-being and reduce the risk of depression. •Improve memory and reduce your risk of dementia. •Boost bone strength and reduce your risk of osteoporosis. •Prevent weight gain. (source – https://heart.org) Grab your best pair of comfy shoes and we look forward to you joining us for The Free 21-Day Walking Challenge - It's Free - Simply provide your best email here https://bit.ly/3sb2Gi2 Share any comments, questions or ideas below. Be sure to get in touch with us and let us know how we can help you 
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The Health Benefits Of A Daily Walk Outdoors We know today that there are many benefits to get out for a daily walk. It’s fun, it’s relaxing, and most important it’s good for your health. Today we will help you learn how to gain the health benefits of walking. It is our belief that walking is one of the best activities a person can do for themselves. In this blog post it is our intention to inspire you to see that heading out for a walk each day is a great idea and that it motivates you to stick to your walking schedule until you start to see results. We would like to invite you to join our FREE 21 Walking Challenge here to help you begin your daily walking practice.
What we have learned over the past 5 years is that walking is the link to living a healthy and vibrant life. We believe walking inspires the mind, activates the body, and nourishes the soul. Did you know that walking is the most popular physical activity in the world? And the health benefits of walking are many, for example – benefits the heart, can help lower blood sugar, boosts the immune system, boosts energy, improves mood and extends life to name a few. How Daily Walking Benefits Health Walking Gets You Outside In The Fresh Air and Sunshine In our opinion this is one of the best benefits of walking. Today humans are living more like cave people than ever before. No matter how fast or slow you walk, walking gets you outside and in the fresh air. This alone will make you feel better as your body absorbs the oxygen and sunshine. Both are important for your health and well-being. You will find the air quality outside, particularly if you go for a walk on the beach or in a park, will be much better than the air inside your house. Of course, the sunshine outside will help your body product all the Vitamin D it needs. Walking Can Help You Get To And Maintain A Healthy Weight Walking particularly at a quick pace and doing it regularly can help you get to and then maintain a healthy weight. Yes, what you eat, how much you eat are important and focusing on your food choices for a healthy diet, however walking can be another tool to help you drop those extra pounds. The nice thing about walking when you’re overweight is that you burn a lot of calories, even on short and slow walks, simply because you’re carrying so much weight around with you. As you start to lose the weight, your overall strength and endurance increases, allowing you to walk longer, further, and faster. Walking Improves Your Sense Of Balance And Coordination As you walk, particularly when walking over rougher terrain, you’re also working on your sense of balance and coordination. Simply getting in the habit of going for a daily walk will help. But you can work even more on your sense of balance by moving your head around. Turn your head to the right and left as you walk for a count of 30. Then move your head up and down for a count of 30. If you do these simple exercises once or twice as you walk each day you'll get even more benefit. Walking Strengthens Your Bones and Muscles Even though walking is a low impact form of exercise it helps to strengthen and tone your body. If you’re just starting out, it is all you need to start to get into better shape. As you get more fit, consider adding weightlifting exercises in addition to your daily walks to continue to get stronger and help develop strong muscles and bones. Walking Will Boost Your Mood and Fight Depression Last but not least, the exercise of walking releases endorphins that will help lift your mood and can even reduce depression. Give it a go today. I learned how powerful walking was listening to a guru explain that if someone is depressed take them out walking everyday until they feel better. The next time you’re feeling tired or are in a bad mood, lace up your sneakers and go for a brisk walk. It works like a charm. Join our FREE Walking Challenge here to help you begin your walking practice – Here is one idea for you to begin the practice of moving your body every day and by starting today – begin by simply getting outside for a walk –
We started our daily walking practice in 2017 to help reduce stress during a difficult time and absolutely enjoy getting out for a walk every morning. What we know for sure is that walking outdoors will help improve how you feel, improve your brain power and definitely help reduce stress. Walking in the morning is best and not only does it feel good, but it helps with your sleep at night and that helps with your brain power. “Research shows that regular walking actually modifies your nervous system so much that you’ll experience a decrease in anger and hostility,” she says, especially when you're going for a stroll through some greenery or soaking in a bit of sunlight. This can be particularly helpful during the colder months when seasonal depression spikes. (source: Here- https://www.geelongmedicalgroup.com.au/2018/11/7-incredible-health-benefits-of-walking-30-minutes-a-day ) Join me for our FREE Walking Challenge Here - This is appropriate for all fitness levels, though it is tailored to beginners. You will also get a tip a day, which gives you a little more insight into how to walk, what to wear, going outside or using the treadmill, and even journal entries about your experience. Join The Free Walking Challenge Today – Free Registration HERE Share any ideas, comments or questions below. Please Like & Share – We would appreciate it as it helps more people see our content Find more about us at https://wendybottrell.com Check out our resource page here Be sure to get in touch with us and let us know how we can help you. Introducing our new Digital Products To Help You Live Your Best Life and we invite you to check it out here 30 Self-Improvement Ideas To Inspire You We are here to help you to find the inspiration within you to live your best life. In our experience to get where you want to go in life, it takes the inner inspiration to practice improving ourselves each day. Today we have 30 Self-Improvement Ideas to Inspire you to live your best life.
Fortunately, we live in a day and age where not everything is about us. We seek to improve not only our lives but the lives of others, as well. While this is more commonplace these days, it is still sometimes a struggle to create this mindset as a way of being rather than return to our old practices. Old mindset patterns are sometimes hard to break. We may wish them away and want to do better and be more, but without practical tips and advice along with the creation of our new practices, we remain stuck in the same old place. If you’re looking to become inspired to live your best life, practice following some or all of these thirty tips. These tips will smooth the transition and have you create new intentional practices in no time at all. 1. Take Time for You – While you might associate being a better person with doing more for others, the truth is you need to take time for yourself in order to be that better person. If you are burned out and stressed, you will not be a positive contribution to anyone. Taking time out for yourself is not selfish; it gives you the opportunity to refresh your own well-being. We put a link to our video for you to watch here 2. Create Daily Me Time – Once you understand that taking time out for yourself is a contribution then it’s time to schedule it. It is important to keep your integrity to yourself when declaring your “me” time. Set aside some time daily. If you are like most, this may seem near impossible; but guess what? You can find 15 minutes every day. 3. Be Dedicated to Your Personal Time Now – If you don’t respect your personal time, no one else will. Take your 15-minute meditation time in the morning or your daily time out on the front stoop just listening to nature; read a spiritual book like the Book of Psalms which will take you a few mere moments every day. 4. Let Others Know You Are Committed To Your Personal Time – Once you have an established amount of time and a set time of day, let everyone know you have a big, “Do Not Disturb” sign on your back. It’s fifteen minutes a day for goodness’ sake. Everyone will survive without you for a while. 5. Choose How You Start Your Day – You can choose to start your day grumpy and irritable, or you can choose to start your day grateful that you were given another chance to enjoy life and love. The choice is always yours. Choose to wake up declaring out loud a few things you are grateful for and watch how this daily habit changes your day and your life. We created a video to expand on this idea here 6. Start a Gratitude Journal – When you are feeling overwhelmed, grab a journal and write down your feelings – even if they are negative. Then, give it a new spin. For example, even though I didn’t get the promotion I wanted, I now know what the process is and what I need to work on to better my chances before I put in for the next promotion. I am exactly where I am supposed to be at this moment and am grateful for the great things to come. I created a video to expand this idea for you here 7. Practice Journaling Randomly – Journaling releases negativity and toxicity from your body, soul and mind. However, journaling also resets your mindset. Don’t just fill a journal with negative stuff. If your romantic partner makes you smile or performs a kind gesture, write it down. It will give you something to look at when you miss them or are really mad at them at the moment. 8. Keep Positive People Close to You – Your attitude will directly affect your day; so if you are being sour and negative, your day will spiral into a sour and negative day. Keep positive friends close by and reel them in when you need a boost. Don’t be ashamed of your bad moods, just take responsibility for them. Grab a friend, talk about it and then let it go. 9. Keep Negative People out of Your Bubble – You will never rid yourself of all the negative people in your life. After all, some of them are your employers, co-workers and family members. You can, however, keep them at a distance while enclosing yourself in a more protected bubble. You don’t have to let their negativity into your space. Make a choice to slowly distance yourself from them and know that their negativity has nothing to do with you; it’s their stuff don’t own it for yourself. 10. Choose Your Filters Wisely – If you read negative stories, watch the news and get involved in gossip, you will most likely end up with negative thoughts. After all, negative stories are what so many of these things focus on these days. Choose what books, music and television you let in. Stop ‘hanging out’ on social networking gossip sites and take responsibility for your own actions. 11. Listen to the Right Kinds of Music – Uplifting music will change your brain waves and fast music will give you a boost of adrenaline. If you are feeling low, pop on some dance tunes and watch how quickly your toes will begin to tap. 12. Start Your Day the Right Way – Start your day the right way with one positive thought, affirmation or conversation. If you read something positive, think something positive or say something positive, your day will be that much better, and you will have done this by your own power. 13. Laugh it Off – Have you ever started your day by tripping over something, losing your car keys or finding that the raccoons knocked over your garbage pail? Rather than get upset, laugh it off as life stuff or sing a favourite song. You’ll be glad you did. 14. Smile a Little – Smiling releases serotonin. When something goes wrong or someone irritates you, smile about it. You will instantly feel better for being positive and you may help lift their bad mood too. 15. Be the Person You Envision – If you are seeking a mate in life or even if you want to attract more success – be the person that you envision successfully reaching those goals. Be someone who sets goals, takes risks and faces challenges with grace. While hard at first, the more you practice, the closer you will be to becoming that successful person. 16. Time to Get Organized – Set up a filing system, get a calendar and keep it updated, and throw out your unnecessary junk. Once the initial work is done, all you have to do is maintain the organized systems. Don’t want to do it yourself? Pay one of your teens to do it for you. 17. Time Chunk – Chunk your time into sections and give yourself an allotted time frame for whatever you are doing and stick to it. Have you ever started cleaning out a closet in the bedroom and somehow found yourself cleaning the kitchen only to return to the bedroom and it’s still a mess? You’re not alone. Give yourself 30 minutes to clean out a closet and then when the time is up. Move on to the next chore. Do this at work and at home and you’ll find you get a lot more accomplished each day. 18. Use Your Cell Phone – Use your timer on your cell phone to time your tasks whether it is running errands or cleaning or making phone calls. Knowing how long you generally spend on these tasks can help you see where you can make improvements which will reduce the stress in your life. 19. Use Technology – Use your cell phone for reminders on your calendar; be it birthdays, appointments or remembering to take the clothes out of the dryer. Set up your bills to be automatically paid each month. Research online ahead of time where you’ll get the best deals before going shopping. Don’t be embarrassed or think you are failing at remembering. Instead, consider it not having to worry about remembering because it’s done for you. 20. Get an App – There is an app for everything today from travelling to banking. When you are on the train or waiting in line at the store, you can get things done that you would normally have to wait for lunch hours or days off. Being able to accomplish more during these wait times will give you more free time for yourself. 21. Shut Down and Unplug – Take time off from technology and unplug from your social devices. If you want to be a better you, you need connections – real-life connections. You need to see faces and hear voices and so do other people. Take the initiative and plan a real-life coffee date. You’ll make a difference for yourself and for someone else. 22. Pick and Choose Your Time – Only you can schedule your time productively. If you choose to scroll on Facebook or to stay up late and oversleep in the morning, the results will be an unfocused and unproductive life. Choose and schedule your time carefully and reap the positive benefits. 23. Set Extraordinary Goals – It is good to set extraordinary goals and if you set your sights too high, you may think you are more likely to fail. Look at it this way instead. It’s ok to have one big, extraordinary goal and break it into smaller attainable goals to work towards. Completing these smaller goals will keep you inspired and motivated no matter how long it takes you to reach the final big, extraordinary goal. 24. Grab an Accountability Partner – When you set a new goal, it’s important to let people know about it. It also may be important to obtain an accountability partner. When you know you have to answer to your accountability partner and that others are watching your progress, you will work that much harder, so you don’t disappoint anyone, including yourself. You also have that partner cheering you on from the sidelines. 25. Learn the Power of No – Learn how to say no; while difficult at first, it gets easier with time. Saying no frees you up to do what is necessary for a healthy, productive life. 26. Incorporate Daily Health Practices – Never forget the importance of daily health practices. Keeping fit is your responsibility and it doesn’t have to be sixty hours of cardio or 100 pounds of weightlifting. A simple power walk will suffice but do it daily and stick to it. 27. Pay Attention to What You Eat – You only have one body. How you feed it is up to you. A happy body needs the proper nutrients for brain power and health. Avoid foods that only drag the body down. When you eat right, you feel great. 28. Pay Attention to How You Eat – It’s just as important to pay attention to how you eat as it is to what you eat. Take your time, slow down and eat sitting down. Try not to talk while eating. Take a few minutes to digest after eating. While it is the practice of today’s society to “do lunch,” it’s important to breathe right and eat right for proper digestion. 29. Take a Time Out – Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths a few times a day, even if you have to go out to your car or take a bathroom break. A few minutes of deep breathing and relaxation can reset your mindset for the rest of the day. 30. Get Proper Rest – Lack of sleep will make you feel bad and have negative thoughts. If you’re not getting enough sleep at night, consider taking a power nap during the day. Even 15 minutes can reset your mood, creativity and your focus. Set your alarm for 15 minutes and watch how much more energized you will feel afterward. Bonus Tip - Drink a glass of water before bedtime to hydrate your body and help it flush toxins. Drink another glass first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything else to help kick-start your organs. Everyone wants to be the best they can be. By following and most importantly practicing some or all of these tips over time you are well on your way to a more balanced, focused, energized life. When you feel balanced, you’ll feel better about yourself and everything else around you. Be sure to share the tips you will begin to practice this week in the comments below. We started walking in 2017 to help reduce stress during a difficult time and absolutely enjoy getting out for a walk every morning. What we know for sure is that walking outdoors will help improve how you feel, improve your brain power and definitely help reduce stress. Walking in the morning is best and not only does it feel good, but it helps with your sleep at night and that helps with your brain power. “Research shows that regular walking actually modifies your nervous system so much that you’ll experience a decrease in anger and hostility,” she says, especially when you're going for a stroll through some greenery or soaking in a bit of sunlight. This can be particularly helpful during the colder months when seasonal depression spikes. (source: Here- https://www.geelongmedicalgroup.com.au/2018/11/7-incredible-health-benefits-of-walking-30-minutes-a-day ) Join me for our FREE Walking Challenge Here - This is appropriate for all fitness levels, though it is tailored to beginners. You will also get a tip a day, which gives you a little more insight into how to walk, what to wear, going outside or using the treadmill, and even journal entries about your experience. Join The Free Walking Challenge Today – Free Registration HERE Share any ideas, comments or questions below. Please Like & Share – We would appreciate it as it helps more people see our content Find more about us at https://wendybottrell.com Check out our resource page here Be sure to get in touch with us and let us know how we can help you. Introducing our new Digital Products To Help You Live Your Best Life and we invite you to check it out here Commit To Your Fitness Promise This Year We are less than sixty days to the end of 2022. What a year right? Today is the perfect day to start thinking about all those promises you made to yourself for January 1st, 2022. Are you happy with your results this year? Our topic today is 3 Simple Ideas To Help You Commit To Your Fitness Promise This Year. We want to help you take massive action with the remainder of 2022 so the commitments you made to your fitness promises are well on the way before the New Year.
What we know for sure is every January comes with a sense of renewal for many people. A common theme amongst individuals is to create a resolution involving things they would like to change or achieve in the coming 365 days. One of the more common promises involves fitness. Whether it be to simply improve overall physical appearance, get healthier or maybe to become stronger, a vast amount of people make their resolutions around some facet of physical fitness. Sadly, the majority of New Year’s resolutions fail. The red-hot motivation felt in late December to mid January begins to wane and by February, people find themselves at the same place they were the year before. New Year's fitness goals are prone to not being fulfilled by the majority of those that make them. If you’ve ever spent much time in a gym, you know the routine. For the entire month of January, there is often a line at every piece of equipment in the building. The local fitness facility begins to resemble Times Square. Advertisements flood the media with discount gym membership rates, dietary supplements and all sorts of shiny new pieces of equipment promising to transform your body in a short amount of time. Today, we are going to share a few ideas that will inspire you to fulfill your fitness goals this year and well into the New Year. If you can set yourself apart from the statistics, you will undoubtedly thank yourself for taking action and allowing yourself to commit to your fitness promise this year. 1. Allow Yourself To Keep Things Simple When beginning on a new fitness journey, it is so easy to become overwhelmed. Considering which workout routine to start, what foods to eat, even the outfit to wear to the gym can get in the way of your overall goal. Fitness, as well as life in general, is best to allow yourself to keep it simple. The best workout is the one you will stick to, period. Similarly, your nutrition should not be rocket science. You know what foods are good for you and what is junk. The biggest determining factor pertaining to your success in fitness is consistency. Beginning with a simple walking practice is a powerful way to start your fitness practice. We wrote about getting started with a walking practice here https://www.wendybottrell.com/blog/how-to-easily-incorporate-more-walking-into-your-day and https://www.wendybottrell.com/blog/4-wonderful-benefits-of-walking-every-morning-for-your-best-life 2. Set Goals That Inspire You The media does a remarkable job of making drastic body transformations seem like an overnight process. We are constantly bombarded with images and television commercials promising that if you buy their equipment or take a certain supplement, you will look identical to the models used to promote these products. Even more comical is the timeframes reported by these advertisements. How many times have you heard, “In just 15 minutes per day, 3 times per week, you will finally have those six-pack abs?” This is all nonsense, as physical changes to your physique do not work this way. Fitness is about creating a new a lifestyle for yourself. Be sure that the goals you set inspire you and make your heart sing. As you begin your journey, it is critical to realize that while you WILL see progress, it doesn’t happen overnight. Therefore, instead of planning on going to the gym 7 days per week and eating nothing but rice and chicken from a Tupperware container, set goals that you can commit to and practice daily. Start small, like holding yourself accountable to 3 workouts per week and avoiding your favorite late-night junk food. 3. Develop A Strong “WHY” As we have already discussed, fitness is about making moving well a lifestyle change and consistency. Remember this, the incredible sense of inspiration and enthusiasm you feel at the start WILL come and go. If your only goal to work out is to “look better,” there are going to be a lot of days in which that is simply not enough. We wrote about how to Implement The 5 Whys Method To Energize Your Best Life here - https://www.wendybottrell.com/blog/implement-the-5-whys-method-to-energize-your-best-life If you are going to stick to your fitness goals this year, developing YOUR WHY that is BIG enough to stick it out when the inspiration and motivation cool off, the excitement isn’t there and you’d much rather stay in and watch television instead is MANDATORY. Your “WHY” has to be unique to you. Find whatever that is and use it to push through the hard days! We started walking in 2017 to help reduce stress during a difficult time and absolutely enjoy getting out for a walk every morning. What we know for sure is that walking outdoors will help improve how you feel, improve your brain power and definitely help reduce stress. Walking in the morning is best and not only does it feel good, but it helps with your sleep at night and that helps with your brain power. “Research shows that regular walking actually modifies your nervous system so much that you’ll experience a decrease in anger and hostility,” she says, especially when you're going for a stroll through some greenery or soaking in a bit of sunlight. This can be particularly helpful during the colder months when seasonal depression spikes. (source: Here- https://www.geelongmedicalgroup.com.au/2018/11/7-incredible-health-benefits-of-walking-30-minutes-a-day ) Join me for our FREE Walking Challenge Here - This is appropriate for all fitness levels, though it is tailored to beginners. You will also get a tip a day, which gives you a little more insight into how to walk, what to wear, going outside or using the treadmill, and even journal entries about your experience. Join The Free Walking Challenge Today – Free Registration HERE Share any ideas, comments or questions below. Please Like & Share – We would appreciate it as it helps more people see our content Find more about us at https://wendybottrell.com Check out our resource page here Be sure to get in touch with us and let us know how we can help you. |
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