This week has turned out pretty good in reference to my health aspect. Tomorrow is the last day of the 21 day fix program I have been doing. I am proud to say that I have worked out every day for the past 21 days. There have definitely been times when I have dreaded getting up to workout, but it only takes 30 mins a day and I feel much better about myself because of this program. I have been bouncing around with a few ideas as to what to do next, because I want to pick another program to do so that I keep up with my fitness while the gyms are closed. There is an 80 day program that focuses on the mixture of fitness and nutrition and I think I may do this once I am done with my current program. I am a little worried that I will have trouble committing to a program everyday for the next 80 days, but if I can stick with it I know I will see the results I have hoping for seeing that I am seeing results after 21 days.
I really like the program that I have been using because it focusses on making sure to stretch out before and after each workout. This has visibly improved my flexibility, which makes me feel all around better in my skin. “Flexibility refers to the range of motion, or the amount of movement possible, at a particular joint or series of joints: the greater the range of motion, the greater the flexibility.”(Donatelle, 2019, p.227). The more that I stretch out my muscles, the more range of motion I have. I can notice this in certain stretches where I used to not be able to stretch with my fingertips to my toes, but now I can grab my foot in a stretch. This is helpful not only in situations where I need to touch my toes, but also when working out because my body feels warmed up. When my muscles are stiff, it can be hard to do certain exercises.
A big problem I have when I workout is motivation. I always find reasons to avoid exercising because it is so much easier to lay in bed all day than to get up and work out. I have done a good job keeping myself motivated, but I can tell sometimes it is much harder to find the motivation. On page 231, Donatelle talks about a few excuses people use to avoid exercising and how you can combat it to get yourself more motivated. The section I most fit into is the “lack of motivation, willpower, or energy”. There are quite a few ways to help me get more motivated. I think the most useful tips I could use are to set a time to workout just as I would for another commitment and to schedule this in times when I have the most energy. I have noticed lately that I have not had as much energy as I had in the beginning of my program and after reading this I have realized that maybe I am working out at the wrong time of day for me. In the beginning of the program, I worked out in the morning and felt great, but the last week or so I have been working out later in the day which might be the reason for my lack of energy and motivation.
Another thing to help with my motivation that I learned in this chapter was to go into each workout with a plan. Especially when the gyms open back up and I am done with the online programs, I need to have a plan of what exercises I will do. “A comprehensive workout includes a warm-up, cardiorespiratory and/or resistance training, and then a cool-down”(Donatelle, 2019, p. 239). When I went to the gym, I almost never did a warm up or a cool down and after the 21 day fix, I realize first hand how helpful it is to have both of them in your workout plan. I have learned a lot from the virtual exercise classes and I plan on using some of the workouts in my workout routine in the future.
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