{Golden State Gal's Health & Fitness}

In a previous post {Upcoming Santa Barbara Beach House Trip} , I started to write about my workout routine and diet changes. As promised, here's a more detailed post on health and fitness!

First, I think it's important to say that I'm not a medical professional and I recommend consulting with your own doctor for advice on your health and fitness. Just like snowflakes, we're all made differently (this is meant to be cheesy)! I should also mention that this is what I find that works for me. There are plenty of ways to live healthily and this is just one gal's way of doing so.

Here we go.

Every January I resolve to be healthier for the upcoming year (doesn't everybody?!). This year, I added a couple more layers of motivation. First, I'm officially well into my thirties. There's no going back now! Not that I had a choice anyway so I figure, I might as well embrace the rise in age and the decline in my metabolism (stay with me, I promise this post will get less depressing). Second, getting beach ready for my upcoming trip to Santa Barbara definitely helped to motivate me to get to the gym on the days I felt too lazy.

I've received lots of health and fitness tips from friends and family. I knew that if I was going to make changes, they were going to have to be simple, easy, and fun. I was aware that anything that I didn't enjoy wasn't going to last. So, I made it simple: eat good tasting healthy food and workout doing things I enjoy.

I get bored easily with the foods I eat and the workouts I do so I like to change it up a bit everyday. I'll do another post focusing on just foods and recipes but, for now, these are the workouts I like to do most.

Bikram Yoga
I've been practicing Bikram on and off for about 7 years. Simply put, Bikram is a 90-minute yoga class of 26 poses done in a heated room (approximately 108 degrees). Even after practicing this long, Bikram is still very, very challenging. I love the way it makes me feel after 90-sweaty, emotionally challenging, tear inducing minutes of moving through the 26 poses. Okay, maybe the last one was an exaggeration, but you get the point.

{ Bikram Yoga }

Body Pump

The gym I belong to offers Body Pump classes. Body pump is basically a 60-minute class to tone, sculpt, and strengthen you're entire body. I love that you can choose the weights you use to make a routine more or less challenging. The best part is that it's taught in a class because I typically skip the weight areas of my gym. I often don't have the time after work (which is when I usually work out) and patience to figure out how to work those monster machines. 

{ Body Pump }

Running

Get up, grab a buddy (in my case, it's D), and go outside. Now, start walking, then jog. Next thing you know, you will be running. This is seriously how I do this. When D can't run with me, I go to my gym and run on the treadmill. I don't do much, I run until I'm tired. Sometimes, I push myself to the point of being a little achey. I keep this simple. It's my least favorite exercise, but it's effective. So, I just do it. 

{ Good Old Running }

Pilates Reformer

I have a Pilates Reformer machine at home so it's very convenient for me to fold this back into my routine. Pilates Reformer is basically a machine that uses your own body weight for resistance for an overall body workout. I haven't been doing Pilates for very long because there weren't many studios near where I live. However, last year I discovered that a gym nearby (my gym now) had it's own Pilates Reformer studio that offered classes to non-members. I purchased a class package and fell in love with the exercises! Unfortunately, the DVDs I have at home to use along with my Reformer are very, very boring. And, my search for different DVDs have been unsuccesful. I plan to repurchase another Pilates Reformer class package through my gym to learn some different moves and routines and alternate between taking classes at the gym and doing my own routines at home. 

{ Pilates Reformer }

So, there you have it. Again, this is what works for me. I'll leave you with a few helpful things I've discovered along the way:

1. Do what you like, you're most likely going to go back to do it again and again...and again. This is a good thing. Consistency is key. 

2. Take classes. It's seriously like having a trainer walk you through a timed exercise! This is hundreds of dollars cheaper than hiring a personal trainer. And, the class atmosphere and great music help to motivate and make the time go by faster.

3. Change it up! Do different things. Not only is this good for your body, it's also good for your brain (i.e. you won't get bored). 

xx, Shiela