Fitness Podcasters’ Best New Year Tips
At Fit Bottomed Girls we are always looking for a little extra health and wellness motivation — and podcasts sure do fit the bill as they are (for the most part) free and portable. So today we spoke to some of the best health and fitness podcasters in the business and asked them to offer their best advice for making 2015 your healthiest one yet. So bring on those earbuds and get ready to enjoy some sage wisdom!
Taylor Ryan, Lifting Revolution Blog & Podcast
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Trying to change your habits overnight won’t happen. Instead of focusing on changing your diet completely on a Monday morning, create small weekly (rollover) nutrition challenges each week (sound familiar?). Small changes add up, and before you know it you’re enjoying a balanced, clean diet. For example, one week may be to pack your lunch every day for work. During that week focus on just that. The next week? Making your lunch AND avoid wine/alcohol during the week. Continue on and you’ll be amazed at the new habits you create.
Create a schedule and a structured workout. Not just a schedule that outlines the days you will work out but one that also shows what kind of workout you’ll do and the amount of time it will take. For example, if Tuesdays are a running day, note how many miles you want to do. That way when you think of cutting it short, you’ll be reminded that it’s written on paper. This is accountability at its finest.
Joy & Claire, Girl Gone WOD Podcast
Let go of your expectations when starting a new fitness program. Your body, mind and lifestyle are one-of-a-kind and therefore your results will be different from everyone else’s. It’s great to have goals, but let the first few weeks be about just getting in the groove … If you go in to a brand-new environment with your expectations already set, you will not only set yourself up for disappointment, but you’ll also likely miss out on the full experience.
Your fitness is between you and your body, and no one else. Fitness is about wanting to be healthy because you love your body and want to be able to use it … Not because everyone else is doing it. Set your own goals, find your own activity, and be an advocate for yourself. Get creative and do what makes you happy. It’s your health that’s at stake after all!
Margo Porras, Nacho Mama’s Blog/Podcast
Declutter your life. Take a hard look at your daily routines and ditch the things that either don’t bring you joy or take you farther away from your health goals.
Know your WHY. So many of us go into the New Year with a resolution to “get healthy” or “lose weight” without ever knowing why we actually want to do these things. You want to lose weight so you can … what? The more clearly you can define your reasons, the easier it will be for you to stay on track. It’s like going on a road trip. When you know what your destination is (Mt. Rushmore), you can clearly see whether the next exit is going to get you closer to it or farther away from it.
Sam Lomeli, TipsOfTheScale.com podcast
Get your mindset right. Nothing and no one in your life will present more resistance to your self-improvement efforts than your own fears and doubts. The best way I know to counter this is to overwhelm your pessimistic inner voice with positivity. Start the day with a chapter from a favorite book, listening to a motivational audiobook or podcast, or even just playing some motivational speech clips from YouTube.
Set up your environment for success. Jim Rohn famously says that “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” This is most true when you are trying to make a big change in your life, like overhauling your health and fitness. As important as it is to surround yourself with positivity, it’s also equally important to cut out sources of negativity in your life. Those “friends,” co-workers, neighbors, even family members — the ones who seem to never have anything positive to say about your choices — let them go. It may be messy, but you’ll always be glad you did.
Do you listen to podcasts for motivation? What are your favorites? The above are some my faves! —Margo