Fitness blogs are my favorite. Sure, I love reading YouTube how-tos and trying out the latest fitness gadgets and apps, but there’s something about connecting with other people on their fitness journeys that really speaks to me. Maybe it’s the way these bloggers talk about working out as a way to manage stress or stay in touch with themselves, or maybe it’s just knowing there are others out there who share my sense of humor and taste in music that keep me going back for more.
Whatever the case, from time to time I find myself feeling down on myself for not making time for exercise or healthy eating so I go on a hunt through my dashboard RSS feeds to find inspiration again. I get a lot of inspiration from fitness blogs, but they also do a great job at pointing out things that can get in the way of my own healthy habits. My favorite blogs are the ones that help me find ways to integrate movement and healthy eating into the chaos of life.
They suggest fun ways to work out when I don’t have time for a whole session and offer insight into how I can use my surroundings to stay active. 24 hour fitness portland is one of the blogs I follow that I can always relate to, particularly when it comes to dealing with a crazy schedule. 24 hour fitness portland gives me ideas for workouts and recipes that make healthful eating easier.
7 Lessons I’ve Learned From Fitness Blogs :
1. Set a goal, and own it
This is a big one for me. If I’m going to exercise, I have to plan it out first. The more time I invest into setting my goals, the better form I’ll get. The same goes for healthy eating; if I’m going to eat clean, there needs to be some sort of plan in place. My mindset is a lot better now than it used to be about committing time and energy into making myself healthier because I’ve learned that once you commit you can’t back down. There are no excuses!
2. Things don’t have to change overnight
I can tell you from experience that when you’re trying something new (e.g. working out regularly), it’s really easy to go from one extreme to the other and think you can do some things better. Sometimes, though, I find that there is a good balance of doing a lot but not too much that I can maintain for a long period of time. Making those changes gradually lets me avoid the pitfalls that most people fall into when they try to make drastic changes; for instance, if I’d been trying to change my eating habits all at once and found myself either starving myself or stuffing my face like there wasn’t enough food in the world, it would have taken longer to become accustomed to making healthier choices.
3. Don’t make excuses
Sometimes it’s easy to find reasons not to do something. If you’re going to be in the car a lot, you can get easily discouraged thinking that you’ll never fit in exercise. If you think that it’ll be impossible to make healthy food choices when your schedule is so busy, you might give up before even trying. The truth is that if we want something bad enough we can make sacrifices and get creative with our time and circumstances. We just have to want it.
4. Get out of your comfort zone
One of the most common things I’ve read about on fitness blogs is finding a new way to exercise, or doing something outside of your comfort zone. When you go outside of your comfort zone, it makes you think. Your body gets used to your regular routine and if you’re not careful it can make it harder to stick with new healthy habits. The reality is that no matter how perfect your life may be, there’s probably a way to make things healthier without having to sacrifice those things you love.
5. Accept that change takes time
We’ve all ventured into a new situation before and thought or said “this is so easy”, or “I can do this in no time”. When were first starting out we often have the misconception that we’ll be able to eat better as well as work out more easily when doing something new than we did before. While it’s true that at first we may be able to eat better and move more, the reality is that we take a long time to get used to those new habits. It takes a long time for our brain, muscles and lifestyle to catch up with what you’re trying to do.
6. Your goals should be realistic
Even though I’ve made it a goal of mine to eat healthier, like most people I don’t want to be unhealthy in the process. It also doesn’t help me if my goals are so lofty that I end up thinking about them when I’m not exercising or eating healthy (and then feeling guilty!). If I’m going to stick with a new healthy habit, I want to be able to expect success and not feel overwhelmed.
7. Stay informed
My favorite thing about fitness blogs is that they are always keeping themselves updated with the most recent scientific research, products and trends. You can never go wrong by staying updated on the latest information in your field of interest and this is something that all fitness bloggers do very well. As someone who loves science, this is important for me to keep up with because it really does change how we think about our health; especially for those of us who are interested in nutrition or health.
