exercise

Feeling like you can go out and conquer the world is possibly one of the best feelings there is. But you can only attempt to do so if you are feeling healthy and fit as can be. If you are an African-American woman and wish to focus on your health and wellness, visit the LBX Fitness website for motivational tips on how to put your health first.

Find the right diet plan for you

Depending on your health goals, it’s vital to find the right diet plan to get you to where you need to be. Bear in mind that not all diets are going to work for you at the end of the day. This is where consulting with your doctor might be helpful. Or, if you don’t want to book an appointment just yet, you could look for suitable diet apps to help you adjust your eating habits to enable you to eat the right food for your body type (or as determined by your doctor).

Find time to exercise

The key to staying in shape mentally and physically is to find the time to exercise daily. When you enjoy a particular exercise, whether it’s weightlifting, cardio, or a low-impact exercise such as swimming, yoga, or Tai Chi, it’s vital to find something that you enjoy and works well for you if you are going to stick with it to the end.

If you find you can’t make the time for doing a regular sport or exercise just yet, you can still put in time for exercise at work, for example, by opting for a standing desk instead of sitting all day, walking to colleagues, and communicating with them instead of just sending an email, parking further away from the office to increase your steps daily, etc.

Make sleep one of your priorities

If you have been neglecting your sleep lately, the simple lesson here is – don’t, as we all require a minimum of seven to nine hours of sleep per night to have the energy to be able to pursue our goals.

Minimize your stress

Stress can be extremely damaging to your health which is why you should make every effort to reduce this by all means possible. If your stress is caused by your current working situation, then it may be time to switch gears career-wise. Taking a course or degree online is a good idea if you want more time on your hands but still want to pursue an education. You can choose from many options online, including a degree in teaching if you have always appreciated working with and teaching children. When looking at the options, be sure that the online institution you choose is accredited so that you have a valid degree at the end of the day.

Make time for some downtime

It is essential to find that time during your day or week to reflect and do something your heart is calling you to do so. If you can squeeze in a mini weekend getaway or a vacation every so often then this could be even more beneficial in giving you the space and time you need to catch your breath so that you’re equipped to handle whatever life throws at you. You might even feel the need to purchase health products and items to help your family manage stress better, such as essential oils or home exercise equipment. If you do, be sure to read up on reviews by the general public or trusted professionals before purchasing anything of significant monetary value so that you have a good idea of these products beforehand.

Incorporating health strategies like these and more should help you view your current lifestyle in a different light as you pursue a healthier one.

Written by: Justin B.

Jumping Hurdles

by admin

THOUGHT: Did you know that when you’re in a race and you have hurdles to jump over, the only way to finish the race is by successfully jumping over each hurdle. You may bump it or even knock it down, but by jumping over each one you have a chance to win a prize. At the end you may not win by being the fastest but the fact that you finished is an accomplishment to be celebrated. So, whenever you have obstacles with weight loss, motivation, family, etc…face them head on and give your all. Know that your true prize comes when you rise above your obstacles and keep moving forward. The race is not given to the swift nor the battle to the strong but to him that endureth to the end.

–Robin M.

2 Roads Choose 1

by admin

Always remember that exercising and eating healthy is a lifestyle journey. You will have great days and even weeks and other times they may be bad days or even weeks, but remember you are stronger than your bad days. Always pick yourself up and start fresh. No one has put a time limit on how fast or slow you should take this journey. You are doing this for you, so you can live longer, so you can be there for your children, grandchildren but most importantly yourself. Once your body gets used to eating healthier and exercising you will feel great. Once you change the way you think about what you are eating (not that you have to eat healthy 364 days a year) you will be amazed at the changes you will make in your life.

If you start out walking, that is great, it is a start. As your body gets use to walking, pick up the pace and walk faster, then begin to jog/walk, even it is is slow. You will gradually begin to get faster.

Never let anyone hold you back or keep you from reaching your goals. This is an amazing journey with a lot of life lessons. You will learn that you like doing things that you never tried or that you did not like to do and also eat. You can do this. Take it one day at a time. Have you set some goals to reach? Let me be more specific have you set some realistic goals to reach? How do you plan to reach them?

There will be many days on this journey where you will have to choose a path, which one will you take? The one that will take you back to the beginning or the one that keeps you moving forward. The choice is yours, chose wisely.

Today’s Workout

by admin

I did not workout this morning, between having computer issues and the videos not working, I decided to take my workout on the go at work. I ran from my job to the parking deck (about 3.5 minutes). Then I got to the parking deck, I was going to do stairs. There are six flights. Go up one set of stairs then another, one stair at a time, that is one. When I got to the top I did 15 pushups against the rail, then back down. When I got to the bottom I did 20 right jabs then some ab work, I don’t know the name of it, but we do it in 5 minute booty workout. It is the first exercise we do. Then I did that again. After the second time, I went up the stairs two stairs at a time. I did this twice. I than ran the parking deck. Up one level then another was one. When I got to the 3 level, it was blocked off, that was a good thing. Then I ran back down and did tuck ups for lower abs on the ground. I did this twice. I did this entire workout twice, the second time I reversed the order and started running the parking deck first. After I finished the parking deck workout, I jogged back to work. I am soo tired. I had a meeting to go to and was falling asleep. Here are some pictures, none of me doing the workout. The first picture is when I started and the last is when I was done . Getting it done where I can.

Lifestyle Journey

by admin

When you start your healthy lifestyle journey it is all about you. It is about you losing weight and eating healthy foods. You are trying not to let the cravings get the best of you and not to let people talk you into eating things you know you should not eat. You are battling working out and getting up earlier if you want to workout early in the morning. I have been through this. This can also be an emotional roller coaster. When you fall down, you feel terrible because you didn’t workout or you at the bag of chips or had cookies. Now you are beating yourself up about it. The one thing to remember is that living a healthy lifestyle is a journey. Just like life, there will be good days and there will be bad days, but you don’t give up on live. You learn how to get through those days. On your healthy lifestyle journey if you fall down, get back up. Don’t stay down, don’t bet yourself up about it and don’t let anyone else beat you up about it either. When you fall down, this is when you learn what to do so you don’t fall down again in that area. If you at the chips because you got bored, you know that now. When you start to get bored, do something. Go for a walk, grab fruit to eat or some veggies. You can do it, I know you can. Remember, what you think and say it what you believe. If you say you can’t do something, you won’t do it. Start speaking positive words into your life. You want to speak life not death into your life. Sometimes you have to take this journey alone and that is alright. One thing you will notice on your journey, if you are consistent is, others will begin to ask you what you are doing and how you are doing it. They will begin to follow what you are doing. This is when the journey is no longer about you, but about others around you.

Monday Motivation

by admin

It is the beginning of the week and for a lot of us it is hard to get started after having the weekend off. To help you get your day started, the night before you should set out your workout clothes and shoes. This way as soon as you see them, you are ready to put them on. Next, stop hitting the snooze button, that is not going to do anything but frustrate you once you finally stop hitting it. One of the things I have done is create a motivational board, actually I have a motivational wall. You should create a board and place it some place you can see. Place different things on your board. Where you would like to be in 3 months, motivational words, pictures to keep you motivated, maybe old pictures of yourself, healthy food, etc. You can do this. Starting Monday off right is so important for the rest of your week. You can do it. If you want you can post to this blog to let me know what you did today for your workout. If you would like to know what I did today, click the Workout/Speaking tab. Just to let you know, I workout at least 6 days a week. I would suggest at least 4-5 days a week.