Exercise is gold when it comes to increasing your health and happiness so I wanted to share with you some easy ways to start exercising for health and happiness starting today!
What’s so great about exercise?
Well, it provides a range of benefits for your body, such as increased strength, flexibility and fitness, as well as benefits for your mind by releasing endorphins (happy hormones, yes please!) and it can be lots of fun, I promise!
There are heaps of different types of exercise you can do, so even if you’re not a fan of exercise, there’s a pretty good chance you can find something that you enjoy – just keep on trying new things until you do!
Exercise doesn’t have to be hard or expensive, especially when you are just starting out. The biggest barrier most people face is finding the time to fit exercise into their days. I know that I certainly struggled with this.
Finding the time to exercise
When I was working a desk job full time and battling with severe depression, it was hard to fit much exercising in, if any, let alone be enthusiastic to get my body moving. My fitness levels hit rock bottom and my exhaustion levels skyrocketed, not a good combo!
I actually suffered from a major muscle spasm in my back as a result of my extreme stress levels and severe lack of strength in my body. It was painful and limited my range of movement. Something had to change…
When I did start making time for exercise, things really started to turn around, my back got better and I started to feel healthier within myself.
How did I make the time? I started setting myself a timer to go off every half hour to get up from my desk and move my body – usually just a few stretches or walking around the office. Then I would make sure to have a proper lunch break where I would get outside and go for a walk (and this had the bonus of making me more productive for my afternoon of work too!).
Nowadays I try to include some exercise into my morning routine as well as doing some stretches just before bed. You might want to include some exercise in your evenings, or play some sports on the weekends. (Pretty much anytime that works for you!!)
What exercise should I start with?
You’ll find a lot of exercise plans if you search Google or Pinterest, but I found most of these would go too hard too fast.
Yeah sure, it was a great idea on paper that I’d start an exercise plan this week and next week I’d be doing 20 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and running 3km EACH DAY, but in reality, I was nowhere near fit enough to do this next week – even within the next month it would have been a massive stretch!
All these lofty exercise plans did were to make me try too much too soon and burn out or injure myself OR I’d find myself disheartened before I’d even begun.
To create a sustainable exercise practice, I started out gently and listened to my body to guide my progress (see How to increase your body awareness).
Here are some of the exercises I started out with (and still do today!)…
Note: Please remember that each of us is unique and your own individual circumstances must be taken into consideration before starting on any exercise plan. It is not my intention for what I write on my blog to be taken as advice to follow letter by letter, but rather I hope to provide inspiration and motivation for you to start or continue on your own path of wellness.
Exercises for health and happiness
Walking
This a great one for starting easy and working up as you get fitter. Kick off with only walking a short distance or for a short time and increase bit by bit each week.
You can also adjust the energy you put into your steps over time. Start out just going for a stroll and build up until you are getting your heart rate pumping.
Walking also has the advantage of being able to do it nearly anywhere and you don’t need any special gear. Plus it has a wealth of health benefits in itself – WIN!
Tai Chi and Yoga
I love how there are different levels of each of these exercise practices, meaning that you can find movements that suit you if you’re just starting out and progress to a wider range of movements as your flexibility and strength increases.
Tai Chi is great in that you are on your feet. It doesn’t involve getting up and down off the floor, so it’s a good place to start if you’re feeling a bit stiff and too sore to get on the ground.
Yoga is my go-to for increasing my flexibility and it is a calming exercise to practice. There are also various forms of yoga where you move more quickly through the routine and ones where you hold the positions longer for extra strength training.
Resources: Try YouTube yoga channels SarahBethYoga, Yoga with Adriene, or here’s a video showing the 24 forms of Tai Chi
Dancing
I love to have a boogie to an upbeat song or two as a way to get some movement into my day. And, as an extra bonus, it boosts my mood too! Plus you can be as casual or as serious as you want about it.
Start out with free-dancing to a sensual tune while you’re preparing dinner (although please watch your fingers if you are cutting anything!) and move onto a full session with a fun playlist on your phone or stereo.
If you’re feeling really inspired, get out there and find a dance class to join!
Swimming or Aqua-aerobics
The water can provide good support and cushioning for your joints, so it’s a great way to go if you have any pain points in your body. It also provides extra resistance as you move, so simply walking and playing around in the water can be exercise in itself (duck-dives anyone?).
Unfortunately, unless you’re lucky enough to have a pool in your backyard, this one can’t be done at home. But if you love the water, it might be worth it to find somewhere you can swim and make it part of your exercise routine.
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Of course, there are plenty of other types of exercising you can try too, these are just my favourite for starting out with. If you are looking for something else, you could consider team sports, cycling, aerobics, ice skating, rollerblading, skiing, tennis, and horse riding – just to name a few, but there are SO many options out there that you’re bound to find something you love.
I hope this has inspired you to get started on including more exercise in your day to see the benefits of a healthier and happier life, even if it feels a little daunting at first!
I feel like there’s a tipping point between feeling tired and struggling with your energy levels and feeling energetic and vibrant and I think exercising for health and happiness is the key to moving from one to the other.
Just remember that you will get results if you keep on progressing, so keep yourself motivated by doing something you enjoy and try and do a
Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a session, move on and focus on your average being better over time. You and your health are important so stick with it!
Let me know, what exercise do you currently include in your day? Or, if you’re just getting started, what are you going to kick off with?
Wishing you every success!
Sarah xo
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