Time now to start planning those new year’s resolutions because in less than 100 days we’ll be in the year 2025.
We can agree one of the top resolutions is starting a health kick which includes hitting the gym, lifting weights, and starting a diet.
When you work out, do it to feel good, not thinner. Instead of obsessing over the scale, obsess over how amazing you feel since you started being more active. Numbers don’t mean much.
I started going to the gym when businesses started reopening during the pandemic and masks were required. Wearing one while working out was no easy task, but I managed. From then to now, I lost nearly 60 lbs. and counting.
It starts with developing a routine. Mine was simple, sleep, online school, and gym. Circle back around. Today, my routine is sleep, work, eat and go to the gym. Another simple one, but it’s so mentally exhausting, it’s hard to grab my gym bag and head to the gym.
When I get home from work, I instantly go to the refrigerator, then right to the bed. The days I do are the days I procrastinate to change into my gym gear, head back out the door and make my way through rush hour traffic to get to the gym. I do it, because I didn’t get this far to only come this far.
I’m not the average gym goer who designates days to what I’m working out. I should, but I don’t. I decide my workout when I walk through the doors of Planet Fitness. One day, catch me working on my abs on the floor and in the 360 area where I work on arms and legs. The next day, the same thing. Every day, I sprinkle some form cardio into my work outs. It’s exhausting, but I have found a way to make it fun.
MUSIC! Through the headphones on my head, while making moves on the treadmill. Something like this:
Maybe you have seen videos like this on TikTok. Influencers dancing their way through a workout, and suddenly you realize how fun working out can really be.
I give you permission to say this looks silly. But two things I’ve realized when doing this, it’s fun and I feel great.
As you can imagine, I get a lot of looks. I get comments. People ask how many pounds I’ve lost. Some ask, how I do it.
Some people tell me they try to do what I do and it’s hard. That’s the comment I love hearing. My response back is, ‘keep going. Practice makes perfect!’
I often spark conversations with people that I’m a roller-skater. Yes, you can catch me at Skate World in Troy every Sunday night jamming to beats on 8 wheels. People tell me, I’ve lost a lot of weight.
It takes me back to when I started being silly and fun. Dancing on a treadmill.
It’s what it sounds like, combining dance choreography with walking on a treadmill to create an entertaining workout set to music.
Maybe that video just gave you a boost to add some movement the next time you’re on a treadmill. For starters, try diving into these routines published by Barbend.
Walk and Side Shuffle
Keep the belt speed lower than your normal walking pace, particularly when you’re shuffling. Only increase the speed gradually.
- One-minute walk
- 30-second side shuffle right
- 30-second side shuffle left
Incline Pyramid with Arm Movement
Arm workouts don’t always have to be done with barbells and dumbbells. On the treadmill, you’ll transform your traditional curls and presses into dance. Throughout the entire workout, keep your arms out and away from the treadmill’s support arms. You’ll get a lot more tired, a lot more quickly, than you think.
The Medley
This is when you turn up the music and go with the rhythm. Start adding different walking patterns and kicks to the routine. It adds to the fun! This can include side shuffles, forward kicks, backward, and low squat walks.
When it comes to what music you choose. It’s based on what your mood is set at. I’ve danced to Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock, Country, 70’s, 80s. At 5:30 p.m. my mood can be country and 2-and-half minutes later, it swings to Whitney Houston. Yes, even on the treadmill.
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, but in this case, I am far from it.
I’ve managed to find a purpose in life and that was to get fit. It was not to look different but to feel different. I’ve managed to tackle a routine which is key to working out, and although days I’m mentally and physically worn out, I keep going. So, stay tuned to TikTok, I’m sure a video will surface sooner or later, because I have no plans in slowing down.
If you take away one thing from these words, I hope it’s that your new year’s resolution starts a little silly and fun, and I’ll let you decide.