2850: Crafting a Minimalist Fitness Plan by Jennifer Tritt with No Sidebar on How to Exercise Every Day

[00:00:00] Überlass deine gesunde Ernährung und die Gains nicht nur deinem Bauchgefühl. Denn bei der Ernährung gaukelt uns unser innerer Schweinehund manchmal ganz schön was vor. Sag stattdessen Hallo zu deinem neuen Coach, Yasio. Yasio ist die meistgenutzte Ernährungs-App Europas, made in Germany. Egal ob Massephase oder ein bisschen Abnehmen, tracke Kalorien, Proteine, Carbs, Fette, Bewegung und Intervallfasten. Und mit den Tasty-Rezepten bist du ready für deine Ziele. Let's go! Lade die Yasio-App jetzt herunter.

[00:00:29] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:54] So, press play on good sleep tonight, because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Health Daily, crafting a minimalist fitness plan, by Jennifer Tritt, with nosidebar.com. And I'm your host and narrator, Dr. Neil Malek.

[00:01:18] Welcome back to Optimal Health Daily, where I read to you from popular health and fitness blogs to help you optimize your health. I'm super excited to read today's post to you and help you start optimizing your life. Crafting a Minimalist Fitness Plan, by Jennifer Tritt, with nosidebar.com. It pleases me that exercise has become more than a habit for me. It is part of my minimalist lifestyle.

[00:01:47] Strategically challenging my body to perform is exhilarating. Exercise is a reliable way to improve my mood, and I am effortlessly present while working out. Setting new goals and developing the training plan to achieve them gives me a sense of control, when other areas of my life may feel out of my control. My level of fitness has improved significantly over the past five years. When I moved into my own place, when my marriage ended, I began to walk every day. Walking helped me to sort out my thoughts.

[00:02:14] I began to walk faster and farther, developing a three and a half mile course. I walked in the heat, and I walked in the cold. It became a habit, and something that I looked forward to doing each day. It helped me to gather the will to release some of my unhealthy habits. I also found great pleasure in hiking and biking with friends. These activities gave me an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature and a great workout. Shortly after I met my love, who has run more than 20 marathons, I set foot in my apartment complex gym.

[00:02:43] I began to use the treadmill there, rather than bundle up and walk outside. With his encouragement, I started to run the first mile of my four-mile walk. I ran my first 5K in April 2015, and have run several 10Ks and even a 12K. I don't aspire to be a distance runner or a competitive athlete, but I have confidence in my mind and body, and know that I can complete the goals I choose. We recently completed a sprint triathlon. My goal was simply to finish the event.

[00:03:12] I was incredibly proud of myself when I crossed the finish line with a better time than I anticipated. I felt elated, strong, and successful. The months of training had paid off in a very tangible way. Training for the triathlon was fun, because it was varied. We incorporated a Saturday night swim at our local high school into our weekly routine. It was great to see and feel our stamina increase. We ran and biked at our local gym when we couldn't ride or run outside, and varied our workouts to keep it challenging and fresh.

[00:03:42] Minimalism and Fitness Here are a few suggestions on how you too can shape a minimalist fitness plan. Tip number one. Define your purpose and create a plan. My purpose is broad. I want to maintain the strength of my body and support my overall health. I also want to have fun, especially in the beauty of nature. Tip number two. Decide how many days per week you will exercise, where, and how.

[00:04:07] I was simply walking outside and doing some floor exercises for the first two years of purposefully exercising. This cost me nothing. It helps to have short-term goals for motivation. To walk or run in a 5K, for example. Or to complete a certain bike trail. Or to increase the amount of weight you're lifting or the number of repetitions. Tip number three. If you're ill or feeling blue, don't quit. Give yourself a break and then restart. Keep a calendar or use a fitness app to track your progress.

[00:04:36] I've had times where I lost interest and took a break for a week. The key is to keep the break short and to begin again. Inexpensive gym memberships are available and having a regular place to go when you feel supported by peers is quite helpful. Tip number four. Start where you are. I have always been active. Enjoying swimming, walking, hiking, and biking. But I had periods of time when I did very little. As I established my home and gym routines, walking became a central feature. It made my body feel good.

[00:05:06] And it freed my mind. It costs little, really. Just a decent pair of shoes and comfortable clothing. And you can do it anywhere. The point is to start. And to develop a regular habit. Over time, the habit will become a lifestyle. Start with short distances at a comfortable pace and slowly increase speed and distance. And tip number five. Find a partner for support and accountability. But be comfortable going solo.

[00:05:32] As you are developing the habit of exercise, it helps to have a friend for support. You can challenge each other. And if you know you're committed to meet someone, you're more likely to follow through. It is important, though, to be comfortable exercising alone if you want to make it a habit. Many people consider running or walking their me time. A time for reflection, quiet, and peace. My love and I began our relationship with a long bike ride. Later, he confided that it was the longest ride he had done and that he was nervous about whether or not he could finish.

[00:06:01] He said knowing that I was doing it with him made him confident as the ride continued. Exercising together enhances our relationship. We challenge and support each other. We have some of our best conversations when we're running together. We incorporate exercise into our vacations. We've run and biked in some beautiful places. Our next scheduled event is a 150-mile, two-day MS ride. It will be a physical challenge, but in a beautiful place to help raise money for a worthy cause.

[00:06:32] You just listened to the post titled, Crafting a Minimalist Fitness Plan by Jennifer Tritt with nosidebar.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. I personally love tip number three. I know it sounds like a pain, but I love keeping a calendar so that I can track my workouts. For me, it serves two purposes. The first is I try not to repeat the same routine too close together. I like to mix things up a little bit.

[00:07:00] And so by keeping a calendar, I can quickly see, oh, did I already do this routine recently or have I done similar moves recently? And then I can mix it up accordingly. But the other advantage is, on those days when I do feel kind of tired, and I know that if I push myself today, there's a chance that I could injure myself or get sick. I can look at the calendar and say, oh, okay, I know why I'm feeling so fatigued. Look at all of these workouts I've done. Look how hard I've been pushing myself. So maybe I do something less intense today.

[00:07:30] And actually, there's a third reason that I just thought of. I can see my progress. I can see how I've improved. Because sometimes I'll write down how many repetitions I did for a certain routine or how much weight I lifted or how far I ran or walk. And then I can say, oh, wow, look, I've made so much progress. And that motivates me on those days when I simply don't have the motivation to get out there. And honestly, no matter how small or quick my workout is, I write it down. Even if it was just a walk around the block, I write it down.

[00:07:59] Because even writing down those little workouts that I did can be motivating. Look, I had a stressful day yesterday, but I still found time to do a 10-minute workout. And if you've been listening to my show for a long time, you know that I'm a big fan of writing down things. Writing down goals, tracking progress, writing down what you eat. So it really shouldn't be a big surprise. All right. Thank you, as always, for listening. Thank you for being a subscriber and sharing the show with someone. I'll be back here tomorrow for our Thursday show.

[00:08:27] So stay tuned for that, where your optimal life awaits.