When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to exercise (duh, right?) The truth is, you can actually lose the weight without really working out, just eating the right things will do it.
However, to SPEED UP your results, you’ll want to workout and be consistent.
Losing weight isn’t always just Calories-in Calories-out though. Exercise and working out is actually a form of stress, that when abused, can actually keep you in a stand-still with your progress.
Below we’ve outlined our top recommended workouts for this program. If you have ANY questions at all, please comment on this post and we’ll respond asap!
Best Time of Day
Upon rising, lunchtime, after dinner (any transition period is good)
How Long
30-60 minutes
Workout Tips
Wear shoes, unless walking barefoot on the beach or grass
What to Focus on
Keeping your core engaged. It’s easy to walk with bad form, so make sure you’re muscles are activating and movements are fluid.
Why it’s Good
When you’re short on workout ideas, you can always just go for a walk. It’s easy, we all know how to do it, and it’s gentle on the body. Walking is a great slow-warm-up for the body, and you can follow it up with some deep stretching when you get back home – which compounds the benefits of this activity and will stimulate blood flow which aids in the release of toxins and promotes healthy cell function.
Best Time of Day
Upon rising
How Long
15-30 minutes (approx 1.5 to 3 miles)
Workout Tips
Only run if you can do it without pain. Keep your core engaged and activate your abdominals just enough to pull your bellybutton up slightly – this will protect your back and exercise your core muscles. Try to keep your strides short, and feet underneath you – when you look down you should be able to see your shoelaces. Keep your body relaxed and find your natural rhythm; it’s a little different for everyone.
What to Focus on
Your breath. If you aren’t sure what to do with it, try 4 dragging inhales followed by 4 dragging exhales – steady, fluid breathing will help relax your mind and make your movements more efficient.
Why it’s Good
Running is the king of aerobic activity, partly due to the cardio but also because of the movement in your muscles. Running is not a low impact sport, but the force can be absorbed more into your muscles rather than your joints with practice. Even though running has impact, it’s beneficial for that very reason because it loosens up & exercises all of the major muscle groups in your body – even more so than any other workout.
Best Time of Day
Upon rising (any transition period is good)
How Long
20-60 minutes
Workout Tips
There are 3 ways you can practice yoga: 1) go to a studio – find local places on Yelp, 2) take an online class – we always recommend Udaya.com, or 3) do your own – we have a simple cheat sheet you can download here which has 30 different poses for inspiration when building your own sequence.
GET THE YOGA POSE DOWNLOAD HERE >>
What to Focus on
Your breath, which keeps you present with your actions and in the moment with your mat. Always pay attention to how your body feels when moving into a new position, sometimes you can take it further and other times you should ease out right away.
Why it’s Good
It relaxes your mind while giving your body a fantastic stretch (or workout, depending on which type of yoga you practice).
Best Time of Day
Upon rising
How Long
10-20 minutes
Workout Tips
When it comes to lifting weights, we always recommend doing what you’re most comfortable with. Weights are great for exercising muscles, but when done incorrectly you can strain them and cause injury, which is moving away from our desired outcome. We created a simple guide to creating new workouts that you can download here. These are a combination of body weight exercises and using dumbbells, which is an easily accessible form of weights.
Get the DIY Workout Guide Here >>
What to Focus on
Slow, methodical movements. Start with less weight, and strive for the safest most natural form. If you find yourself questioning your technique try searching Youtube for the proper form – there are thousands of high quality tutorials that are short.
Why it’s Good
Lifting weights and exercising with body weight is perfect for stimulating blood flow to your muscles, which is our goal here – not to become super buff.
