Rebecca Babcock: IBD Warrior

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais NinDueing

December 1-7 is Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness week,

and as an IBD Warrior, it is an important to take a pause and look at REAL life with a silent, incurable illness. There is no question that is hard, but it is also what WE choose to make of it. As I often say, each of us can do hard things.

rebecca-babcock-ibd-crohns

Having a chronic illnesses can understandably leave you living in fear of the next flair up… like becomes an insane game of “illness athematic”: trying to time the onslaught of debilitating symptoms with work or personal commitments (as if we have an ounce of control over any of it!), lying in wait of medication’s terrible side effects, or perhaps planning around the anticipation of potentially embarrassing social encounters. Aka: life can get very small… if you let it.

Last weekend I experienced a beautiful reminder that I can live a full life even during the hard times when I don’t feel well, or I am not sure I am up to it, I don’t look my best or can’t give it 100%. I went to a baby shower for a very best friend and then a “Friendsgiving” celebration, and while I could not partake in either of the beautiful and likely delicious cakes, I was reminded that showing up is most of the battle.

rebecca-babcock-life-ibd-crohns

The bottom line is my disease doesn’t define me and it doesn’t need to define you. It certainly takes courage and more than a fair amount of humility and honesty to show up to life, maybe not at my best, but on life’s terms. It is a lot better than not showing up at all.

#nocolonstillrollin,

Rebecca

Working Out With No Obstacles

Hello friends! My name is Judy and I’ve been a T1 diabetic for 18 years now! You may know me from my Instagram account @hyper.hypo and blog/shop (www.diahyperhypo.com), and you may already know how much I love to help other T1s with my experiences and tips. I believe that diabetes should never be a limitation, and with a positive attitude and positive thoughts, it is easier to live with this disease that often feels like riding a rollercoaster.

I know that having T1 can often lead to a lot of questions: ‘’Should I inject for this’’, ‘’Should I eat now?’, ‘’Should I tell people I’m low and not actually drunk?’’ However, in my opinion, one of the main subjects that us T1s tend to ask questions about is type one diabetes and exercise. A lot of diabuddies think that they need to workout less or not at all because of their numbers, or even limit themselves to a type of exercise but I am telling you with full confidence: THAT IS NOT TRUE!

I believe so much in the affirmation: ‘’Diabetes is not a limitation’’ that I decided to launch my own line of diabetes sportswear.

I decided to create something that will empower a lot of type ones when exercising: a sports bra with an integrated pocket to put the insulin pump (or PDM or supplies or phone, you decide!). I know that working out while having T1 diabetes brings extra responsibilities, so having a pocket that will let you have an intensive and satisfying workout will motivate you to get off your couch and move!

In my case, every time I work out, I feel good. You may think: ‘’Okay Judy that is so cliché!’’ It is, I have to admit it, but it’s the truth! Here are my 3 main tips that help me exercise with type one diabetes:

It’s okay to change your schedule

Be mindful. Accept the fact that you didn’t stick to your workout plan. Accept the fact that you exercised during the evening and not in the morning like you planned to because of your numbers. Once you accept that your schedule might me modified, you will be happier while working out. Things happen!

2. Try to workout with no insulin on board

Working out in the morning works best because there is no insulin in the body (well usually). Sometimes, the blood sugar might spike, so it is important to know your body and to know that a correction might be needed. If there is insulin on board (meaning you injected yourself not so long before), you might need to set a temporary basal rate (if you’re on the pump) or try to inject less insulin before a meal/snack before a workout for next time.

3. Yes, what you eat is important!

Food. Everybody loves food, right? The thing with food is that it can give you instant satisfaction, but might get you lazy if you don’t eat something good for you. Eating a lot of vegetables, fruits and fibers will get you motivated and won’t make you say:

“Ugh yeah I’ll go to the gym tomorrow.” Eating proteins and carbs coming from non-fatty foods will make you feel good, help with your digestion, and affect your numbers before/ after a workout in a beautiful way!

And always remember: Train 30mn a day to avoid being tired 24h a day!

– Judy

Keep Fighting Toward Your Fitness Goals

So I thought I’d share how difficult it is to live with a chronic illness and try and stay fit.

The picture on the right was last year… when I had just had a colonoscopy to determine how inflamed my bowel was. Shortly after, I was hospitalized due to my colitis. In that week I had lost around 8kg in weight in the space of 5 days. Everything I ate went straight out. I had been in decent physical shape externally but internally I was in bits. I felt incredibly weak. I had no energy, but I still tried to work and live my life as normally as possible. At the time I even tried to celebrate the fact I looked half decent. 🙈 But when you look at the photo closely, I look very skinny. I was then put on some heavy duty drugs to get my colitis in check. Gained loads of weight in hospital and then went home.

Fast forward to may of this year. I’ve managed to get to a decent shape however I’m the strongest I have ever been. I manage to beat my personal gym goals every week and my colitis seems to be under control. 🤛👏

I saw this photo in my feed and wanted you to understand that physically and mentally I’m in a much better place. Everything is going in the right direction and with more hardwork and dedication I’ll get to where I want to be.

Even last year I said I’ll have to start my journey again. It really got me down but if something is worth doing… it wouldn’t be easy….or everyone would do it 😅👌

It doesn’t matter where you are in your IBD journey. It will always keep moving forward it you BELIEVE you can do it
❤

Moving for Your Body

Let’s be real, working out can suck. Like really, really suck.

Growing up, running was always my punishment for the other sports I played (tennis, volleyball, and softball). We would run if we missed, run if we lost, etc. Running was never something I got to do, but had to do, rather. I’d had a distorted view of working out (outside of playing sports competitively) and I saw working out as punishment for what I ate, etc.

By pushing my body too hard, at the age of 21, I’ve already had shoulder surgery, five stress fractures in both my shins and lumbar spine, as well as four cortisone injections. So after years of putting my body through intense workouts to train, I am finally working out to heal my body and mind.

So what shifted in my love-hate relationship with “movement”? My mindset. While I used to view running, cycling, swimming as the enemy or the “worst part” of training, I now view it as something I GET to do. I get to move my body, as quickly or slowly as I please. I get to be outside. I get an hour to move how I want to– however feels good for my body.

I used to push myself through a run when I could hardly walk, or through shin splints on a long run, now I don’t. Now, I run or bike when I want, put on a great playlist, and enjoy the movement, the celebration of what my body CAN do. I practice yoga daily because it is sustainable for me, and I love the mental and physical reset it provides for me. I focus on how it feels, what I need, and am very consious of my blood glucose levels when working out.

My advice to those who have a distorted view of gyms or physical activity, or even just need motivation to start working out is to find something you love, that you can sustain. Maybe for you this is dance, yoga, boxing, a long walk– or a multitude of act ivies combined.

“Speak like you love yourself. Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself.”

Lyfestories: Incorporating Exercise Your Life with an Invisible Illness

Hi, I’m Zoe and I am actively autoimmune!

When I was diagnosed with lupus, I felt like I had lost control of my health and body. As a physiotherapist, I have always believed that movement is key and began to use exercise as a way to take back some control. Whatever the illness, injury or challenge, I believe exercise will support our health and recovery.

In saying that, I know how difficult it can be to motivate yourself to be active. Pain and fatigue, alongside juggling work, family or school plus hospital appointments and medication regimes; exercise can just seem unachievable. Health can fluctuate on a daily basis preventing consistency and progress. Here are my top 5 tips into how I incorporate exercise into my life with a chronic illness:

Be kind to yourself!

Sounds simple, but I find adopting the right mentality about why I am exercising, helps to motivate me. A lot of social media is aimed at fit and healthy people, striving for excellence. With chronic illness, we are striving for different goals.

You are not exercising to punish your body. You are not a bad person if you miss a workout. And you should not feel guilty if you cannot keep up with what others either on social media or in the gym are doing. Find what feels good for you and be kind to yourself.

2. Set realistic goals

Find a balance between something realistic but challenging, and something you care about or enjoy doing. Our bodies cope with enough medically, so we don’t want to add to the stress it goes through!

I find comparing where I am and what I want to achieve is very different to the average #goals on Instagram. Realistically running 5k and doing 50 burpees are not possible at the moment. But to aim to get on my mat 5 times a week, whether for a gentle workout, stretch or yoga is attainable and helps motivate me.

3. Be flexible

“Be stubborn with your goals, but flexible how you get there”

Health is unpredictable (the number of days I wake up with my list to do and due to how I feel, I achieve zero of them). Add in spontaneous hospital trips and appointments and it can feel disheartening not achieving what you set out to do that day. I try to use these moments to mix up my routines, walk instead of run, stretch instead of workout or on really bad flare days, simply sitting and doing some breathing exercises. Frustrating as it can be, it is about listening to what your body needs.

4. Learn when to rest and when to progress

Lots of my clients used to ask me:

“If I feel unwell should I still exercise?”
“Do I stop if I have pain?”
“Should I keep pushing past fatigue?”

For those of us with invisible illness, if we listened to our bodies every time they were unwell, in pain, or fatigued we would never exercise. That being said, we can be too brave and push past symptoms we should pay attention to. It is a really difficult balance and often ever changing due to drug changes and disease activity.

The best way to find out your limits is to test them! I started very lightly and monitored how I feel during, immediately after and the next day. A gradual increase in activity is a lot wiser than getting stuck in a pattern of over exerting yourself and then needing days to recover.

5. How to push through

Everyone has bad days, either physically with raging symptoms, or mentally due to a lack of motivation or simply fed up. It is absolutely okay to have these days off! However, it is often on these days when I am feeling rubbish, getting on my yoga mat can have the biggest positive effect.

Sometimes it is the thought of exercising that can seem overwhelming more so than the workout itself. The process of getting in my activewear and getting out my mat can sometimes seem a big a task as washing my hair aka. huge. One method I use is to break down the task so it seems more manageable. I give myself a target of 5 minutes. If after 5 minutes, my symptoms are still horrible or worse, then I stop but more often than not, I carry on.

I hope a few of my tips helped, for more guidance or if you have any questions please reach out to me on @activelyautoimmune or on www.activelyautoimmune.com

How I Started Health and Fitness Coaching

Two years ago I decided enough was enough and I needed to make a change for my own personal health.

There wasn’t anything specifically wrong, but I just didn’t feel good in my own skin and was really lacking energy and motivation. I knew I was the only one that was going to be able to change that for myself. I started a program after I saw my friend post her before and after pictures on Facebook and decided it was worth a try. Honestly, what did I have to lose right?

Two months later I was feeling so much healthier, weight started going down (20+ lbs overall), inches were being lost, my insulin was reduced by about 30% and people started to comment on how much happier and healthier I looked. Even my endocrinologist at Joslin was so impressed when I walked in the office and beyond happy with my progress! Yeah to lower A1c’s, Blood pressure and Cholesterol. This was the moment that I decided to start coaching myself. There was no way I couldn’t not share this with others in the hopes they could experience the same results as me.

In the past 2 years so much has changed for me. I now feel so lucky to be able to work with over 100 people to help get them jump started on their own health journey. Many of them with Type 1 diabetes, which of course I LOVE since it’s the diabetes educator and nurse in me. There is nothing like hearing people say, “My clothes don’t fit me anymore” or “I have been able to lose the weight I needed to before trying to conceive” or “I can’t remember the last time I felt this good.” There is nothing more powerful then helping others self esteem increase and just feeling happy & healthy!

I run monthly accountability groups online where we have daily challenges with some fun incentives for them. Why not work out when you can get some fun workout tanks, beach bags or silly gifts from it right? My challengers post sweaty selfies of their workouts, pictures of their meals and we share daily recipes and motivational posts to help keep their momentum going. I also do my best to check in with them every 1-2 weeks or more depending on their need to make sure they are getting their answers to any questions they may have. Who doesn’t want a cheerleader supporting you to reach your goals?

I think many programs out there are lacking the accountability piece and support system.

I truly believe that is why I have been able to continue this lifestyle for the past 2 years and not to mention I have gained financial support for my family and made some of the most ever lasting friendships I could have asked for.

This past July I was able to attend my first Summit in New Orleans and had a chance to work out with Shaun T (my fav) and Sagi and more others. It was truly one of the most inspirational, exciting and powerful events I have ever had the chance to be a part of. Working out with 5,000 people in one room or 25,000 people in the streets of NOLA as the sun was coming up was electrifying. You better believe this mama already booked my return to Summit next year and ready for the Indy 500.

Having lived with Type 1 Diabetes for 25 years I know how hard the day to day struggle is and truly it’s a full time job to just stay healthy.

Eating right, exercising, insulin, doctors appts, eye appts, etc….the list goes on and on for our daily tasks. I feel very fortunate to have found something that encourages and supports me to keep my health first and do that for others as well!

Facebook: @health.fitness.diabetes.mama

Instagram: type1diabetesmama

Is It Possible You Should Slouch More?

You’re at work. Your back is killing you. You’re shifting in your chair to try to stay as upright as possible, but it actually kind of hurts.

But, you’ve been told to sit upright, so it must be better for you, right?

“Sit up straight.” “Pull your shoulders back.” “Don’t slouch.”

Are these thoughts that you tell yourself? When you’re sitting at your desk chair? Or while driving? Or even just sitting at the dinner table?

So many of my clients come to me with back pain, and as soon as I get them on a video call, I can see immediately one of the major contributing factors to their pain.

In an honest attempt to protect their spine, they have actually begun to make the issue worse!

It’s not their fault. I used to do the same thing! We’ve been told these things all of our life!

After all, slouching doesn’t look very professional in school or in a meeting.

Did you know that excessively sitting upright can actually be just as bad for you as excessively slouching? Yup, turns out there literally is no research that shows a direct correlation between slouching and low back pain. Crazy, right? I know. I thought the same thing.

That’s why with certain clients, based on what we observe after scheduling a video consultation (click here to schedule your complimentary video consult!), I often prescribe this exercise:

Still confused? Because you’ve been told the spine should always be kept straight?

The body simply loves movement VARIABILITY. That’s why the body doesn’t respond well to lots of sitting OR lots of standing. Neither is inherently bad, but it’s the lack of movement and the over-abundance of the same posture.

I’ll even let you in on a little secret. This fundamental principle which I teach my clients in my programs is:

The best posture is the posture that changes most often.

Let me give you a little analogy to help make sense of this craziness. If I were to tell you to hold a bicep curl all day long, do you think you would get stronger? Or at some point, would your muscles actually fatigue and get weak and tight? Yeahhhh… I think you know the answer ?

The same goes for our spine! When we hold our spine straight all the time, we are essentially doing a plank all day long. No wonder our back ends up feeling tight and weak! It needs a rest!

This is counterintuitive, I know. But if you’ve ever experienced back pain, you’ve probably noticed that pulling your knees into your chest feels amazingly good.

Ain’t no coincidence! Want to know why? Because when you pull your knees into your chest, your back is rounding and finally getting the rest it wants so badly!

If you’re curious to better understand how your body’s unique movements/postures are impacting your pain, your health and your fitness, send me an email! Just simply ask any question you may have and I am happy to answer it for you!

You can also click here to schedule a 60-Minute Video Call where we can take a look at what’s going on with your body specifically to determine some concrete actions you can implement RIGHT away to start alleviating your pain.

To learn more about Melanie Daly and her personal training, please visit her website: http://www.backpainpersonaltrainer.com/

D1 and T1: Tips for Killing Your BG and Opponent!

As a Type 1 diabetic for the last seven years, and a lifelong athlete, trial and error with exercise and insulin/eating patterns has been my best friend. No two people are the same, and neither are two workouts. The most important things to remember are to be adaptable, don’t beat yourself up, and get out and move!

While being a highly competitive athlete and T1D can be challenging, being a D1 athlete makes me a more regimented diabetic, and being a diabetic makes me a more disciplined athlete. Here are a few quick that help me be successful on and off the court. Keep in mind that everyone is different though, and I am not a medical professional, just an experienced D1 T1D athlete.

Don’t take insulin before cardio if possible. Before a long tennis match, running, or practice, I try to eat a lower carb meal and avoid taking insulin. Bodies process insulin more efficiently when working out (especially for a long workout), and if I take insulin, I will inevitably go low.
Fats are your friend! I love nut butters, avocados, and coconut oils, especially pre-workout. Because fats are metabolized slower than carbs and protein, they help sustain blood glucose levels pre and post-workout.
Find a low snack that works for you. For me, I love drinking coconut water while playing tennis to keep my blood sugar up while avoiding spikes (which I usually get from Gatorade). I also love apple sauce, and larabars (due to fat content, which helps stabilize) for gradual lows. I always keep energy chews in my bag, too.
Morning workouts>>> I cannot stress the incredible impact morning workouts have on my blood glucose control enough. Late night workouts usually result in 3 a.m. lows. Morning weight lifting helps me maintain BG levels throughout the day.
Make sure your basal levels are adjusting according to your activity level. When I’m in season, I always cut my basal insulin by at least a few units. Talk to your doctor if you find you are running low/high more than usual! Getting my basal insulin in check has been the biggest help in my athletic performance.
Switch it upppp! I love interchanging cardio, HITT, weight lifting, yoga, etc. throughout the week to maintain BG levels and challenge my body. Find workouts that you enjoy! Finding a workout buddy is vital to success.
Be prepared! Never leave for an outdoor run without fruit snacks tucked in a pocket. Whether I’m running, playing tennis, or at the gym, I always have a debit card and low snacks (and insulin and a meter, of course).
Keep track! Keep a log of workout type, duration, and the BG effect it had. I also use an app to track my meals and help me figure out what is the best fuel for active days.
Adrenaline is a factor! My blood levels during practice and a match can be drastically different due to the stressors of competing. Because of this, I have to make sure to keep my emotions in check, and be aware of adrenaline spikes.
Give yourself some credit! Being a T1D is a full time job. That being said, do not let anyone tell you it is impossible for you to be a highly competitive athlete– because that’s far from the truth! #diabadass

16 Health Benefits of Pilates, According to Science

In the 1920’s, a man by the name of Joseph Pilates observed people doing yoga, and animals moving how they naturally do at the zoo and came up with a series of movements that allow a human to stretch and build muscle that he called pilates.

Pilates is considered to be a “low-impact, big result” workout regimen. It was intended to be a workout for dancers with injuries.

Knowing it’s intended purpose it should come as no surprise that the series of movement works out the entire body but also tends to focus more on the core muscles and balance. (1)

Pilates is series of movements that are slow, methodical, require a lot of focus and accuracy coupled with controlled breathing.

Because it is not considered cardio, yet it is considered exercise and because it is so adaptable, pilates is perfect for those just starting out in the exercise world or those coming back from an injury.

Pilates is very much like yoga, but it is stepped up a notch.

Pilates is more balance, more muscle toning, more stretching, more flexibility, more mind/body connection. (2)

Pilates can be done as a stand alone exercise if it is challenging enough in itself but many do pilates on their “day off” from a stringent workout routine.

Regardless of why you choose to do pilates, the health benefits are amazing.

Here are 16 amazing health benefits of pilates and 10 tips for beginners.

Pilates improves flexibility
Pilates increases strength
Pilates increases core strength
Pilates is safe for rehabilitation
Pilates increases circulation
Pilates increases lung health
Pilates improves concentration
Pilates increases coordination
Pilates improves balance
Pilates improves posture
Pilates lowers stress
Pilates can bring increased self-awareness
Pilates can prevent injury
Pilates can improve your brain health
Pilates fights insomnia

To read more in-depth into each of these benefits of pilates, and for 10 tips for beginners, check out this post, courtesy of Jen Reviews.

Make Running a Habit

There is nothing like a good run on an early Monday morning to get your juices flowing so you can kick-start a productive day. The refreshing feel of cool morning wind on your face, the sound of motivating music in your ears through your earphones and a gorgeous scenery to keep you in awe: all but a few of the bountiful rewards that come with a morning run. It is the perfect way to start your day and fill your day with positive energy.

The benefits of running are numerous. From weight loss to stress relief to overall fitness to disease prevention – the list is infinite. However, realizing these benefits is no walk in the park. Though running is no rocket science, it will take you a whole lot more than just an alarm clock to pry you out of bed in the morning. Yes, you may pull it off once or twice. But without changing your paradigms and values, that snooze button will continue to feel like a plague your very existence.

So, here’s are five quick no-brainers to make running your number one habit.

It’s All About the Big Picture

All actions in your life should contribute to your one goal in life – the big picture. With running, it’s no different. You have to find that reason inside you to wake up in the morning and partake in this activity.

Maybe you want to get a cute guy’s attention at the park. Or you want to get in shape for your wedding dress. Or, perhaps, the morning run is an effective way for you to jumpstart your day. Whatever reason it is, it should be the last thing you think about when you go to sleep at night and the first thing when you wake up in the morning. Revolve your entire life around it.

Psych Yourself Out of Bed

We all know what it’s like. Waking up early on a cold morning, cozily wrapped up in a warm fluffy blanket. Getting out of bed in such conditions is a task that could shake the willpower of the most dedicated of running souls. This is because willpower is like a charged battery and it tends to run low when you wake up in the morning. This explains why the first thing you did this morning was probably pushing that snooze button. Needless to say, willpower cannot help you out here.

This, however, is where the 5-second rule comes in handy. All you need to do is to trick your brain into forgetting all those things holding you back. At the same time, it will help you focus on that big picture. This will remind you why you need to spring out of bed.

How do you do it? Just count backward from 5 to 1 and like a rocket taking off from its pad, launch yourself out of bed. Don’t overthink it, don’t second guess it, just do it. The more you think about it, the higher your chances of going back to bed again.

Consistency is an Ingenious Policy

Yes, it takes discipline to get out of bed early for every morning of the rest of your life. However, discipline gets old and boring at some point. You will, eventually, grow tired of it and rebel from your own routine. So, though it is a good idea to rely on your discipline, keep this temporary. At least until, for you, waking up for that early run becomes a habit.

According to the experts, this will take approximately 66 days. This is exactly what you need to do to break that destructive, snooze-button-pushing, loop of a behavior.

Watch Your Night Time Adornment

The intimidating, cool morning temperature beyond the blanket is one of the main reasons why most of us find it difficult to get out of bed. This is especially true for those of us who wear nothing more than a pair of undies to bed. The thought of revealing warm skin to the dreadful cold is just unthinkable.

So what’s the solution? Yes, you guessed it right: put some clothes on. It doesn’t have to be heavy clothing. Anything to keep your skin from being bare in the morning will suffice. At least this way, you can keep your favorite blanky while you’re at it.

Get Someone Else to Push You

The dynamics are pretty different when you share a bed with a better half, though. Some nights get a bit more physical than others (if you know what I mean) and reaching for your clothes afterward is just not an option.

However, having a partner beside you can actually be a good thing. He/she can act as your coach and help you get out of bed for that morning workout. This can even apply if you sleep alone. Just get a friend to call in the morning to have you get out of bed.

Well, there you go. A quick five step guide to getting out of your bed for an early morning run, every morning. We do highly recommend wearing ankle support for running to prevent injuries though. Just in case you haven’t had a run in a while.

Regardless, you can apply these tools to absolutely anything in your life. From improving your career to overcoming addictions to eating healthy – the uses are countless. You owe it to yourself to try this out. Remember, there is greatness within every one of us. Even at our lowest points when we feel beaten down with nothing more to give.

3 Mistakes Everyone Makes When Training at Home

Home workout routines are easy and beneficial in many ways. Without an expensive instructor, it’s also easy to make mistakes. Fitness is about developing good habits to improve your health and life in many ways. Get the most out of your routine by avoiding these common mistakes.

Imbalanced Routine

Unless you’re training for a marathon or sports, 30 minutes of light to moderate cardio in a day is enough. Save the extra calories for strength training. Cardio and strength training are both important to a routine. Aerobic exercises like running or walking burn readily available calories and improves blood flow. Strength training builds and tones muscle, which burns fat to maintain.

Too much cardio can cause muscle loss, while too much strength training can increase appetite. Include a focus of bone strengthening exercises to round out your workout. Yoga, jumping jacks, or even weight training on a Body Solid Home Gym can double for both bone strength and either cardio or strength training. Expensive trainers often provide a balanced routine for you, but you can create your own plan using a few simple guidelines.

20-40 minutes of cardio
30-50 minutes strength training
Include bone strengthening exercises

For losing weight, your total daily routine should stay under 90 minutes. Once you’ve hit your target, the ideal is 60 minutes a day for long term health. For long term programs, try an every other day approach; 90 minute sessions three times a week and 60 minutes the other four. Alternatively, stagger your focus on either cardio or strength in the same way.

Improper Challenge

When just starting out, it’s tempting to push too hard during the routine. Strain and exhaustion counteract benefits of your workout. Instead, start with 15 minutes and work your way up. Even light exercise for 15 minutes a day can improve your health dramatically.

For the first month, increase the duration of your routine without adding new exercises. Make sure to balance cardio, strength and bone exercises as you do this. After a month or two, slowly add in more complex exercises one at a time. Give an alteration at least a week to monitor the effect it has on your workout.

Too little challenge is also a common mistake of home routines. Set the standard to push yourself regularly, but take care to set reasonable goals. Changing the routine too often increases the risk of overworking your body. Know your body’s limits and lightly nudge once in a while to avoid plateaus.

Recovery

One of the biggest mistakes of any routine is underestimating the importance of recovery times. Proper recovery time helps you get the full results from your hard work. There are three areas of recovery to keep in mind:

Between sets
Daily activities
Rest

Between Sets

Resting between sets is an overlooked aspect of a home routine. At home, you don’t have the benefit of an instructor to guide you through an appropriate time of recovery. This is easily solved by formulating a plan for adequate rest between sets. However long your set took, rest for twice that time. Doing so allows your muscles to catch back up so you can start fresh the next round.

Daily Activities

Your daily activities will use calories, too. Recovering from each day’s stress on the body improves performance and prevents strain. Activities outside the routine also affect recovery. Some activities in everyday life can count as part of your workout regimen as well. Unplanned activities can affect your fitness plan. If extra recovery time between sessions isn’t an option, dial down the next session to compensate.

Rest

To fully recover from each session, your body has specific needs. This includes getting enough sleep, when the body does most of the healing, and diet. Without the proper nutrition, exercise can decrease muscle and bone density. Even if your diet includes the necessary protein and calories, many other nutrients and vitamins may have taken a back seat. Look for recipes that meet all your nutritional needs.

In Conclusion

Committing to a workout is only the first step in a total fitness plan. Home routines don’t have the benefit of an instructor to guide you through each session. However, you can become your own coach to avoid the pitfalls along the way to a healthier body.

Six Mistakes You Need to Avoid for a Productive Treadmill Workout

Treadmill running may seem like a simple workout but did you know that it is still possible to do it wrong? Yes, there are actually some treadmill mistakes that most people commit which prevent them from having a productive and effective workout.
If you love doing treadmill workouts, there is a chance that you have unknowingly committed these mistakes at some point too. To help you out, we have highlighted some of these common treadmill running mistakes below.
<h2>1.) You are running too close to the front of the treadmill.</h2>
Oftentimes, you will see people at the gym running too close to the front of the treadmill and gripping the front bar too hard as if their lives depend on them. I know it can be scary to let go of the bar as you may come close to the edge and fly off if you do so. However, running too close to the bar will not give your legs enough room, and it can prevent you from practicing proper stride and posture.
Another consequence is that you may accidentally push the controls and cause the equipment to stop which may cause you injuries.

<h2>2.) You throw your arms all over the place.</h2>
Admit it; you have done this at some point. When you swing your arms out to the sides, you tend to use up energy, and it may prevent you from working out for longer. If that is the case, where should you put your arms?
According to experts, keep your arms to the side of your body when you are at a slow pace. Once you are already jogging, try to keep the arms bent at a parallel position to one another, creating a 90-degree angle.

<h2>3.) You take too long strides.</h2>
Yes, doing so can help you to cover more ground. However, it will cause you to lose form and efficiency. There are many reasons why you should avoid this. For one, you are using up lots of extra energy which prevents you from enjoying a long workout. In addition to that, it will increase your chances of hitting the front part of the treadmill which may cause you to fall. Experts claim that your target should be to run three steps per second instead of aiming for longer strides.

<h2>4.) You look down.</h2>
When you look down instead of looking up, there’s a chance that you will lose your balance. In addition to this, it can also put a strain on the back of your neck and may cause your hips to pole out which may place stress on your knees, hips, and spine. When running, make sure that you keep your gaze ahead. You should also keep chest open and shoulders level. The rest of your body will follow.

<h2>5.) You prioritize style over function (with your shoes!).</h2>
With so many cute styles out there, how can you resist, right? Well, keep in mind that you are working out and not walking down the runway so your priority should be the comfort and function of your shoes above all else.
When choosing shoes for the treadmill, it is recommended that you opt for ones that have extra padding in the soles. This simple feature will help to protect the bones in your feet and heels from the impact created by each stride that you take. If you plan to run uphill and put the treadmill on an incline, look for shoes that have outer soles with moderate height.

<h2>6.) You land on your heels.</h2>
Don’t get me wrong. Landing flat-footed is okay if you are just walking or jogging but it is not advised if you are running at high speeds. For the latter, it is recommended that you land on your forefoot so you can lessen the impact of each stride and the stress that back and hips will receive.
Even if you are just running on <a href=”http://bodyshape101.com/best-treadmill-under-1000/”>a treadmill</a>, it is a must that practice proper form, wear the right gear, use the right equipment and avoid the mistakes that we have mentioned above. In this way, you can be able to make the most out of your running sessions.