Stop Running From Your Excuses

If you are used to waking up before 7am to get your morning workout in and kick start your day, this past week has probably been tough. It is no longer light out when your alarm is going off and you have a few moments to decide whether or not you are going to snooze another hour or peel yourself out of bed and get moving. With a little help from military.com (http://www.military.com/military-fitness/spouse-and-family/stay-motivated-to-work-out-in-winter) you can learn a few ways to beat the urge to sleep in as the days shorten and the temperatures drop.

I have fallen victim to this terrible curse us northerners call winter and am bound and determined to nip it in the bud. On top of the great tips military.com gives to stay motivated during the winter, my biggest suggestion would be a workout buddy. Try not to make them one of your roommates. In that case, it is still easy for you both to decide to snooze through your morning sweat session "until tomorrow". Make plans with a friend to meet at the gym or at your favorite meeting spot. In this case, you feel obligated to get out of bed and get moving, and them the same towards you.

The first five minutes out of bed are terrible. You're cold, tired, and cannot find one good reason as to why you ever thought it would be a good idea. At five minutes and one second, you open the door and step into the chilly air and you immediately realize why you do this to yourself. Anyone who enjoys running or exercising in the morning when it is nice outside will have twice the appreciation when it is cold. The cold air gets your body more alert than you ever thought possible and you will return home feeling awfully good about yourself.

The middle of October weather will naturally wean out the weak in the gym, running trails, and on the bike paths. Don't allow yourself to be someone who "takes the winter off". I can promise you that you will be more productive, less tired, and feel much better about yourself the entire day if you can continue your exercise habits throughout the winter.

With that, find a buddy (dog, friend, husband, boyfriend, sibling, etc) and get moving! If you prefer to workout alone, check out military.com for some awesome motivational tips that you can do alone.

Sweat on!

Social Media, on a Positive Note

This weekend I ran a half marathon in Ocean City New Jersey with eleven of my friends. By the time I had traveled home from New Jersey, there were multiple Facebook posts, pictures, and statuses written about the race. Even though Facebook has some negative aspects, it has some good qualities. My mom, dad, and sisters who were unable to attend were able to stay updated on the race through social media from various locations around the world. Not only is it fun for my family to see the things I accomplished with my friends this weekend, but it is fun to share your accomplishments with the rest of the Facebook world. For those of you also have a love for that high you get while running can attest that the fact that no one is ever more proud of you than yourself when you finish a good run. However, there is a tremendous amount of pride I get from seeing other people feel just as happy for me by commenting on Facebook. Call me selfish, but all twelve of us worked hard to finish the race this weekend and I love that we can share our accomplishment with others. I am not one to post status updates, especially about myself, but my sisters and friends tag me in them. This in fact, is just as gratifying and you do not even have to write about yourself.

The world of social media has opened many doors in the world of exercise. As much as we all feel accomplished from this race, seeing other people's times posted on the race's page will do nothing more than create a sense of urgency to do another one. With obesity and unhealthy lifestyles more prevalent than ever, it is not a bad thing that exercising has become more and more competitive due to social media. According to http://healthyamericans.org/obesity/ more than one-quarter of health care costs are now related to obesity and obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980. Social media has made it very easy for races, sports clubs, teams, and other athletics to set bigger and better standards for themselves.

I will admit, there are many negative results from Facebook but I think in the world of HEALTHY competition, Facebook helps to keep users abreast of their competitors' state of shape.

Below is a picture of a few members of the group after our race:-)