Keep your Wheels Turning

I am going to keep the same theme as last month and talk about another phrase of mine when I am on the trails - Turning wheels are happy wheels.

It can be somewhat of a scary thought when you are going downhill over the rocks and thinking about my phrase. But guess what, the moment you hit the breaks and stop your momentum, it might actually get scarier. Worst case would be that you would fly over your handle bars. Not as bad of a case would be restarting the momentum would be even scarier than holding the momentum so you end up walking down the hill with a bike on your back, hoping not to slip and fall.

To be honest, the reason why I came up with this phrase is to constantly remind myself so that my brain can be trained not to be scared.

Now let's apply this to our day to day life or more importantly to our workouts. Momentum is your best friend. Once you start working out regularly, it makes you feel good. Now as we are approaching to the Holiday season your momentum will be challenged. You will have Christmas parties, travel plans for either Thanksgiving or Christmas or even both, or more happy hours  in the spirit of celebration. Suddenly you might want to hit the breaks with your workout even though it is counter intuitive.

To keep that "wheel turning", here is my recommendation for your. Pick yourself two 15 minute workouts - preferably focusing on strength training so that all the yummy food that you will be eating will be utilized by your muscles. Once you pick those routine. Pick 4 days out of your week and alternate your routines. The key to keeping those wheels turning is being realistic. Wheels still continue to turn even if you break just a little. What's important is to balance that break.

My 15 minute workouts generally focus on 3-4 moves total. Here is an example:

Warmup - 100 jumping jacks

Move 1.

15 sec squat hold + 20 squat pulses + 20 negative squats + 15 sec squat hold

Move 2.

20 split jumps + 10 push-ups + 12 split jumps + 5 push-ups

Move 3. (With dumbbells)

10 frontal lifts + 10 lateral lifts with dumbbells + 10 overhead presses

Repeat Move 1-3

Move 4.

(45 sec plank hold + 10 sec rest) *3

In two weeks, I will publish my second example of 15-min workout. Keep tuned!

Meanwhile watch your form, let me know your questions AND keep your wheels turning!!!! :)