Got fitness goals?

It seems as though we just toasted in the new year, yet we are just days away from the second month of 2024. Time is truly not on our side, and though it is the most treasured commodity in the world, it’s the one thing we can’t get more of, can’t recover that which was wasted, and can’t buy with all the money in the world. When it comes to taking care of yourself, there is no time like the present and it’s never too late to get started. Did you set goals to incorporate new healthy habits, to improve upon your health and wellness goals, or to simply remain consistent on your self care journey? Excellent, making a plan to start is a good start! 

I’m on the improvement plan, improving my intensity, pushing beyond my comfort zone, and measuring results so I can make modifications to my routine as needed. Because I want to make some big improvements, I have got to make big plans to achieve big goals. If you don’t plan to succeed, you are surely planning to fail. Planning to workout out is only a fraction of the programming. You have to set aside time for fitness, plan your workout sessions, ensure you have proper fitness attire and equipment, and plan to eat to achieve your goals. 

So, let’s talk a little bit about my plan. I generally workout 5-6 days a week and I prefer to workout in the morning. Since I am newly retired, I have much more time to slack, so I have to plan to overcome my daily desire to be lazy! As such,  I am maintaining my early riser routine to ensure that I don’t skip out on my workouts. I like to workout first thing in the morning, as I have done most of my life. Morning workouts help to keep me from getting derailed by other activities and ensures that all of that good first flow of energy can be focused into a great workout. I also find that working out in the morning boosts my energy levels and my mood, and because I don’t want to waste a great workout I eat better throughout the day. I don’t like to workout with food on my stomach and I practice intermittent fasting, so working out first thing in the morning is ideal for me. I supplement and start with a good pre-workout like Sunwarrior Active Energy and Sunwarrior Active Creatine to give me the energy boost I need for an intense workout session. 

I plan my daily workout session so I know exactly what I’m working once I hit the gym. Whether I’m working arms, back, legs, or glutes I go in with a focused workout plan and I record my weights, reps, and how I felt. This ensures that I have data to track my progress, set specific target goals, and make adjustments towards achieving them. I usually work on or two body parts per work out, so for example, I may work biceps and shoulders or quads and glutes. I have provided an example upper body workout in the Fitness Is A Lifestyle section on my site. Try it out and let me know what you think. 

Workout gear is important! The proper attire is a must for functionality, support, sweat wicking, and safety; you don’t want garments getting hung up on equipment or body parts. Not to mention, when we look good we feel good and we feel even better when we are adequately prepared to tackle a task. Good active wear that is supportive but has adequate give for all types of movement, provides proper coverage, and makes you feel confident is just necessary. I recently discovered Halara, a female founded clothing company that focuses on feminine details to provide stylish, quality products at an affordable price. The fabric is built to perform, while providing breathable stretch comfort with unique and stylish designs. When I tell you I have found the holy grail in performance active wear, I am literally shook! My favorites are the SoCinched High Waist Tummy Control Side Pocket Shaping Training leggings, the Softlyzero Crossover Pocket Plain Leggings, and the Patitoff Pet Hair Resistant High Waist Crossover Plain Leggings. These are quite literally the best active wear leggings I have ever tried, and I’ve tried a lot! They offer supportive and stylish active tops to complement the leggings, are size inclusive with products available in size XS-4XL, with an array of colors to suit every palette. As far as fitness clothing is concerned, Halara definitely gets my vote! 

Strength training is the foundation of my workout, so I also use weight training gloves to protect my hands from blisters, calluses, and fatigue. I like a glove that has padding for full palm protection, as well as wrist and grip support, like the RDX Weight Lifting Gloves  to help me power through a strenuous session. If you don’t belong to a gym and prefer to work out at home, I tend to do both, build up your home gym and create a space for you to accomplish your goals in the comfort of your own home. I have a full weight lifting bench, free weights, a Peloton and more to ensure that I can get a great workout on those days that I simply don’t want to be in the gym; it just bees that way sometime! I have a great three piece kettle bell set that can be used for all types of exercises. If you don’t want cumbersome weights resistance bands are another great option and when combined with leg and glute resistance bands you are can get a complete full body workout. Resistance bands are perfect for traveling so you can still get a great workout on the go! Of course we all want abs, so I can’t forget the support and comfort I get from my Bosu Ball to focus my efforts without compromising comfort or back support. 

When it comes to getting fit, most people don’t realize that food is 70% of the battle. Making good food choices can literally change the game! What you eat and when you eat matters when it comes to achieving fitness goals. Whether you are trying to lose weight, gain weight, or simply maintain your weight, food is king! I am not a dietitian so I will not begin to try to tell you what to eat. See a nutritionist to discuss your goals and develop a plan. However, I will stress the fact that planning your meals will not only save you time, but it will save you from derailment! Exercise makes you hungry, take note of that. Understanding your caloric needs based on your goals is paramount. Planning your meals around your goals is the best thing you can do to set yourself up for success. When we are hungry, like really hungry, we tend to reach for whatever is quick and easy which can quickly sabotage your diet plan. I make it easy on myself by cooking in bulk, I don’t try to create daily meals. I bulk cook my staples like a variety of beans and legumes, purple sweet potatoes, butternut squash, quinoa, tofu, and tempeh. I precut my raw veggies and salad toppers, and make all of my sauces and dressings for the week. Prepping in this manner, I have a number of foods and sauces that I can mix up to create different meals each day. In the GOOD EATS  section I list some of my favorite small appliances and kitchen helpers used in meal prep. 

I break my daily fast at or shortly after 1PM with a protein bowl that generally consist of two tablespoons of Kite Hill Non-dairy yogurt, organic strawberries, bananas, and blueberries, with a scoop of Sunwarrior Active Protein Powder, maca powder, Sunwarrior Active Greens, Sunwarrior collagen, and granola  I have a meal heavy on fresh organic raw greens at some point before 7PM. I make sure I get enough protein to meet my fitness goals and enough greens to support my nutritional goals. I take Healthy Vegan Essentials Daily Multivitamin, and I supplement with Vitamin B12, biotin, Vitamin D3 hyaluronic acid and NAC. I am hoping that my efforts will pay me back with a long, healthy, vibrant, and active life. 

I plan on updating one component of my weekly workout plan here in the Fitness Is A Lifestyle section.  Be sure to check out the upper body workout I just shared and let me know if there are any particular types of workouts you would like to see. I also plan to share a recipe or two from my weekly meal prep in the Good Eats section. I’m trying to do better about writing recipes, so I am hoping sharing them with force me to grow in this area. 

Every day is an opportunity to improve upon something, be it trying to increase your weights or reps, improve your output on your Peloton, or consuming more green vegetables each day. Fitness and healthy living is truly a lifestyle that requires us to practice improvement. It is an ever growing, ever evolving practice, and practice we will!  There is no perfect path when it comes to healthy living. The best way is to try, and try to find habits that you can maintain over time. You cannot over night healthy living nor a state of wellness. But we can practice, progress, and make little improvements that add up to big improvements along the way. It’s never too late to start, and it’s never too late to try again! Keep pushing towards your health goals, stay in practice, develop better habits, and achieve better results. I hope you are committed to planning and practicing to achieve your health and wellness objectives! I try being a littler better each day because health is wealth and I AM WORTH IT!