A Fresh Start: 5 tips to get you moving this fall
A new season means new opportunities to establish a movement routine you LOVE!
Here are 5 tips to get you moving this fall.
Back to school always comes with a mix of emotions. When I was a kid, going back came with a combination of nerves, excitement, and a bit of grief for the loss of summer camping trips and lazy mornings. Now that I’m grown and have kids of my own I still have mixed feelings about this time of year. The changing air reminds me that the careless days of summer are gone and the grind of rushed mornings and early school drop-offs is upon us. But there is a big upside to the seemingly gloomy metamorphosis.
Fall is perhaps my favourite season because I’m such a lover of all things cozy. Sweaters, tea, a fire in the fireplace, and throw blankets galore. I love it when the leaves begin to change and I can pull out my vagabond boots and my camel coloured wool trench and trapes around town like a fall Pinterest post. But the thing I love most is that fall feels like an opportunity for me to reset and make changes to my routine that I’ve been neglecting over the summer. It’s a fresh start, and fresh starts are not to be taken lightly. With kids back in school, I can finally create some semblance of a routine. For me it’s going to look like this:
• Wake up 30 mins before kids
• Breathing/meditation/intentions and goal-setting for the day
• Answer any pressing emails
• Kids wake up
• Mayhem, mayhem, mayhem
• Drop kids at school
• Workout (20-40 mins is realistic)
• WORK, WORK, WORK
• Pick kids up
• Be present
Is this going to happen each and every day? 100% no… and flexibility is the key to sustainability. But if I don’t set my intentions and write them down then this opportunity will slip away.
If you also want to take advantage of this time to create fresh routines and habits, particularly around movement and exercise, here are a few tips:
1. Make your goals realistic. If you’re not a morning person maybe don’t plan on waking up at 5 am each day. Instead, start by getting up just 20 minutes earlier than normal and see how it feels. You’d be surprised how much you can squeeze into 20 minutes. Which leads to my next tip…
2. It’s okay if it’s a short workout. I rarely have time to work out for a full hour, and that’s perfectly fine. Who came up with that standard anyway? If I only have 15 mins then I’ll go hard for 15. If I have more time I’ll do more. The key is not to be hard on yourself. Exercise is meant to feel good in your body and improve your mood, which certainly won’t happen if you’re beating yourself up for not doing enough. So go easy.
3. Stay flexible. Pick a regular workout time that suits your schedule but remember to stay flexible. If you don’t do it in the morning, have a backup plan so that a missed morning doesn’t turn into a missed day.
4. Make it fun! Put your favourite music on loud, dance to warm up, and do your thing, whatever that may be. Just make sure you enjoy at least some aspect of it because if it’s not enjoyable you probably won’t stick to it.
5. Create a space that you love. This probably goes without saying, but for me, the design and setup of a space are crucial and determine whether or not I want to spend time there. If my goal is to do some form of movement every day then I have to love my movement space. Make sure your space has good dimmable lighting, speakers, airflow, and whatever equipment you need.
If you’ve always struggled with getting into a movement routine and need a little more guidance then stay tuned for my upcoming post which goes a bit deeper into why so many of us struggle with this and what we can do about it.
xo
Em