How to Make a Workout Routine and Stick to it!

I don’t know about you guys, but when it comes to fitness I can kind of be all over the place. Creating a schedule is hard and sticking to it is even harder.

I always wonder why there seem to be certain people who can hit the gym like a beast, train for a marathon, accelerate in sports, etc. while others have a hard time even imagining an activity that doesn’t involve sitting down…I used to believe that it was ONE thing that physically active people did differently and I tried extremely hard to figure it out. I figured that if I could understand the one thing everything else fitness wise would fall into place. As you can probably guess, I have come to realize that there is no single element that can do this.

After all this digging and searching, I finally figured out fitness was all about a combination of choices working together to create the best results. Basically what you are doing is setting yourself up for success. For example, if you want to work out in the morning you could just set your alarm to wake up early, but neglect to go to bed early choosing instead to have dessert number three. The outcome of these three choices are obvious, so why is it so hard to see these on a bigger scale?

When it comes to working out and staying in a routine what matters are the choices you make outside of working out. It depends on the people you surround yourself with, what you believe you can do, how you fuel your body, the boundaries you set, and the food you use for fuel. Since these things are so important and I have found an interest in figuring myself and how I am motivated here’s a little example of how to figure out what works for you!

THINGS TO KNOW

• Early Riser or Night owl?

I have most of my energy in the morning therefore if I make sure to get to bed on time and set my alarm early enough I can smash out a workout, do my meal prepping and get ready for my day all before 9am. If you’re not an early riser then go for a schedule where you’ll be most energetic and excited to workout. Exercising should feel like a treat, not a punishment so work with whatever internal clock you have!

• What drives your motivation?

I tend to be more self-motivated, but a large part of what motivates me is other people. I can easily do my workouts no problem, but there’s not the intensity or drive to finish what I started unless I know someone is counting on me. I know that if I start a program I am more likely to finish if I do it with another person. Because of this blog, I make a conscious effort to make my workouts happen because I know it can be a source of motivation for someone else. I don’t want someone to feel less, to do less, to believe in less all because I helped them put a cap on what is achievable.

• What food makes you feel your best?

We all know about the trending low carb-high fat diets out there and I am not knocking them, but what I am saying is that each body is different. I have seen people who thrive off of carbs, who eat a perfectly balanced diet, who don’t incorporate many vegetables, who rely on proteins like sardines, etc. You don’t have to eat what everyone else is eating to feel your best. It’s great to observe, obtain new ideas and try new things with some inspiration from other people, but you are you! Try testing out different things and record how you are feeling throughout a workout, or even if you had the energy to even start the workout. I always know something is off when I wake up in the morning groggy and without any energy to work out because I know that’s now what my body is used to doing.

• What workouts haven’t you tried?

For a long time, I focused on running, running and more running. Running is an excellent workout, but it’s like only ever eating chicken, or only wearing the color blue. None of these things are bad, but you end up missing out on a lot that can really add so much value. Instead of investing all your time into one workout, try switching things up. You might feel great after a run, but what about a HIIT workout? You might hate weights, but why not try resistance bands! If you have a hard time getting yourself in a gym, why not try a dance class? Working out is kind of like taste testing. Not everything will be for you but if you find a favorite that helps you incorporate every part of your body!

Let me know how these tips shape your workout routine!

Thank you again for stopping by!

-Sonya

How to Find Time to Rest with a Busy Schedule

Recently we have had a lot of coming and going of guests in our home. Squishing as many as 5 people in our 600ft studio apartment!

We have had late nights chatting and movie watching as well as early mornings whether it be for work or adventuring.

The last few days I have been feeling the exhaustion creeping in as I started to learn more and more on coffee and chocolate every day to keep me going. Not to mention my extremely extroverted self was slowly turning into an introvert.

The problem is that I spread my time and energy way too thin. Today everyone went home and I completely crashed. The feeling of sleep exhaustion, dehydration, whacked-out hormones, and sore muscles had me in bed for a nap at noon and fell asleep for over two hours! My husband has even taken a siesta today, and when we both need a nap you know we are tired.

So here I am re-evaluating how I approach the rest of this awesome summer and realizing that what we need in all the busy and exciting times is to slow down.

SO how do we slow down during one of the busiest seasons of the year? Well I totally get it, you have kids, you work all the time, have school, or maybe you're doing all three! Life won't stop for you, so you have to take responsibility for finding the time and ability to slow things down. Even though slowing down is important, it’s hard to know where to start, so here are a few tips to help you answer that question for your own life.

First of all, you want to begin to think about the time-wasters in your life. And by time-wasting, I don’t mean sleep! I mean mindless activities like social media that drain our time to rest and regroup in our day to day life. I am not saying that you have to go to the extreme and cut out all social media because life doesn’t work well on extreme restrictions. You are more than likely setting yourself up for failure when you have extreme restrictions and this doesn’t actually solve the problem of creating solid boundaries in life. There are things you can do like set times on your social media apps or leave the checking of social media for specific times of the day, away from bedtime when you are supposed to be taking time for yourself to rest and recover. What I do is set a 30-minute reminder on Instagram since its what I am on the most. Then over the course of the day if I have spent 30 minutes on Instagram it lets me know. It doesn’t shut off the app but is a simple reminder as to how much time is spent there. When I first started my average time on just Instagram was almost 2 hours a day, but now it has gone down to about 55 minutes a day! This is just a small example of how just becoming aware of time wasters we can cut back on to regain time to rest.

My second piece of advice is to recognize where you often say yes even though saying no would benefit both you and your family. Usually, these are fun activities or events that when you have energy sound great, but at the end of a long week are more taxing than anything. It’s hard to say no to something that is fun like a night out with friends, or a day spent at a theme park with your kids. These things aren’t a bad thing to have in your schedule, but we need to remember the importance of having a weekend or day off for rest and recuperation.

Lastly, I want to talk about asking for help. For me, this is very relevant because I hate to ask for something, even if I need it and the person has expressed openly their will to give it. This can be anything from a loved one watching your kids so you can take a nap, asking your spouse to run to the grocery store for milk, or seeing if a friend can cover a shift at work. The worst they can say is no, but more than likely if they love you, they will do what they can to help even if it doesn’t work out this time, it might the next! This is not one of those suggestions where you use and abuse the kindness of others without paying it forward because when you get these moments into rest and recuperate you begin to see the importance of them. Since you are better rested you can take the opportunity to do the same for someone else in need. It is a great opportunity to reach out to others and build stronger bonds as a community when we begin to work together to benefit each other.

SO first we find the time wasters and set some boundaries, we find where we say yes to plans when we should be saying no, and then we learn to say yes please to help from others instead of saying no thanks.

If we can incorporate these little changes into our day to day lives, we will find ourselves rested and able to give more to others around us!

Thank you for checking out my page!

How to be Content

I don’t know about you, but birthdays for the last few years have kind of freaked me out. I know, I know, I am definitely still a spring chicken but when you go from the positivity of sweet 16 to the idea of ever being older than 21 it’s a weird adjustment. This happens for a lot of milestone Birthdays and I just wanted to take a minute to talk about it all.

Lately, I have been pondering the fear of aging. We are all fearful of some degree to age, whether it be for our looks, our abilities, our time with family members, etc. Becoming older is the one big thing everyone knows we have no control over and it’s a scary thought.

The problem I have with this thought of not wanting to age is what age gives us. Age offers experiences, children, wealth, friends, knowledge, memories, resilience, and strength. Yes, playing in the sprinkler on a hot summer’s day as a 5-year-old is a magical time of life, but we tend to idealize certain ages, thinking of only the good. We might always think back to the best moments and we often forget the moments which caused us pain. I did run through a sprinkler in the summer, but I also tripped over it and got into fights with my sister and brother over it. We had it easy, but even as a 5-year old I wasn’t content with what I had.

You might say you don’t even realize what you have no matter how old. Every day is truly a gift from God and I believe that when we spend a life in discontentment and worry we undermine Gods plan. He is involved in every small detail and we can’t even begin to see what he does.

I was recently reading Matthew 6:25-34 where the Bible discusses the importance of not worrying about tomorrow. It goes over how if God cares for something as small and insignificant as flowers and birds then he surely will care for us and we are not to worry. As well as worrying, God wants us to be content with what we have! Paul teaches us about the power of contentment in Philippians 4. In verse 12 Paul speaks to the people, saying “I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” and Philippians 4:13 he goes on to tell the people “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”

When our focus is on God we find contentment, security, fulfillment, and peace! When we focus on him, age doesn’t matter because with a content heart and a mind free from worry we will truly enjoy the gift of life that God gives to us every single day, no matter what age you are!

So here’s to a worry-free birthdays and a big BYE FELICIA to social media trying to convince us we always need to have a life that portrays perfection. I’ll leave that to the only one who is perfect in this world!

Thank you again for stopping by, and for being a part of Gods Plan for my life!

-Sonya Peacocke

The Importance of Loving Other

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

I don’t know about you, but I tend to take people for granted. I want to be the type of person who calls their mom every day, who meets new people in coffee shops and knows my neighbors. Unfortunately, it’s not the case because more often than not life takes my attention and puts in on things of this world that don’t necessarily matter.

I have a hard time especially getting caught up wasting valuable time on social media. It’s not that you can’t connect with people on social media and I definitely do, but for me, the percentage of time spent on social media actually connecting with people is not half as much as the endless scrolling.

In this life I want to live a life that is pleasing to God, investing time in Him and then People. In Matthew 22:34 talks about “men of the law” who tried to trick Jesus by asking Him what law was most important. Jesus replied in the following two verses that the greatest law is to love the Lord with everything you have and to second love others.

The life I desire is this passage, but in order to do this I have to take a different approach in life. Taking the time to be with God in prayer and in the Scripture, then focusing on observing what other people around me need.

One of the reasons I started this blog was my love of people, and I have to remind myself constantly that even if only one person reads these words and finds them helpful I am doing what I need to be doing. Blogging is an amazing tool, but I am also going to challenge myself to go further and begin to be more intentional with the people around me. To put away my MANY selfish desires, and work on getting to know and love people that God has put into my life for a reason.

Whether or not you believe that Christ is Lord we must do our best to come together and care for one another, no matter how difficult. Things are always being replaced, but the friendship, love, support, laughter of another human is irreplaceable. So let us focus this week on putting down the screens and showing some love to those around us.  

Love always,

Sonya

HoW to Form Healthy Habits

I don’t know about you but when it comes to keeping habits, I am usually a little all over the place when it comes down to it. Of course, the intentions are always good, but sometimes I lose focus, lose interest and my big plans usually fall flat.

After many attempts at fighting the desire to form a habit and then rebelling against what’s expected I have figured out some secret weapons informing and keeping habits.

· Tip #1: Learn how YOU operate.

One of my favorite things I did last year was take the Myers Briggs personality test and learn more about me as a person. When you learn more about how you operate it can make all the difference in how you begin to approach things like forming habits.

For Example as an ENFJ, I know that I can be a bit, well VERY idealistic. In order to combat this, I need to reel myself in a bit and start small with forming habits but keep my big ideas at the forefront to keep me motivated!

You can find the test HERE https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test and use your results and the next three tips to start to build the healthy habits that you want!

· Tip a#2: Give yourself a time slot.

Sometimes if I know there’s no definite ending point I won’t even begin trying, even if it’s something I actually want to do. So instead start with a week-long commitment and when the week is over, start your week goal over again.

This way if you have a hard time committing to something long term by keeping things simple you’re more likely to continue with it, especially if you realize you actually enjoy doing it.

· Tip #3: Show yourself some Grace

Okay so one thing I find about forming habits, after a few weeks (or days) of staying on track something might get in the way and you have the time, forgot, or maybe just chose to not do it. In these situations, I usually get discouraged and quit since my plans for perfection have been derailed. This is where the grace part comes in.

It’s good to remember that nobody is perfect no matter what their Instagram feed looks like or how they come off. Everyone gets derailed, and it’s OK the only thing you have to worry about is to keep moving forward.

· Tip #4: Remind yourself WHY you started

When you first decide what habits you want to form write down a list of WHY you want to make the habit. If you want to go to bed early because you don’t want to be grumpy with your family in the morning then write it down. This way if you start to move away from your new habits you can take a look at the list and use it as motivation to stay on track!

Hopefully, with these tips help you feel motivated to form and keep those healthy habits!

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out this post!

As always, lots of love and have a wonderful day!

-Sonya