A Porsche goes from 0 mph to 60 mph rather quickly, whereas a Station Wagon goes from 0 mph to 60 mph rather slow…
While everyone may love a good Porsche, your body needs you to have a Station Wagon mindset when it comes to starting or returning to high-intensity exercise (i.e. 60 mph) when gyms reopen.
I don’t need to tell you that our current environment has given us serious cause to think about our health. Under that umbrella of health is exercise.
We see someone jogging down the street or leading an exercise class from their front porch (me…), and peer pressure starts to settle in. We skip the part of taking an inventory of our medical conditions, injuries, and goals. Instead, we jump head first into an exercise program that was never our own.
Exercise, at its finest, is a lifelong habit. Something that you always did, so you always will do – something that you’ll always find a way to do. It’s chronic.
There’s a phrase that gets thrown around in Kinesiology courses – “exercise adherence.” This phrase asks the question, “What keeps someone exercising?”
Let’s focus on one of the major factors of an exercise program that keeps you exercising, or keeps you adhering.
This factor is whether the program, routine, or goal is realistic. The exercise program you begin today, tomorrow, or at the end of the month needs to be realistic, in order for you to maintain it (i.e. to be that ever reliable Station Wagon). It is critical to your health that your exercise program is realistic for you and only you.
Begin by taking inventory of your body, like we mentioned earlier. What movements make your body hurt? Which movements do you do most often or the least? What type of exercise does your body love to do?
Making the decision to exercise? Please be like a Porsche, and make that decision pedal to the metal.
Deciding what type of exercise to partake in? Be like a Station Wagon, starting out slow and steady.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can work out with UA while at home, please follow this link: urbanathlete.wodify.com or send us an email at urbanathletephiladelphia@gmail.com!