Is it just me, or does exercise change everything? This past week, I closed all of my rings for Exercise, Move and Stand on my Apple Watch for the first time ever. And although I’m on a lower dose of medication than I’ve been on in many months, I feel better than I have in a while.
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about a workout challenge I’m hosting over on Instagram for October. The challenge involves earning points for steps or movements tracked through a compatible fitness watch. So far, 13 different people have taken part over the past two weeks. And in that time, we’ve collectively taken around 896,000 steps!
This number excites me for many reasons. The first is because I know how much movement impacts our mental health. I won’t go into detail because I wrote about it here, but endorphins make you happy! For those of us who struggle in the fall and winter months, exercise can improve our mood & brain chemistry.
Even more, I am thrilled because this number means we are keeping our commitment to ourselves. If you are like me, it’s easy to follow through with completing tasks for others. But taking 30 minutes to move my body has always felt so hard. However, this challenge has given me accountability, which helps me build better habits and show up for myself. I’m immensely proud of everyone who has participated, and I cannot wait to see how we crush our goals this week.
Now that I’ve shared all the happy news, here are three awesome at-home workouts that have been helping me get the job done each day. I’ve ranked them by the amount of sweat they command from me.
Light Sweat
This walking workout from Lisa Sansone is my go-to after a long day. I had some negative perceptions of walking workouts before this, but Lisa’s are actually pretty challenging. If you want to close your rings but need something without jumping or weights, check this video out.
Moderate Sweat
Zumba is one of my favorite ways to exercise, and my favorite instructor is MoJo. If you’ve never taken one of her classes, you’re in for a treat. MoJo creates exciting, memorable choreography that makes you want to dance. I saved around 40 or so of my favorite songs to the playlist linked above. Be sure to check out her work!
Drenched in Sweat
This cardio inferno dance workout from And8 Fitness is one of my favorite quick exercises. Because it is challenging, I feel incredibly confident when I’m able to finish it. And I feel good because I’ve worked my entire body. If you want to sweat hard and get your heart pumping, definitely give this one a try! Ease into it if you have to, but definitely be prepared for the burn.
I hope this post was helpful and informative. If you decide to try one of the at-home workouts I’ve shared, or if you have a suggestion, let me know in the Comment section.
Thanks for reading,
Brittany
