Day 24 - Exercise and Your Health

Ok mama, today we’re covering a topic that is near and dear to my heart – FITNESS! The amazing news is that if you’re here, it’s important to you too, because you are a part of the Fit Strong Mama family! Today I’ll be sharing some of the key things that I incorporate into the workouts to get you the best results, AND great ideas that you can do to get your whole family involved!
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Did you know that Exercise can…
lower your risk of:
⭐️heart disease
⭐️diabetes
⭐️obesity
⭐️osteoperosis
AND
⭐️It can help you manage stress!
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⭐️Why should you work towards Fat Loss and NOT Weight Loss?⭐️
When it comes to weight loss, exercise is a lot of times recommended – however you should be thinking about FAT loss, and not weight loss! Again, I’m gonna go back to the idea of staying off the scale, especially if you are exercising regularly with your new nutrition plan… exercise helps your body retain and build muscle, which actually is HEAVIER than fat! However, muscle takes up less “space” than fat does, so your body will begin to change as you continue to build muscle and lose fat, even if your weight stays the same.
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As your body begins to burn fat and build muscle, the number on the scale may not change, it may go up, it may go down… but the most important thing is about how you FEEL. Go back to those non-scale victories! Did you just slip into those skinny jeans you’ve been staring at for months? Did you just participate in your kid’s school field day and run along side of them for 45 minutes? Those are total wins in my book and should NOT be taken from you because a number on a machine in your house didn’t change.
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⭐️So what are the best methods to get stronger & build muscle to burn fat?⭐️
While there are a lot of different types of exercise and ways to move your body out there, the main two that I’ll be talking about today are cardio and weight lifting. In the Fit Strong Mama bootcamps, I work hard to incorporate these two concepts – getting your heart rate up and working the different muscle groups with weight resistance – so that you can get optimal results in MINIMAL time! By doing both of these, we can get our mama time in just 30 minutes a day instead of hours at the gym!
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⭐️What is Cardio?⭐️
Cardio is things such as running, jumping, and all activities that get your heart rate up and you breathing heavy. By doing this, you strengthen your heart and lungs, you burn calories, and improve your metabolism.
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⭐️What is Weight Training?⭐️
Weight Training is type of strength training that uses weights for resistance. Weight training provides a stress to the muscles that causes them to adapt and get stronger. Weight training can be performed with free weights, such as barbells and dumbbells, or by using weight machines. You can also increase your strength through other types of resistance exercises, such as by using your body weight or resistance bands.
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Muscle mass naturally decreases with age. If you don't do anything to replace the muscle loss, it'll be replaced with fat. However, if you weight train, you can help prevent this from happening, no matter what age you are!
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As your muscle mass increases, you'll help to maintain your bone density, better manage your weight and improve your body's metabolism. Muscle burns more calories naturally throughout the day, so that’s another great reason to focus on building muscle!
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So with all of this new info… I can’t stress enough how important it is to take time for you, to get that exercise in and push yourself during our 30 minutes together! You are gonna feel like a rock star, and you're honoring the gift that God has given to YOU to take care of! Honestly, if you struggle with fitness or working out, I can promise you that there is something out there that will motivate you and completely fill your cup! Try a variety of things and find YOUR thing, whatever that may be!
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To read more about exercise, it’s benefits, & more check out this great article from Healthline: https://buff.ly/2X5EXBR

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I know that so many of our bootcampers have seen lots of great benefits because they have stuck to our plan of just 30 minutes a day – both the 3x a week and the 5x a week groups! They are finding their happy and healthy by filling their cup so that they can overflow to their families! And I LOVE IT! But I know that so many of you also want to know – how can I incorporate this into my kids lives as well? It all goes back to the start simple & setting that example! Read more below!
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⭐️What are ways that I can get my family moving, building strength, and benefiting from exercise?⭐️
Mama, there are SO many amazing things out there that you can do to encourage your kiddos to move with you and start that healthy lifestyle from a young age! I’ve pulled together a quick list of ways that the entire family can move together!
Invite them to exercise with you (if they are super young, have them skip the weights and use something fun like one of their toys as a “weight”)

Talk walks around the neighborhood together after dinner. Plus this is a great opportunity to talk to your kids more about their day!

Encourage your kids to ride bikes, swim, and be present WITH them (get in the swimsuit mama, you were created to rock it!) They are watching and learning from YOU!

Allow for that extra free time outdoors– I know that sometimes life gets crazy busy, but God designed your kids to be naturally creative at their age, so make sure that you are purposefully setting time for your kids to just be kids outside in nature! With that extra time outside, watch their imaginations come to life AND I can promise that they will move around a lot as they explore and play!

Limit computer and TV time, and any other sedentary activities. Or put a fun twist on them… every 10-15 minutes spent on a game they have to get up and do jumping jacks, or do small fitness challenges during commercial breaks!

Try the mile-a-day challenge (great if you have older kiddos). Have you kids keep track of how long it takes them to complete a mile. You can also work up to completing a 5k as a family!

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ACTION: What is a physical activity that you and your family do together? OR share one way that Fit Strong Mama bootcamp has helped your health journey!