Habits + Happy New Year + Exercise

Happy New Year!

Let’s get the obligatory question out of the way...did you or did you not set a New Year’s Resolution/Intention?

No matter what, I think habits are fascinating to talk about so I wanted to share a few thoughts and ideas I have on this topic. I’d love to hear back from you on your thoughts too! Feel free to hit reply and share.

Great Book about Habits

Have you read James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits? If not, it’s a good read and I highly recommend it. He said this about habits and it really resonated with me:

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.” - James Clear, Atomic Habits

A Habit that has Helped Me

I exercise every morning before my day gets started. It is the very 1st thing that I do to help boost my motivation, mood, and metabolism.

There was a relatively small study from Skidmore University that collected data from 27 women and 20 men who were already highly active with a regular exercise regimen. Participants were followed over 12 weeks. They did one of four different exercise routines – stretching, resistance training, interval sprints or endurance training –four times a week for one hour each time. One group did the routine between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. and the other group between 6 and 8 p.m.

For the group who exercised in the morning:

• Women had a 7% greater loss of belly fat, larger reduction in blood pressure and greater leg strength

For the group who exercised in the evening:

• Women had a greater increase in upper body strength, power and endurance and mood improvement

• Men had improved heart health, metabolic health and emotional well-being

• Men also had a greater weight loss and reduction in blood pressure

It doesn’t matter what time of day you exercise, just as long as you do it!

Daily exercise improves motivation, mood, and, and metabolism.

A New Habit I’m Working On

Trying to get more sleep! I plan on having a more consistent sleep schedule by going to bed at the same time each night and getting up at the same time each day. This may be impossible with an 8 year old boy but I am going to try my best for both of us to have a more consistent sleep schedule.

I hope you have a wonderful month and a great start to this new year. If you’d like to train one on one with me through at home personal training or Yoga, you can find all the details and pricing on my website at www.yogaflowandfitness.com

Heather Gruber is the owner of YogaFlow and Fitness. She is a certified ACSM Personal Trainer and 500hr certified Yoga teacher in the Birmingham, Alabama area. If you are interested in learning more about me and personalized at home Yoga for Parkinson's Disease, you can reach me at www.yogaflowandfitness.com.

You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest at Yogaflowandfitness.