Motivation Archives - Page 12 of 14

How to Do 12 Minute Athlete HIIT Workouts if You're Just Starting Out

If you’ve been a couch potato for most of your adult life, or if your definition of a vigorous workout is half an hour on an elliptical machine or recumbent bike while reading a book, these workouts must seem a bit… hard.

Impossible even.

And I’m not judging. A few years ago, I would have felt the same way.

Back then, if you’d showed me these workouts, I would have laughed in your face and told you there was no way in hell I could do one.

But here’s what you have to realize: it’s all mental.

You can do these workouts.

No matter what kind of shape you’re in, you can start doing these HIIT workouts today.

Because it doesn’t matter how many breaks you have to take, how many reps you can do or how much you have to modify an exercise just to be able to do one single rep.

All that matters is that you try—and that you really, truly give it your all.

But if you’re new to the site, or you just haven’t found the willpower to do one of the HIIT workouts quite yet even though you’ve been here for a while, here are some tips to stop you from procrastinating and start getting in the best shape of your life:

5 Simple Tricks to Keep Motivated When You Work Out Alone

Let’s face it: it’s much easier to motivate ourselves to do things when someone else tells us what to do.

That’s why so many people have jobs with bosses, instead of striking out on their own. Or why someone pays tens of thousands of dollars for a grad school degree instead of reading books from the library.

Heck, that’s why people paid upwards of $120 an hour to hire me as a personal trainer when I was working at a gym in NYC. It wasn’t because they couldn’t figure out how to do the exercises I assigned them. It was because they wanted—and craved—the accountability.

Because there’s no doubt about it: doing things on your own can be hard.

And sticking with a fitness habit is no different.

You’re no longer in gym class

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably tried the 12 Minute Athlete workouts (or intend to) at some point or another.

And most likely, you’re not doing the workouts in a group environment. If you’re like me, you’re probably not even doing them at a gym. Without a doubt, most of you are working out at home, in your garage, or maybe (if you’re lucky enough to have nice weather this time of year) outside in a park.

But wherever you do the workouts, most of you have one thing in common: you do them completely alone, without a coach, a trainer, or even a friend to cheer you on.

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Choose to Be Fit, or Choose to Be Unfit: It's Your Choice

It amazes me how many people I talk to tell me they can’t lose weight, can’t get fit, can’t get healthy.

Oh, they’re very good at coming up with excuses.

They don’t have time, can’t find the motivation, they travel too much, the workouts are too hard.

Or maybe they blame their weight issues on genetics, an undiagnosed thyroid condition, big bones.

Excuse after excuse.

The whining never stops. But it’s their loss.

Because no one can force you to be healthy.

It’s completely up to you. You have to choose it.

What are your priorities?

Some people really don’t care if they are in good shape or not. They’ve made a conscious decision that food X is more important to them than a strong, healthy, sexy body and a long life.

And that’s OK.

But if you do choose to eat that fifth slice of pizza, or that second bowl of ice cream, don’t tell me that you can’t lose weight.

Because if I ate five pieces of pizza in one sitting, day after day, and skipped out on my veggies, I’d be fat too.

7 Surprising Ways Exercise Can Make You Happier

Like any good mother, my mom knows me well.

Any time we talk and she can sense I’m feeling less than my normal happy self, she’ll ask the same exact thing: “Have you exercised today, Krista?”

The question used to annoy me.

“I don’t feel like exercising today, Mom,” I’d whine.

But sooner or later, I started realizing that no matter how bad of mood I was in, if I fit in some exercise, whether it was a tough workout or even just a walk outside—I felt loads better.

Every single time.

Of course: mothers always know best.

Exercise and happiness: it’s not just a myth

When you work out and stay active on a regular basis, you may have noticed that you feel less stressed out, less anxious, and generally happier.

And that’s not just a coincidence.

Because studies suggest that there is a direct link between exercise and happiness—for a number of reasons.

How a 10-Year-Old Boy Who Can't Walk Can Inspire You to Work Out

“Your sister is in the hospital,” the principal told me, a look of concern on her face.

I remember the day clearly, even now. I was sixteen years old and a sophomore in high school when I got pulled out of class because of my older sister, who was then 27 weeks pregnant with twin boys.

“The babies have to come out. And the doctor isn’t sure if they’ll live.”

Rushing to the hospital, the rest is a blur. Just a few minutes before, my mind had been on Spanish class and the latest teenage boy I had a crush on.

Suddenly, everything had changed: all I cared about was whether my sister, and her not-yet-born baby boys, would survive.

I remember the looks on my sister and brother-in-law’s faces over those next few days. Pure white with more than a hint of ghost. It was not an easy time for our family.

Seven weeks too early, the boys were born, weighing just over two pounds each. But that didn’t relieve anyone’s fears. They were hooked up to a ventilator for what seemed like weeks because their tiny, premie lungs didn’t have the capacity to breathe like normal babies did.

Still, the doctors didn’t know if they were going to make it.

That next year was tough for all of us. I was too scared to hold the boys (soon named Wyatt and Braxton) for fear I’d break them. And since they could have stopped breathing at any moment, they couldn’t be left alone in a room by themselves—even for a moment, for fear they wouldn’t be alive when you returned.

But they kept on fighting for their lives. And eventually, the boys convinced everyone that they were here in this world to stay.

Why Sitting is Killing You—And What You Can Do to Stop it

Be honest… how much do you sit during the day?

6 hours? 10 hours? More?

You’re not alone.

Because whether it’s due to a desk job, a long commute, or just hours of TV watching or video game playing a day, the typical American sits for 8 to 10 hours a day.

But while it may be normal to sit that much… it sure isn’t healthy.

In fact, here’s the ugly truth: sitting all day is not only bad for your health—it can also kill you.

Sit less, live longer

As a nation, we have a sitting epidemic.

We sit all day at work.

We sit all day in the car, driving to and from work and running errands (with no actual running involved).

We sit during our entertainment. Movies, television, video games, watching (but not playing) sports, you name it.

But we have to stop. If we do, it can add years (literally) onto our lives

Why the 12 Minute Athlete Workouts are Perfect for Traveling

It’s happens to everyone…

You keep a perfect workout schedule when you’re at home, never missing a day. But then one day, you go on vacation or travel for work and bam—all your hard work falls apart.

Because while you might pack your workout clothes with good intention to use the hotel gym, they never actually make it out of the bottom of your suitcase.

And before you know it, you’ve stopped exercising at all, completely abandoning your usual health routine. You start eating all the local foods, drink a little more than usual, and rather than walking, splurge and get a cab (it is vacation after all).

Soon enough, your pants start fitting tighter, your energy levels drop, and your motivation goes way down—you’re back to square one. And worst of all, it’s not so easy to get back to being healthy when you get home.

But that’s where the 12 Minute Athlete workouts come in.

Here’s why they’re the best way to motivate yourself to work out when you’re traveling:

How to Keep Fit When All You Have is a Hotel Room

It’s no secret that most people use traveling as an excuse to not work out.

They assume that just because they don’t have access to a gym or fancy exercise equipment, there’s no point in even trying to keep fit.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Because despite what you may think, you can actually get a really good workout when you’re traveling—even if all you have is a hotel room as your gym.

And best of all, you won’t have to spend an hour a day of your vacation exercising—or shell out $20 for a day pass at an expensive gym.

All you need is a hotel room—and determination

I used to always use traveling as an excuse not to exercise—even on long European vacations filled with French pastries and German beer.

And even though I’d end up walking a ton every time I traveled, I never did a single push up or lifted even one weight. As a result, I’d end up losing much of the hard work I’d put in before my trip… and have to start from the beginning when I got back home.

So a few years ago, I changed my stance on exercise while traveling, and now I work out just as I would normally, albeit with a little less equipment or space.

How to Keep Working Out—Even When Your Life is Turned Upside Down

Let’s face it: life just doesn’t always go as planned.

No matter how hard you may try and control it, something always gets in the way.

And what’s the first thing that gets put on the back burner when something unexpected happens and turns your life upside down?

Your workouts.

You’re too tired, too busy, too stressed. So you stop exercising regularly, start eating like crap, and let all your hard work disappear.

I should know. I’ve been there.

And it’s completely understandable. But you can’t let it happen.

When moving gets in the way

Over the past four years, I’ve moved a total of 8 times. Three of those moves included going thousands of miles (from Portland to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to New York, New York to San Francisco), and four were into temporary housing—which, if you’ve never experienced it, is very unsettling.

And now, my husband and I are thinking of moving again(!)—but this time, we’re trying to buy a house in San Francisco (not an easy feat).

The one thing all these moves have had in common? They have all been very, very, distracting. And they would have all been perfectly good excuses to temporarily abandon my workout routine.

But I didn’t let that happen.

Need Some Workout Motivation? Read This Right Now

Are you in dire need of some motivation to work out?

Have you been putting off your workouts because you’re just too busy, you’re just not ready yet, or you’re just not feeling up to it?

Well, we’re going to fix that problem right now.

So if you want some motivation, stick around. If not, click away from this post IMMEDIATELY and go read something safe and unmotivating.

Ok.

So you said you want some motivation?

Are you sick of not being able to fit into the clothes you want to wear? Avoiding the beach because you don’t want anyone else to see how jiggly your abs have gotten? Feeling embarrassed… disgusted… and hopeless about how you look?

(I’ve been there.)

Then let’s DO THIS. Let’s get you some motivation.

Now follow these steps below carefully:

Quit saying you don’t have the time to exercise.

We’re all busy. We all have too many things to do in a 24-hour time period.

But go ahead and ask yourself right now: What are your main priorities?

If they’re your family, your friends, your career, your hobbies, that’s all great.

But what about your health?

Shouldn’t that be a priority?

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