Maintaining Exceptional Physical Wellbeing

Author: Sydney Scott

Our physical wellbeing is one of our most important assets. It often dictates our mood, stress levels, overall mental health, self-esteem, and confidence. It not only results in better mental health, but being active, and physically healthy, of course, makes us stronger and more empowered; Physical wellbeing gives us the agency and ability to become exceptional.

My Personal Story

At the age of 15 I’m only now starting to feel satisfied with my physical state, and body in general. (eg.) Before my transformation, I, like so many other women, felt self-conscious and scared about the way people looked at me, and therefore what they were thinking of me. I was trapped in a fixed mindset that only allowed me to see my flaws, and it was devastating to my self identity. During the past couple of years I’ve been focusing heavily on my physical health, and have treated it just as importantly as my academics. Working out every morning, focusing on my tennis, and eating a balanced diet. To sustain a routine of healthy living you must apply effort. Getting out of past habits is tricky, especially if it’s been your way of life for a long time. Therefore, to sustain a routine we must try hard, find motivation, and keep going. After a month of consistently living this way you mentally condition yourself, to consider this way of life as essential. After sustaining this routine, I would look forward to exercising in the morning. It's fun, enjoyable, and I feel empowered; like I can do anything. This feeling impacted the way I looked at myself, I’m finally proud. This sensation is so important, because when we can finally feel proud in our skin, it psychologically conditions ourselves to try new things, and throw ourselves into situations we would never try. Whether you want to simply keep fit, or are aiming to be a top athlete, everyone can benefit from overcoming the invisible boundaries within our mindset.

The following are some steps and key tips to keep in mind whilst overcoming your boundaries

Exercise

Endurance - the ability to endure a difficult process of a situation without giving way. Exercises include; brisk walks, jogging, swimming, biking, and climbing.

Strength - the measure of someone’s exertion of force. Exercises include; bodyweight strength training such as core exercises, upper body, and lower body. For example, squats, lunges, and planks.

Flexibility - the ability to bend easily without breaking, or tearing anything. Exercises include; Yoga, Tai chi, and Pilates.

Cardiovascular - relating to the health of the heart and blood vessels during exercise. Exercises include; anything that increases your heart rate and respiratory rate. Eg. Burpees, skip rope, jumping jacks, kickboxing, running, rowing, jogging, and dancing.

All of these different aspects can be created and personalized for your abilities into your perfect workout.

Workouts to add to your Routine

HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training consists of short bouts of individual exercises that are done for 30-60 seconds, and in between followed by an active rest. This process is repeated 3-10 times or however many, depending on the intensity of the exercise. The benefits of HIIT Workouts are burning an increased amount of calories, mass of muscle, and weight loss. Time = 15-30mins

HILIT - High Intensity Low-Impact Training is similar to HIIT although is designed to decrease impact on your joints. This can be a good option if you have sustained an injury. Time = 15-30mins

Strength Training - resistance training, or weight training is a workout that includes weights to increase muscle mass. Time = 30-60mins

Plyo - to crank up the intensity Plyo workouts are known to be explosive and jumpy. Time = 15-30mins

Tips

Always start with a warmup

Before any physical activity it is important to warm-up. Your warm-up may include Yoga, or just your own mix of flexes. Some people even use a foam roller to increase circulation, and release tightness or knots in your muscles. throughout their bodies, this provides your muscles to be ready for the intensity that follows in your workout. The key to a positive warm-up is to do what makes you feel good, as it’s extremely essential to go slowly into exercise, and make sure your body is prepared for it. A warm-up increases your mobility incredibly, so it’s essential before any intense work your body endures.

Crank up the Music

Music is essential to keep us motivated. Without it, nothing is stopping me from calling it a day. The fast rhythm rings in your ears, and you feel the sudden need to run, jump, and even dance. For me, personally

Don’t Overdo it

Challenging and pushing yourself to achieve great things in a workout is important, however we need to keep in mind that we shouldn’t hurt ourselves in the process. Do enough exercise so that you feel good, then after a week, spend 15 minutes longer at the gym. Before you know it, you’ve slowly adjusted to the activities, and your body will feel more comfortable, as well as ensuring you stick to the exercise.

Sleep

We all know how important sleep is - it’s essential. But sometimes we fail to truly acknowledge what sleep truly does for us, and also what it can prevent. When we sleep our body repairing, regenerating, and recovering. It strengthens our immune system, and even our social and emotional intelligence. It reduces depression, inflammation, and the risk of heart disease.

Diet

Eating a consistently healthy diet is the next step for achieving good physical wellbeing. As long as you consume all the required vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water you are on the right track to a healthy diet. Most people assume that you need to eat dairy products and consume lean meats, in reality, you can acquire all necessary nutrients from fruits, and vegetables, and other sources such as fortified foods that contain vitamins you’d usually acquire from animal products.

Try these Online Courses

Tapp Brothers

These two brothers set out on a journey. They’ve trained with ballerinas, Masters of Kung Fu, Karate, and Kick-boxing. They’ve created an RPF (Rapid Primal Fitness) training plan for beginners, and the results are very promising. I myself have done this course and the way my posture, core strength, and overall muscle mass increased was amazing. The Tapp brothers focus on Primal exercises, which are movements that focus on the original movements of humans as cavemen essentially. These movements provide the foundational strength for your core which provides strength to pretty much every part of your body. I highly recommend giving this a go.

https://fitness.tappbrothers.com/rapid-primal-fitness-rpf-4-control?gc_id=9488595242&gclid=CjwKCAjw9e6SBhB2EiwA5myr9i7mmHLAu6reQmyQz1mzhGpEM6hy86aD_Atjbyqm2haZk6lWvGggfBoCnBQQAvD_BwE&h_ad_id=421890325648&utm_campaign=rapid-primal-fitness&utm_content=search&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google

Hustl

Hustl was founded by Alexz Parviainen and is run by herself and her team of inspiring and motivational female coaches. There are two studios, one in the Gold Coast, and one in Byron Bay, Australia. They also offer online classes. They teach, guide, and help you practice, Circuit training, HIIT, Mat, Barre, Pilates, Dance, Yin Yoga, as well as pre/post-natal classes. These girls are amazing coaches that you’ll love, and laugh with. I highly recommend starting with a 7-day free trial.

https://online.hustl.com.au/

Centr

Centr Fitness is brought to you by Chris Hemsworth. It showcases and provides you with all his trainers, and his personal trainers that got him into shape. His trainers that you have access to once subscribing to the app are world-class and their pre-recorded video sessions are a world of fun. You can do a variety of kick-boxing, pilates, yoga, plyo, HILIT, HIIT, and strength training in your week, as you are provided with a workout everyday. My personal experience with Centr is amazing, and I tend to stick with trainers Alex Parvi, and Ashley Joi who are literally the coolest people ever. The subscription can be from $10 (australian dollars)/month, but keep in mind it’s well worth the money. This is a full on journey, with recipe planners, meditation, and mindfulness sessions. I highly recommend this experience to all of you.

https://centr.com/centr

Credits

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope this helps you kick-start your fitness journey. I know when I started I was completely tired of exercising, and didn’t feel motivated to carry on, but if you can build some resilience from within, and stick with the routine, trust me, it’ll change your life for the best, and you will feel exceptional in every way. I know you have it in you; be the best you can be.

“Pain is temporary, success is eternal.”

“To make progress, you must delay gratification, embrace failure and inconvenience, and be willing to do what others are not.”

“The pain you feel today, is the strength you feel tomorrow.”

“I’m not here to be average, I’m here to be exceptional.”

“No pain, no gain, shut up, and train.”

“It’s not about how bad you want it, it’s about how hard you’re willing to work for it.”