10 Minute Fitness Works
10 minutes of exercise a day is enough! Can you believe it? Let me tell you why.
I believe that ‘healthy’ is an entire lifestyle, not just exercise or diet. It all has to work together and it has to work with your schedule and ability. Success looks different for everyone and I know we all find it hard to remember this when we have social media, TV or celebrities telling us what to do and how we should live.
I had a client who was over-weight and agoraphobic and came to me through her therapist so we could work together to find a healthier lifestyle for her. The therapist had diagnosed her with depression and compulsive over-eating which was taking over the rest of her life.
We spent a lot of time working with her to simply get her out of the house, just to go for a walk. The agoraphobia was so strong that it was inhibiting her ability to get any form of exercise. Working in small, achievable stages, just 10 minutes a day. We had our work cut out for us.
One day she happened to be watching a popular breakfast TV show where a celebrity fitness instructor told the audience that unless you exercise for at least an hour, it’s not worth it! Imagine how disheartened she felt. Here is a figure of authority on national TV completely disagreeing with everything her therapist and I are telling her.
I completely disagree that exercise has to be at least an hour.
I’ve been involved in health and fitness for 30 years and have been a PT for longer than I’m going to admit!
People go into this profession for many reasons; they could be an ex-athlete, mums who enjoy fitness and want a new career – you name it!
In my experience all trainers go through an obsessive stage about exercising. You’re already addicted to exercise before you become a trainer, or you wouldn’t be a trainer!
Thankfully that was a very long time ago for me and you will all be delighted to know that I’m not obsessed about my body, working out for hours a day and pretending that it’s good for you.
Working out for at least an hour has worked for THEM, that doesn’t mean it will be right for everyone.
I see these trends every summer. We book a beach holiday and feel the pressure to be ‘fit’ for the holidays. Then once on holiday, all of that hard work goes out the window! We drink, eat, don’t exercise, and come back feeling terrible.
For me consistency is more important. By just doing a bit of exercise everyday you can work up to more. Try just 10 min and see how you feel. If that works, try more.
When I teach classes, I always offer options, so you can choose high impact or low impact. Not everyone is on the same level of fitness or may have an injury and while it’s important to be active, it’s also important not to over do it!
I don’t always feel like working out, it isn’t always appealing, or I have no energy. Also, our lives are always changing – either its holidays, we change jobs, we move, and everything gets disrupted. It’s better to be kind to yourself, do what you can, when you can which can lead to feeling more comfortable and more able.
The idea that you don’t deserve a fit body unless you punish yourself is wrong. Try to get moving, even for 10 minutes, and everything can change.
Want to give it a go?
When: 2-8 September
Where: Facebook - any time, anywhere!
How: You’ll be part of a private Facebook group where we will do live work outs every morning. However, they will be recoded and saved in the group and you can watch them any time, if the live time doesn’t suit you.
Cost: £15
Bring along as many friends and family as you like to our live workouts, everyone is welcome. From kids to teenagers to us adults, I will be giving you lots of options so everyone can join in.
Here’s what my clients who did this course in June had to say:
“Clear and great instruction which is unusual for this type of course”
“I found it really motivating to do it live with everyone whenever possible - kept me on track!”
“Seriously it was a great course and fabulous to be able to do it at any point during the day.”