Working Out: Why It's Better Together

There are loads of reasons why working up a sweat together is a win/win for you and your partner, good friend or workout buddy form added support and motivation to boosting happy hormones and working towards shared lifestyle goals.   I met Christine Wong, Barre Buddy and Claudia Howard, Barre Trainer at The Barre Studio.  I have made many Barre friends.

1. Mutual motivation

If you've made a gym date with your significant other, you will more likely to stick with it.  When you exercise together, you can keep each other accountable, motivate each other and celebrate every milestone along the way.

2. Trying new things
Been wanting to try a new workout that you haven't heard? Circuit Fit, Aeriel Yoga but haven't quite worked up the nerve? Rope in your workout buddy for some moral support – doing it together can give you the boost of confidence you need to give it your best go. And trying new and challenging activities together is a great way to keep things interesting.

3. More quality time
A training session doesn't exactly qualify as a date but it's still time spent doing something you both enjoy – with the added bonus that you'll be getting fit together. So mix things up by scheduling time to work up a PG-rated sweat together, along with the girls day out! Or my favourite - light breakfast after workout! 

4. Boosting feel-good chemicals
Exercise releases endorphins and helps to increase levels of dopamine and serotonin – all of which make for a happier and more relaxed you. Having those mood-boosting chemicals coursing through your body can only be a good thing for your relationship. And did we mention that exercise has a positive effect on sex drive, too?

5. Training support
Your workout buddy isn't your personal trainer, but working out together means you can check each other's form, make sure your alignment is correct, and generally help each other get the most out of each workout. Remember, the idea here is to provide positive feedback, not running commentary that could be mistaken for criticism.

A word of caution…
Working out together can be a wonderful way to share your passion for health and fitness – but remember to go at your own pace. Don't let an over-zealous sense of competition lead to injury as you try to keep up with your workout buddy who may be at a different fitness or strength level to yourself.

Fitness is a journey, not a destination

Fitness is a journey, not a destination — and we’re all at different places in our voyages.

There’s the people who are just starting out, dipping their toes into different types of workouts to see what sticks. There’s the people who have been exercising for a while, who have found a training style they enjoy but don’t necessarily feel the urge to take things to the ‘next level.’ Then, there’s the ‘superfit.’ They’re the athletes, the sportspeople, the personal trainers, the Olympians.

Chances are, you see them on your TV, Instagram feed and in the gym and think “that could be me, but I love pizza and Netflix too much.” While it may seem like this elite group have reached the summit of their fitness journey, they’re constantly striving to improve! They’re all about training smarter, not harder and finding ways to make their workouts as efficient as possible.

That’s why we’ve rounded up some of the fittest women we know and asked them to spill their best workout tips. No matter where you are on your journey, you’ll be able to use their advice to absolutely smash your fitness goals this year. Read on to hear from an Olympic runner, Ballerina, CrossFit champ, Winter Olympian, Personal Trainer and former Survivor contestant best workout tips!

Selma Kajan is a middle-distance runner who competed in the Rio 2016 Olympics. Selma’s tips:

"Buddy up: I’m generally very self-motivated, but even elite athletes get sick of exercise! On these days, I find a training partner or group extremely helpful in keeping me honest. A good friend can distract you from the boredom that training can sometimes be and I am always happier having done the workout.

Planning is key: I am not a full-time athlete all year round, so I need to be really organised when I am working. It’s not always easy, but I find if I do schedule in a time and plan my day in advance, I’m more likely to stick to it and have a better workout.

Have a pump-up playlist: Before a race, I like to listen to my ‘race day’ playlist which includes a lot of Beyonce. It sounds a bit silly, but I like to pretend bringing out my own Sasha Fierce alter ego and getting ready to race. I find this brings out my competitiveness and focus!"

Kara Webb is a CrossFit athlete who was named ‘Australia’s Fittest Female’ in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. She is also a CrossFit coach at CrossFit Roar in Brisbane. Kara’s tips:

"Prioritise pre-hab: As an athlete of any level, your main priority is to make sure that your machine (your body) is well maintained in order to continue to progress while staying injury free. Pre-hab is the most valuable thing I do. For me, this includes taking my supplements, eating real food, stretching, sleep, hydration and looking after my mental health. I also use a Compex unit for electrical muscle stimulation for recovery.

Don’t be too hard on yourself: Take the pressure off yourself by remembering you are human. Your 100% is going to be different every day, but as long as it’s 100% for that day, you’re always going to be moving forward.

Accept failure: Always be willing to fail, but don’t keep failing the same way. Be open to trying something new and find what works for you. Accepting failure is the best way to let go of unnecessary stress, allowing you to enjoy your progress a little more.

Snack right: My go-to snack to refuel after a workout is protein avocado mousse. I put half an avocado, chocolate protein powder, some coconut cream, and honey or stevia in my blender and mix it up until smooth. It works a treat every time and keeps me nice and full!"

Lucy Glanville is a biathlete (cross country skiing and small bore rifle shooting) who competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Lucy’s tips:

"Find something you love: There are so many different forms of exercise around, if you find something you enjoy doing you’ll actually be excited to get out there and train!

Rally a team: Whether its your friends, partner or family, get the people around you involved in what you’re doing. Passion is contagious and training in a team really helps with motivation. The key is to look forward to training and by doing the right type of exercise with the right people, you definitely will."

Renee Scott is a former professional ballet dancer, a qualified pilates instructor and the founder of Barre Attack, which is practiced at more than 70 locations.

"Start on a Monday: The best day to start a new workout regime is Monday. If you make it to a fitness class on the first day of the week you are more likely to stay motivated through the rest of the week. No more excuses! Today is the perfect day to plan and start exercising.

Mix it up: Every 6 weeks, try to mix it up with a fun new fitness class to stay motivated and continue transforming your body. Who knows, you may love Barre, karate, swimming or spin! Fitness is about feeling good about yourself and learning to love movement, so look around for a workout that matches your fitness groove."

Tegan Haining is a model, fascia stretching expert and PT who has trained the likes of Jess Gomes, Lara Stone, Natalie Imbruglia and David Beckham. She also competed in the 2016 season of Survivor. Tegan’s tips:

Time essential to creating the body you desire. Getting to sleep too late can lower the production of these hormones, leading you to plateau in your weight loss goals. Little tweaks like getting to bed earlier will help get you there. Try going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night, aiming for around 10 or 10:30 pm.

Rest up: Don’t forget to allow for rest days. Too often, I see clients smashing themselves everyday thinking the weight will fall off faster if they do. Yes, they may lose some weight, but it can also lead to fatigue, injuries and sugar cravings. If you are training correctly, you don’t need to train everyday to get the body you want. Two challenging weight sessions plus two HIIT classes a week can be adequate, providing you’re eating the right foods for the other 23 hours of the day! The other three days should be light sessions if anything, such as yoga or light walking.

I have started my fitness journey since May 2016.  I have tried many workouts from Barre, Yoga, Aerial Yoga, Aerial Pilates, Circuit Fit, Tabata, CrossFit and HIIT and online workout - Figurerobic, Fitness Blender & Blogilates.  I love them all!  I customised the workout according to what I want to achieve.  My tips to you for beginner:-

1. Understand and focus what you want to achieve? Either shoulders, legs and thigh, abs & butt or total body.

Shoulder, legs & thigh - Figurerobic via You Tube | Barre in Barre Class

Abs and butt - Blogilates via You Tube | Barre in Barre Class

Total Body - Fitness Blender via You Tube | Cross Fit, HIIT, Tabata

Recovery - Yoga & Meditation or rest up!!

All mix it up to have fun!!

2. Start on Monday for 2 weeks and ypu will stick to the exercuse regime.  Once you do it when you stop and your wholebody feel like the urge to sweat out!!

3. Sleep -  I am lucky that I have no.problem of sleeping but because of catching my usual Chinese/Korean/ Thai Drama, I sleep around 12am and I workout at 5am or even 430am if my workout start at 615am!  Remember, sleep less can make you gain weight! (Refer to Tegan's advice above)

4. Drink up! Dont make your body dehydrated! 

Find your workout ‘why’

The start of a New Year is always overflowing with the best intentions: “I’m going to eat clean every day”, “I’m going to work hard and get that promotion” and probably one of the most commonly promised resolutions “I’m going to work out more and get super fit”. Do any of those sound familiar? But where on earth do you even start?

Just like bad habits, good habits take time to cultivate, and those first few weeks really can be the hardest. Between adjusting to your newfound 5am wake up call right through to learning how to live with the permanent aches and pains in muscles that you didn’t even know existed, getting fit is just as much a mental game as it is a physical one. But don’t throw in the towel, because you know what they say… when the going gets tough, the tough get going!

Here are 3 ways to help you find your move groove… and stick to it!

Find your workout ‘why’

First things first, ask yourself why you set this goal? Was it to get stronger? To lose weight? To get lean? To feel good? Getting clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing will help ensure your actions align with your goals. Do you think snoozing through a gym session is going to help you shed kilos or lying in the stretching zone taking selfies is going to help build lean muscle? Not a chance. Having that ‘why’ in the back of your mind will help you push through those unmotivated moments and get you one step closer to your end goal.
If you haven’t watched the Simon Sinek TED Talk ‘Find Your Why’ do yourself a favour and stream it right now. It’s a game changer.

Ease yourself in

The worst thing you can do when embarking on any kind of new regime or routine is go too hard too fast. The last thing you want to do in your first week in is to wind up with an injury that will end up setting you even further back than you were before you started. While the human body is capable of truly amazing things, we’re not invincible and if you’re not used to undergoing rigorous exercise, you need to ease your way in instead of running like a bull at a gate. Start with 1-2 sessions a week and build on it as you start to feel fitter and stronger. Remember, Active Living isn’t a race… is a way of life.

Stay accountable

This is quite possibly the single most important point to consider. You are entirely up to you, and when it comes to getting fit, you can make excuses or you can make results. Of course an extra hour or two of sleep in the morning is far more enticing than slogging it out in cardio/ HIIT class and calling it quits when you start feeling fatigued is tempting, but what are those actions going to achieve? Don’t let yourself down, you’re more deserving than that.

Train your mind like you would train your body.

I want to talk about something very important that’s part of a healthy lifestyle. It’s not your diet, and it’s not your workout routine. It’s another piece of the puzzle that sets you up for success to reach your health and fitness goals.

But first, I want you to take a look at these facts:33% of the population is now obese or overweight (and that’s likely to increase).More than 60% of people with a gym membership have difficultly sticking to their plan.92% of people fail to maintain their fitness resolutions by the end of the year.How are these statistics true if we have so many workout programs to choose from? And so many different diets and meal plans to follow? Why are people still obese? Why can’t they lose weight? WHY aren’t these workout programs and diet plans working?I can't lose weightI’ll let you in on the secret … many of these workout programs and diet plans ARE effective. They do work and you can see results – but only certain people succeed. These are the people that are able to learn how to change their behavior. The people who create positive intentions and don’t let small setbacks stop them from reaching their goals.

Wait what? It has nothing to do with the workout or meal plan? It’s all in your behavior? In your mind? YUP. That’s true and you may be surprised. Let me explain …Whether you recognize it or not, your success is based on your ability to change your mind and your behavior. Most people start a workout program and only last a short period of time before quitting because their mind plays tricks on them that set them up for failure, while people who succeed are better at making long-term behavioral changes. You may look at someone who is successful in their diet and workout plans and just think they have the “willpower” to do it, but it’s actually not that simple.

When we think willpower, we think about that power to resist the temptation of junk food. We think about being able to get up at 5am to go to the gym when you really want to sleep instead. But in all truthfulness willpower isn’t ALWAYS there for us, and not something to constantly rely on. We actually have less control over our willpower than we would like. This is because the daily hassles of life, stress and emotions get in our way and make it difficult to stay on track. BUT some people are still able to overcome these hurdles.How do they do it? They set themselves up for success. These people recognise that their willpower will be tested, so they control aspects of their life to help them through the temptations. For example, if you know that you can’t make it to the gym regularly, then sign up for fitness classes each week that you CAN make it to and commit to those. If you know that you won’t be able to resist the ice cream in your freezer, then don’t buy it. The key is to build systems and strategies, so when your willpower gives up, you wont have the option to fail – instead you’ll have a backup plan. People who do that – succeed.Help your willpower (and your brain) out by making small adjustments and changes at a time.

Here are some specific tips to help you change behavior and reach your goals:-

#1. Stay Positive It sounds simple, but sometimes it takes a lot of work to stay positive. Of course we all want to believe that we can reach our goals, and that’s why you need to set attainable, REALISTIC goals. If you set them too high, you’ll feel defeated as soon as you make one slip. And then give up. So, stay confident by setting positive intentions. Understand that some changes will be difficult and some might be easier. Either way you are still on a journey to success. Stay positive and you WILL reach your goals.

#2. Think small … but DREAM BIG!How do you achieve your goals? By doing many little tasks to get you there. They may not seem like much, but if you focus on the small steps that it takes to get you to where you want to be, then you’ll find success.Set Goals!

Here’s another way to look at it:-
1. Set a big goal
2. Set up the plan (the small steps)
3. Create milestones and celebrate your successes along the way, but still remember that there will always be small setbacks (just don’t let them stop you)
4. Reach your goal!

#3. Find someone to keep you accountable!  Whether it’s family, friends, trainers, or workout partners – having positive feedback makes a HUGE difference. Don’t let yourself think that you need to go at this alone. Surround yourself with support. That’s why the Blogilates community is so special – because we have this group of people who radiate positivity to one another. Even though it’s online, doesn’t take away from the encouragement we send each other! 

NOW DO IT!

It’s up to YOU to build yourself up for success. The workout programs and healthy recipes will always be there, but it’s up to YOU to make the positive changes in your behavior to stay on track and SUCCEED! Don’t blame the workout guides and meal plans for being “ineffective”, when you know you could be making a better effort! Train your mind like you would train your body.