We’re just going to come out and say it, around here we dislike the saying “New Year, New You” because, quite frankly, we think you are already amazing! We don’t think there needs to be a “new you” we just believe in the continual process of self-evolution and improvement. It’s why we created Good Movement Studio; to support our beautiful community as they endeavor to be stronger, better, faster, less prone to injury, more durable, and resilient. If there’s anything we’ve learned this past year, it’s that our health is not something to be taken for granted. So here are our top five tips to help prepare you for anything that might come your way in 2021!

If you’re not smiling or laughing when you workout you’re doing it wrong!

Tip #1: Move Because You CAN

Our bodies were designed to move. Movement doesn’t need to be punishing. There’s a fine line between sensation and pain and here at Good Movement Studio we want you to feel challenged but never feel pain. If you struggle finding the motivation to workout try changing your mindset; look at exercise as something you GET to do, rather than something you HAVE to do. Ask anyone currently struggling with a debilitating injury, illness, or other physical limitation; they would likely give anything to move again. If you have a whole healthy body, honor it by keeping it moving. Movement breeds movement, so once you start, you feel good doing it, and get that little endorphin boost that comes from exercising, your body wants more! Thus starts a snowball effect where once you are consistently moving, your body doesn’t feel so great once you stop moving. But, if you never start, our bodies don’t know what they’re missing!

Veggies should fill at least half of your plate!

Tip #2: Veggies First

If there’s one thing wellness professionals can agree on, it’s to eat more veggies. Around here we like to keep things simple and we’ve found that counting calories, monitoring macros, micros, etc., can get overwhelming. When it comes to creating healthy habits, we want to incorporate ideas that are easy to implement and take as little time as possible. So what does “veggies first” look like throughout your day? First, split your plate or bowl in half and fill half with veggies, then split the other half leftover in half, and fill with a starch/carbohydrate and a protein. You know that 3 o’clock hour when all you want is a handful of your kids’ leftover M&M’s and a latte? Before you go there, veggies first. Opt for the handful of carrot sticks and hummus. Or that witching hour before dinner when it’s 5pm and the brie cheese and crackers are calling your name – before you go there just choose to fill up that hunger pain with something green before ruining your dinner with snack food. Veggies first is a simple way to make better choices by nourishing and fueling your body rather than just feeding it something that may be far less nutritionally dense. So what happens when we incorporate the idea of veggies first before brie, M&M’s, chips, and chocolate bars? We get nutrients! If you’ve had your veggies, and still want the cheese tray, go for it, but you can feel good about whatever choice you make because you know you’ve already chosen, veggies first!

Lean Mean Green Detox Salad from Half Baked Harvest

Tip #3: Stop with the “Food Rules”

Food “rules” include imposing unrealistic extremes and unhealthy attitudes towards food, rather than focusing on food as fuel and food just for pleasure – both which are a healthy attitude towards food. An example of food rules include: “you must always eat breakfast”, “you must eat 3 square meals per day”, “fats are bad” or “you must not eat carbs.” The reason “food rules” don’t work is because each one of us is unique! Each of us has unique dietary needs based on our ages, activity levels, food sensitivities, allergies, and unique seasons of life we are currently in. Choose when and what to eat based on what your body needs. This simple approach is called intuitive eating. Just because your 15-year-old needs 3 eggs and a slab of bacon before 7am doesn’t mean that’s what’s best for your body. Perhaps you would do better with a smoothie and a larger lunch. Think about eating for optimal performance. When and what you eat can have a significant effect on both our mental and physical abilities. If what you have been doing worked for someone else but doesn’t seem to be working for you, start from scratch. Treat yourself as an experiment, see what happens if you try swapping out less protein for more carbs or vice-versa. If you’ve just completed a strength/resistance training workout, your muscles have been broken down and depleted of the carbohydrate glycogen, so naturally your body will most likely be craving protein – building blocks of muscle. If you’ve just completed an intensive HIIT training workout or cardio workout, a balance of carbs and protein is typically what your body needs to help the recovery and growth of muscles used, without stopping the burning of fat. Stop, listen to what your body needs, and then make choices that will rebuild and fuel you to perform at your best!

Either you run the day or the day runs you!

Tip #4: Schedule Your Workouts

If it’s important to you, you will make time for it. Workouts are not just going to magically happen. But one thing is for certain, life is going to keep on plowing forward. If you have not carved out time in your schedule and specifically reserved it for moving your body, it will not happen. This is why we love the group fitness model – it helps keep our members accountable to where and when they say they are going to workout. We show up for each other, our teachers, and ourselves! We have also found that the later in the day you wait to schedule your workouts, the more obstacles seem to get in the way. So schedule your workouts earlier in the day when less obstacles arise or the temptation to cancel creeps up on you. Some of our members even say getting their workouts done first thing in the morning helps set the tone for the rest of the day, and then it’s one less thing they have to check off their list! If you prioritize your health now, you won’t have to pay for it later as we age and become more susceptible to injury and disease.

Tip #5: Try Something New

The New Year is the perfect time to try something new! We now have not one but 3 movement studios for you to train in. We expanded our space, not because we simply wanted to, but because findings in exercise science told us that strong, healthy bodies that are durable, and resistant to injury and illness are those that train in a multitude of disciplines. If you have only been taking advantage of our Pilates classes, our New Year’s challenge to you is to get into one of the other two studios. We now have a barre/yoga studio with weekly in-person and online classes, and a strength training and conditioning studio with a full arsenal of weights, barbells, kettlebells, resistance props, ropes, treadmills, assault bikes and even benches and racks! If it seems scary to try something new just remember, your comfort zone is a nice place but nothing ever grows there. Commit to grow this year, in strength, flexibility, perseverance, and appreciation for all that your body CAN do!

Let’s make 2021 the year we surpassed what we thought possible and let’s do it together! We’re here to support you every step of the way!