Category Archives: Physical

Making Fitness More Fun

September 30, 2020Physicalat home workout, exercise, fitness with friends, working out, workout clothes, workout ideasBeth Berger

Many of us think of exercise as a chore. While there may be days when the couch seems more appealing than the gym, it’s hugely beneficial to shift your mindset and embrace an active lifestyle. There are ways to make fitness fun. If you’re looking to get into exercise, or it’s been a while since you did a workout, here are some tips to bear in mind…

Explore different activities

All too often, we associate being physically fit and active with having a gym membership or spending hours jogging around a park every week. Many people enjoy these types of workouts, but there are so many other ways to work up a sweat. If you don’t fancy doing crunches and sit-ups or hitting the treadmill, or you tend to get bored easily, explore different activities. Join a local intramural sports team, go swimming, start playing tennis or golf on a regular basis, sign up for dance classes or get out into the great outdoors and try hiking, mountain biking or kayaking. You could also start getting fit at home. If you don’t feel confident exercising in front of others, or you have a busy schedule, you can invest in home gym equipment or take advantage of virtual personal training sessions and online exercise classes. Varying your workouts and trying new activities can help to increase motivation levels and ensure that exercise is more fun.

Boost your confidence with new workout clothes

Sometimes the right outfit is just the motivation one needs to make a drab fitness routine into a fab fitness routine! If you’re looking to get back into the swing of going to the gym, you’re preparing for your first Pilates class, or you’ve started going to a running club, it can help boost your confidence to look the part. Activewear is a booming industry and there are some incredible styles and outfits available for all kinds of activities. From curves fitness clothing and reflective ensembles for nighttime bike riding to squat-proof leggings and comfortable outfits for yoga, it’s worth browsing the virtual aisles, getting inspiration from magazines and social media feeds and treating yourself to some pieces that will make you feel empowered and excited for your next workout.

Get social

Sometimes it’s wonderful to enjoy a little time alone, but often exercise is more fun when you’re with friends, a partner or a group of people. It may not be possible to get involved in mass gatherings at the moment, but you can go for a socially-distanced run or take part in virtual classes or group sessions outdoors. Get friends involved in your mission to be more active and make the most of your free time. If you have hours to kill on the weekend, go for a walk, try fun activities like cycling, rock climbing and swimming with the kids or set up a circuit in the backyard. Being around others can make the time pass faster and it can also spur you on to put in more effort and give you the push your need when energy levels are low. Most of us respond well to healthy competition.

Do you roll your eyes when people talk about working out? Being active has an array of benefits for physical and mental health, so it’s important to try and embrace exercise. If you can start having fun while you’re working up a sweat, you’ll reap the rewards!

P.S. Try this full week of FREE workouts!

My 3 Favorite YouTube Channels for At-Home Workouts

March 25, 2020Physicalat-home workouts, body project, cardio, fitness, my workouts, social distancing, strength, Sydney Cummings, yoga, yoga with adriene, YoutubeBeth Berger

If you’ve been around my blog long enough, you’ll know I’m no stranger to the at-home workout. I LOVE working out for free in the comfort of my own home. There are just so many resources out there on YouTube to help facilitate your fitness journey. (You can even create your own challenges to help stay on track and keep things interesting!) Now, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we are all spending a little more time indoors and a little less time in public classes and gyms. Luckily, I already had honed in on my YouTube go-tos long before the term “social distancing” was a part of our collective consciousness. If you’re new to the at-home workout, I’d love to share my three favorites with you —

For CARDIO –

My favorite channel when I want to raise my heart rate is BODY PROJECT. Their holistic exercise routines typically combine HIIT cardio, low impact resistance training, pilates, and boxing. The routines are fast paced and energetic and the teachers are so adorably motivational (and adorably British!).

Want to try a Body Project video out?

For STRENGTH –

My favorite channel when I want to work my muscles is SYDNEY CUMMINGS. Sydney is a certified personal trainer who uploads a new workout on YouTube every single day at 5 am. And these aren’t your typical 20 minute for my YouTube audience but ya gotta pay for the better videos…nope. These workouts are long and actually pack a punch.

Want to try a Sydney Cummings video out?

For YOGA –

My favorite channel when I want to practice yoga will come as no surprise to anyone … YOGA WITH ADRIENE! If you haven’t tried out a yoga flow with Adriene yet I really don’t know what you’re waiting for. I typically do one of her videos 3x a week and she has become such a calming and important presence in my life.

Want to try a Yoga with Adriene video out?

What’s your favorite YouTube channel for workouts? Share them below! I’d love to try out your recommendations as we continue this period of self-isolation. xoxo

Full Week of [FREE] Workouts

February 7, 2020Physicala week of workouts with me, body project, cardio, fitness diary, free workouts, HIIT, how I move, workout with me, yoga, yoga with adriene, youtube fitness, youtube workoutsBeth Berger

Hey guys! Welcome back to the blog! Today’s post I wanted to do a diary-style “workouts of the week” post. So I’m going to be sharing with y’all the workouts I did starting last Thursday through yesterday. Lately, I’ve been working out Sun-Wed and Fri with Thursdays and Saturdays as a rest day since those tend to be more naturally active days for me in regular life (housework, errands, walking places, etc). This week was a little different as I had moved my rest day to Tuesday in an attempt to listen to my body.

A few things to note, this is probably the first year since she started doing them that I didn’t complete Yoga with Adriene’s 30-day challenge in January. I’ve just been feeling more cardio and strength workouts lately with yoga only once or twice a week. BUT – I will certainly get to all those January videos over the course of the next few weeks. And because I’m all about syncing up my workouts to my cycle, being in the menstrual phase this week was the perfect time to get a jump start on that. More yoga and no strength was in the cards for this week!

Ok, enough yammering. Let’s get to the workouts —

Thursday 1/30

Yoga

Usually I do yoga on Tuesdays but I wasn’t feeling anything but a hot water bottle that day. Usually I do cardio on Wednesdays but I settled for a 20 minute stretch routine. Now, we’re to Thursday and my body is finally ready to get on the mat and work out some kinks. It feels good to have a structure but then allow myself to veer off the railroad tracks to do what’s best for me.

Friday 1/31

HIIT Cardio

I’ve really been trying to do more cardio in 2020 since I feel like my job is soooo sedentary. I also find myself craving that post-run feeling… but I just hate running. This sounds crazy but running allows too much thought. I’d much rather this very motivational British dude yell things at me while I “monkey see, monkey do” and turn off my brain for a bit.

Saturday 2/1

REST DAY

Sunday 2/2

Yoga

I did Day 1 of HOME on Jan 1 and then decided, you know what, this isn’t for me this year. But I felt called to bang a few out this week. So this is what I delved into today…

Monday 2/3

Yoga

…and continued this day…

Tuesday 2/4

Yoga

and this day. Anyone else feel like they may accidentally join a cult if Adriene started one? Because I’m solidly in that camp.

Wednesday 2/5

HIIT Cardio

Ok, quickly realizing this week of workouts was a little repetitive. What can I say? Yoga with Adriene and Body Project are my current jam. My favorite channel for strength training at the moment is Sydney Cummings. (I think I’ll do this one tomorrow.) She is an absolute beast and puts up a new workout every single day and a lot of them are on the longer side.

So, that’s a week of workouts with me! What have your workouts been looking like lately? Have any channels I should check out? Leave ’em below!

P.S. Looking for a way to get motivated about working out? Try making a fitness challenge!

5-Week Home Workout Challenge (Week 5!)

August 27, 2019Physicalbarre, cardio, exercise, fitness, HIIT, motivation, no gym needed, Yin, YoutubeBeth Berger

So excited to report that I completed this 5-week challenge!!!

Before embarking on this journey, I was feeling a little bit in a workout rut. I was doing my nightly exercise but they were nothing to write home about…or frankly, get excited about. I’m happy to say switching it up and trying out lots of different videos, styles, instructors, and channels was exactly what I needed.

If you’re feeling similarly, why not give it a try! You now have 35 workouts queued up and ready to go. OR you could create your own playlist with the videos that suit you best.

Tuesday:

A little back hygiene in the first few days of ANY work week is always a good thing for me.

Wednesday:

That kneel to squat with knee drive!? A doozy!

Thursday:

Ok, I will be returning to this channel. Usually overly motivational instructors annoy me but I was really feeling this guy.

Friday:

A quick but effective booty and thigh barre routine.

Saturday:

Couldn’t help myself with this one. So dorky but so fun. And if you REALLY commit you can feel like you’re in a scene from Mamma Mia!

Sunday:

And one more dance power walk for good measure. LOL!

Monday:

And to round things out, some Yin Yoga! My favorite way to really get in there with the stretches!

And that’s a wrap!

I’ll start slowly adding videos to a new playlist for a future challenge, but for now I’ve settled on a workout schedule going forward that looks a little something like this —
Monday – Yoga, Tuesday – any video from my playlist, Wednesday – Fitness Blender, Thursday – Yoga, Friday – a sweat set on Fitness Marshall, Saturday – Yoga, and Sunday – Walk + FemFusion

Do you have a favorite workout channel on YouTube?

5-Week Home Workout Challenge (Week 4!)

August 18, 2019Physicalbarre, cardio, exercise, fitness, healthy living, HIIT, move your body, no gym needed, too hot, twerk, workout challenge, yoga, YoutubeBeth Berger

workout wk4

What’s that you say? You’re ready for another week of at-home workouts courtesy of the interwebs? Well, I’ve got just the thing for you!

It is STILL super hot where I’m at, and I’m trying not to get down on myself so much for not getting outside much. It is just. so. stifling. (and humid and bright and BUGGY!) It’s weird that I used to think of these types of workouts as being a good resource to bust out in the dead of winter. But now that I’ve clocked quite a few years in the southern reaches of the U.S., I can say they are, without a doubt, my SUMMER WORKOUTS. Especially for the dog days we’re in right now.