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How to Make Health Happen

Diva Toolbox
Aly & Andrea
Aly & Andrea

Busted. It doesn't just happen. You have to take action and make choices to make your health a priority- especially when you've tied it to your legacy. This is personal growth 101. Oh YEAH, we forgot to mention: Aly is a former nationally certified personal trainer and has a degree with emphasis in physical therapy. She has trained hundreds of clients, including athletes and even an Egyptian princess! So listen up:

Thanks for spending time with the last post defining the WHY behind your commitment to improving your health. Today, we are spending time on what that means and the beginning of how to make it happen.

First, the WHAT: When you are considering what you want your health to look like, lets start from the basics. We all will have different sets of goals, but we all have 3 basic fitness components that are tied to these goals:

1. Increase muscle

2. Decrease fat

3. Increase flexibility

Sounds simple, right? It should be, now that you know your WHY. The same principles apply with your finances and career- so we are going to talk about that in the coming weeks, too. If you want to write these 3 things down on post its notes all over your home or office, please do! Your actionable job is now to do what it takes to increase muscle, decrease fat, and increase flexibility. Why?:

1. Increasing muscle helps you burn fat. Ladies, don't worry- you do not have enough androgen hormones to turn into Arnold Schwareznegger. Promise! Lift the weights and you will see less fat, more energy, less injury, more confidence, and more compliments.

2. Decreasing fat tends to be the obvious one. Pay special attention to the most dangerous fat- that around your belly. This is the fat that is most highly correlated with heart disease and heart failure. Decreasing the fat happens simply by burning more calories than you are putting in, and that is far easier to accomplish when you are paying close attention to what TYPES of calories are going into your mouth. (We'll talk more about that in the next post). Bottom line: Do something that elevates your heart rate every day. Break a sweat. The gym and treadmill are great, but don't dismiss the value of the little things- like parking further away and walking more, taking the steps instead of the elevator, cutting out some TV time, a few pushups or lunges on the way out the door.... we've got more of this in upcoming posts.

3. Increase flexibility. Our physical flexibility decreases dramatically as we age (we feel it!). I have vivid memories of being so confused about why patients would see me with gardening injuries or golf injuries! In my mid-twenties, it never occurred to me how easily those types of injuries can happen, even though I had a textbook knowledge of it.... Of course, now approaching 40, its all painfully obvious. Increase your flexibility to decrease those debilitating injuries.... even if they are from taking out the trash.

Next, we'll begin our work on how to make your health happen. You've already gotten clear on step one, and that was your WHY. Now that you know the broad scope components of what you'll need to focus on (above), you have homework.

Your homework is: Define what you are willing to do about it. Write in your notebook the measurable things you will now do in order to increase your muscle, decrease fat, and increase flexibility. This is just going to be a "rough draft" today, because next time we'll be giving you even more tools to refine this. So some examples of what you may write today are:

  • I'll get up early and go to the gym at least 3x/wk

  • I'll take the stairs to my office every day

  • I'll run with my son at least 2x/wk

  • I'll stretch for at least 15 minutes a day, every day, as I watch the news

  • I'll reduce my calorie intake by X%

  • and so on....you pick yours.

Again, we are about to give you the tools to get even more specific on this. In the coming posts, we'll cover some tactics to help you with your strength training, your food intake, your injury prevention, and other weight loss/lean up tips.... all of which matters as you are Building Your Legacy.
See you next time.....

Stretch!!!! n Hugs,
Aly & Andrea

This article was written by Aly Calvo & Andrea Kulberg. To get more great advice from Women's Toolbox Media Diva Aly & Andrea, visit their website at: AlyAndAndrea.com