How to Get Strong and Love Your Body in Every Stage
Strength doesn’t happen overnight. You’ve heard that one before. It takes little changes every day over a long period of time, blah blah blah, “I’ve heard it all, routine, waking early, drinking green shakes.” Nope, that’s not what I’m going to tell you. In fact you should probs replace those shakes with some good ole eggs and bacon. And butter. Your body will thank you.
You’ve first got to change your mindset and how it relates to exercise.
You see, there are at least a million things vying for your time each day. And chances are, if you’re a busy mom, exercise oftentimes falls to the wayside as a “one day I’ll have time to get into fancy yoga pants and roll out a mat during a 2 hour nap time so I can actually work out.”
I’m here to tell you it doesn’t need to be that way.
You can get strong with your current routine. You just have to change your mindset.
If we can think about our bodies differently, everything starts to change.
If we are grateful for where our bodies are in their current stage, not thinking judgementally about how they look, or where we’d like to be, we can appreciate their strength in this very moment.
Try this with me for a minute: fill in the blank, I am thankful for my body because I can .
Got it? Okay. You’re going to write that down on a sticky note and put it somewhere you’ll see it at least 5 times today. Hint: maybe you take a picture of the sticky note and make it your lock screen on your phone.
Still stuck? Here are some examples to help get your brain juices flowing…(again, please go eat some butter, this will help in the brain juice category.)
“I am thankful for my body because I can get on the ground and play with my kids.”
“I am thankful for my body because I can lug around 5 bags of groceries and navigate stairs.”
“I am thankful for my body because I can nourish a human from my boobs.”
“I am thankful for my body because I can see beautiful things with my eyes.”
It doesn’t have to be profound. It just has to resonate with you. “Oh yeah, I am thankful I can do that.”
Once you’ve internalized that gratefulness, I want you to do that again. And again. Until you are routinely thinking of why you’re grateful for your body.
Then we can work on some physical strength.
Can you….
- Do squats with your toddler on your back, or front, or side?
- Get down on the floor and back up again without using your hands?
- Hang from the monkey bars for 30 seconds?
- Crawl on the floor with your hands and toes, knees hovering just an inch? (THIS WILL MAKE YOU SWEAT)
- Do pushups on the countertop while waiting for something in the microwave?
- Balance on one foot while reaching your arms overhead?
These little things add up. And when we’re moving from a place of gratitude rather than from a place of self-disgust, then we move forward, mentally and physically.
You can use other weights, yes. And I recommend it. But start here and let yourself feel freedom to move in your body without judgement first.
Okay now go try it.