Becoming Your Better Self

As people every where prepare for the hotter months the thought of getting back into shape springs to mind. As college students, it can be hard to get started and balance working out and eating healthy with our busy school and work schedules, on top of running to and from practice for those who are athletes. It is important to realize that all body types are very different and unique from each other and require different things. So something that may work for someone else may not work for you. Although frustrating, this is the fun part. discovering what works for you. Below are a few tips to help you achieve your goals.

Health Tips:

·             Portion Control: I can not stress this enough! Half a plate of fruits and veggies, half a plate of grains and protein.

·             Get active: Even if it’s just for 10 minutes everyone has to start somewhere. Go walk outside or play basketball in the gym, anything to get up and moving.

·             Know your food labels: Read nutrition facts. Food marketers are notorious for making you think you are eating healthy when in reality you are not. For example, usually if something says “fat free”, that doesn’t make it healthy, it usually means that they added more sugar.

What Gym?

Here at Avila we have a gym that is open for anyone to use. But for those who are gym shy, I want to first say that it is so awesome to see new people at the gym trying to better themselves and I know that gyms can be scary BUT seriously, if you are struggling with something or you just want more advice, just go ask somebody you see that has the look you want and more times than not they will be honored that you even asked and be more than happy to help. Here are tips for the gym shy that you can do in your room:

·             Yoga: most of the time you can find 25 minute videos on You-tube.

·             Cardio: you can also find short cardio workouts online, some as long as 10 minutes

·             Pushups:

·             Legs: Lunges, squats, side leg raises,

·              Abs: Leg raises, flutter kicks, scissor kicks, mountain climbers, Russian twist, planks

Staying Motivated:

It is easy to lose motivation for working out and eating healthy, especially when you don’t see results or if your schedule just doesn’t allow it. To help motivate yourself and stay on track here are a few tips.

·             Log your workouts: what you did that day

·             Log what you eat (even snacks) and calories: this will help you stay aware of what you are consuming.

·             Have one small goal for your workout: keep it simple bruhhh

·             Bring a friend: it’s always better to have someone there to keep pushing us.