Testing my own routine - The New York Times Scientific 7-Minute Workout!
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It's been a tough few weeks for my regular routine and I'm trying my hardest to practice what I most want to preach which is practical wellness solutions we can make into every day habits - "CULTIVATING PRACTICAL WELLNESS!"
Running a full time wedding photography business while at the same time testing the waters for a new business with phase one of The Healing Farm is proving to be more challenging than I anticipated. I'm pretty good at juggling but this is a lot to juggle. Plus the whole point of a career change and building practical health habits into my everyday life is so I DON'T have to spend the rest of my life juggling things, being stressed and losing site of my daily health habits!
Two things I've been pretty successful at keeping in my daily routine are my morning smoothie and The New York Time Scientific 7-Minute Workout. Seriously. This is the best. Check out Gretchen Reynold's original post on The New York Time's well blog for details.
If you're trying to lose weight, unless you also significantly cut your portions, the 7-minute workout might not be enough, but for maintenance and stress relief, this is the best. Even if I weren't REALLY short on time like I am these days, this workout is easy enough (it's only seven minutes!), short enough (it's only seven minutes!), no excuse enough (there's almost no way you can say you don't have time when IT'S ONLY SEVEN MINUTES!) and you really see results, so why not let it be your go to workout? No expensive gym membership, almost no time commitment, no equipment needed except a chair, some all-purpose workout shoes, maybe a yoga mat and you feel great afterwards! It's kind of a no-brainer! I pretty much do it every weekday morning and sometimes on Saturday morning before a shoot.
Because of my chronic back pain (which is still significantly reduced through my work with Chris Kresser), I add a daily ten minute routine of stretches after my 7-minute workout. This is crucial to keeping my back and hips healthy. But even with adding this, I'm still done and in the shower and ready to start my day within half an hour! I have a friend who said she and some of her co-workers do this workout during the 2:00 - 3:00PM lull time in the office to wake them up and get them motivated to finish the day.
If you are one who really needs to get out and de-stress with a run or if you just really enjoy the camaraderie at a gym, this might not be for you, but I for one am a total convert. Now, that all said when things settle down a little I'm going to have to tie in that extra workout or two and cut my portions because I need to once and for all lose that final ten!