There are seasons in our lives when it seems IMPOSSIBLE to make exercise happen!
Funny enough, those BURSTING at the seams periods of our lives are often when we need the stress release and health benefits of movement MOST!
What if taking care of our bodies with movement doesn’t have to be all or nothing?
What if we don't need to hit the gym 2-5 days a week to get results and feel good?
What IF we could have a simple three day formula for movement that we could adapt to our weeks as needed.
Here’s how it works:
All we have to do is find THREE days a week that match up with the formula, a day for walking, a day for resets (gentle movement) and a day for strength training.
And on GOOD weeks, maybe we repeat the formula to get 6 days of movement.
Other weeks, maybe we don’t even get in the full three day formula, but the important thing is that we have OPTIONS to help us check that movement box, remain consistent and become persistent without the crush stress of “conventional” exercise programming OR the guilt, for that matter.
Have I piqued your interest yet?
Check out the formula below!
DAY 1 Leisure Walk
For many people, Day 1 is Monday.
If you always struggle to “get back on track” on Mondays, switch things up.
Make Sunday your Day 1.
On Day 1 we walk for a minimum of 30 minutes, but you main goal is to walk as long as possible! Grab a friend, pet or family member and MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Even if climate is a factor, get creative about making this happen.
This is NOT about steps.
This is NOT about burning calorie. It’s about:
calming your nervous system with contralateral movement (walking)
balancing hormones - leisure walks positively influence blood sugar, cravings and digestive (gut) health
Day 2 Build Strength
So now you have some movement momentum (or movementum, as I like to call it!)
Today we are challenging our bodies with some SUPER simple, yet challenging strength training.
Complete 4 rounds (should take about 20-30 minutes, rest as needed!) of the following:
15-20 bodyweight squats-you can also do them weighted
10 get-ups, this means you lay down on the floor and try to get up to standing with minimal assistance from your hands - notice if you favor one side and try working BOTH sides
6-8 pushups OR plank for as long as you can **see my video on pushups!
60 seconds of blanket shakes (rest as needed) ** see video
60 seconds marching in place or skipping (REALLY SWING THOSE ARMS!)
Day 3 Press Reset
One of my FAVORITE movement habits that I have cultivated is #pressingreset with Original Strength!
Movement that changes your body is SO MUCH more than exercise! In fact most of us regular people that are not professional athletes or competitors do not have the time or resources to support exercising hard every single day.
Pressing reset is a simple concept and doesn’t have to take a lot of time (set aside 10 minutes, but work longer if you feel good!)
There are three major rules to it:
Breath with the diaphragm
The eyes move the head, the head moves the body
Work across the midline (the imaginary line that runs down the body splitting it into right and left)
There are LITERALLY countless ways to press reset, but I’m sharing some of my favorite below.
There is no require number of reps, just do the movement for as long as feels good, then move to the next! Try to make it through 3 rounds of this suggested circuit, but feel free to play with the movement and make adjustments!
Sound too simple?
It totally is simple, but that doesn’t mean that it will be easy and it doesn’t mean that it won’t get you results!
Complete this three day movement protocol TWICE a week for a total of 6 days of movement and watch what happens to your mindset and your body!
This is the same approach that I use with my clients to get them MORE consistent, STRONGER, BALANCED and more CONFIDENT in their bodies than EVER!
These movements are NOT complicated, but that doesn’t meant that these circuits aren’t challenging.
And the RESULTS?
They come from CONSISTENCY.
So you GOTTA , you just GOTTA made this a PRACTICE.
The good news is that these approaches to movement will help you to find enjoyment and peace in cultivating a routine movement practice and that is everything.
That is where all the results are!
**If you want a DOWNLOADABLE PDF version of Free in Three as well as an additional more advanced Strength Circuit, tips on how to REV up this protocol for more results and HOW to measure your success, click here!
Sarah Smith is a Functional Gut and Pelvic Health Educator and she’s on a mission to help women conquer their pelvic health struggles and build STRENGTH and SKILLS!
Sarah is a strength coach, RKC2 Kettlebell Instructor, Original Strength Pro Instructor, certified personal trainer, postnatal fitness specialist and pelvic floor and gut health advocate with a Masters in Soil and Agricultural Science. Sarah works online and in Raleigh, North Carolina.
She loves her boys, soil (good thing because her life is full of it), her bulldog, Bella, coffee and not folding laundry.
If you want MORE information about YOUR pelvic floor and why you shouldn’t settle for incontinence, tailbone pain, discomfort and pain in intercourse, constipation, pelvic pressure and the feeling of organs in your vaginal canal DOWNLOAD THIS FREE GUIDE!