How’s everyone doing? I mean, really, how are you doing? Fall is a few weeks underway, and I have already had several conversations with friends who are afraid of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) cropping up again.
Disclaimer: I am not a health care professional. This post is not meant to diagnose or provide any sort of medical advice.
As I mentioned recently, I am building and putting myself on a plan to try to avoid SAD. There are 8 different dimensions of health, and there is no. way. I could address all of them in a single blog post, so I’m going to start slowly. First, I want to focus on physical health.
Physical health is what most of us think about when we think of health – physical activity, eating a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, getting enough sleep, etc. I think of physical health as the foundation for all the other dimensions of health. It’s really difficult for me, personally, to do what I need to do for my health in all the different dimensions of health if I’m in pain or feel sluggish and tired.
The part of physical health I’ve found to be the most beneficial for my own mental health, and studies back me up here, is exercise. The times in my life when I’ve been in a solid exercise routine are truly when I’ve felt my absolute best. However, I’m not naturally the most athletic person…and I don’t have the highest self-motivation to do a home workout. I was in a fairly good exercise groove the summer of 2019 – I could do 100 burpees, y’all! I can’t even do one now! – but have been on the decline exercise-wise ever since. I had just gotten back into it about a month or so before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and I’ve exercised…three times since then. I’ve never been good at doing a home workout and the idea of doing my normal yoglates workouts in the comfort of my own home was NOT the vibe.
Now that we’re 6 months into the pandemic, I’ve had to come to terms with a few things:
- I won’t feel comfortable going to a gym or workout studio any time soon
- 102 steps a day is not a sufficient amount of exercise
- I need to move for both the physical and mental benefits
- I absolutely will not do an intense, HIIT style workout any time soon.
Since everything listed above is going to hold true for the foreseeable future, I need a SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-based) goal for incorporating exercise into my plan to avoid seasonal affective disorder. I’m known for tinkering endlessly with my goals and objectives, so I’ve decided that I have to keep a SMART goal for three weeks before I can adjust the goal. So, what is the exercise SMART goal I am setting as part of my plan to avoid seasonal affective disorder?
My exercise SMART goal for the next three weeks is to do P.Volve three times a week for at least 20 minutes each time.
Why did I choose this goal? Well, I’ve been a big fan of P.Volve for a while and have previously done the workouts (plus I own a good bit of their equipment!). P.Volve is one of my favorite ways to exercise because it is super low impact but still leaves me breathing hard and super sore. My favorite part is about P.Volve is that I’ve yet to come across a single video that includes any sort of jumping or burpee-like movement. An at-home workout that makes you work up a sweat but doesn’t make you do burpees?! Sold!
I think three, twenty-minute workouts a week is a good starting point for someone who is just starting out exercising or is easing back into exercise. I can knock them all out at the beginning of the week or shift them around when works best according to my schedule, and it isn’t a huge time commitment. Further, if you take a look at your screen time (or maybe it’s just me…) I’m sure we could all benefit from 20 minutes off our phones!
If you’re interested in trying P.Volve, they are offering three free workouts right now, with no obligation to sign up afterward and no credit card! I highly recommend starting with their beginner workouts regardless of your fitness level.
Do you have a go-to at-home workout you love? How are you getting (or staying!) active this fall and winter? Let me know in the comments!
Are you caught up on all my recent posts? If not, start here!
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