We’re about two months off of the start of 2017. Many of us have made resolutions of starting a fitness routine, trying to be more consistent with an existing one, or have a fitness goal in mind. Whether you’re just starting out or have been working out for a while, we’ve all had weeks (sometimes even months) during which going to the gym 2-3 times a week is challenging enough. Add to that a bunch of outside variables, and it may feel like you’re not making much forward progress. I bring this up because between the 6-8 week mark seems to be when the Resolution Crowd starts to fade from commercial gyms, classes start to thin, and people lose sight of the goals and resolutions that made them begin in the first place. This only begets more dissatisfaction, and typically leads to people abandoning the gym altogether.

Just before the New Year, Rob, Michelle, and I began doing an online mobility program called ROMWOD, which touts that it can improve your mobility with consistent practice in about a half hour a day. The three of us will do the day’s program together -twisting, stretching, and grimacing our way through it- during the times when we have a break in our busy schedules. This got me thinking of other small tweaks, movements, and habits that might help our clients gain more traction in their fitness resolutions. We all have the same 24-hour days available to us—here are some ideas on how to make the most of them!

If you have an hour…

…go to bed earlier. We’ve talked at length of the impact of sleep on recovery and performance in past blogs. It really is true that a full night’s sleep improves your mood, can help you lose weight, and recover faster, all leading to better and more effective workouts. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night requires you to be in bed and asleep at the beginning of that range. Which means if you need to wake up at 6am, you need to be in bed and ASLEEP by 10.

If you have thirty minutes…

… go for a walk outside. Its what we were made to do! Weather permitting, walking is not only a great, weight bearing exercise, doing it outside can help beef up your vitamin-D intake, which tends to fall by the wayside during the colder months when we like to be in from the cold. While you can burn some significant calories in a half hour-long walk, technically your stroll doesn’t need to take that long for you to reap the benefits. Try parking your car farther away from your destination to force yourself to get some extra steps in.

If you have fifteen minutes…

…practice some concentrated SMFR (self myofascial release). Foam rolling is great for general mobility, but because the surface area of the roller is so big, it can be hard to get direct pressure on the areas that may need extra attention, such as the calves, glutes, hamstrings, quads, trapezius, and forearms, and even the soles of the feet– just to name a few areas. I’m a big advocate of using a small to medium, firm ball (think lacrosse ball or softball) to apply direct pressure and release those areas.

If you have five minutes…

… do a couple sets of any of these movements. Of course, this is all about getting ahead. While these movements are great prep for any physical activity, doing them frequently can help you develop greater mobility, increase stability, and improve your coordination. At the very least, when time is extremely tight, pick one movement and aim for at least 2 sets of 10-15 repetitions, or 30 to 60 seconds. The good news is that these bodyweight movements are not so taxing that they can’t be done multiple times during the day—which means if you have multiple opportunities, feel free to experiment with all of the movements, or spend more time with just a couple of them. Check out our video to see demonstrations of the Wall Squat, Single Leg Touchdown, Bear Crawl, and RKC plank.

~Maria Capuano, CPT at Momentum Fitness