Welcome to part six of the Lazy Girl’s Guide series! In this one we take a look at fitness. Find my other LGG’s here.

Keep reading because this guide was made for you if:

1. You love that feeling you get after exercising,
2. You have a hard time actually getting started with your fitness,
3. And you want to make the most of your workout in as little time as possible.

Before we begin, let me get this out of the way: discuss with your doctor before you start a new fitness plan to see if it’s right for you & listen to your body when you exercise. You want to push yourself, but not hurt yourself! I am NOT an expert or instructor. I am only here to help my fellow lazy girls in getting their exercise on with my personal experience & opinions.

For myself, I LOVE to feel strong in my body. But I have a hard time with the motivation to start (& continue) exercising. I also cannot stand to work out for hours at a time. So, this is for others like me. Those that want to get strong and toned in the most efficient manner, because if you actually start that workout, you want to make it count!

Cardio

Move that body!

ProTip: To help make exercise a habit, find an activity you actually like to do! 

I like to do a little cardio every week because it’s good for you & it’s great for fat burn. Some of my favorite cardio activities include:

1. Elliptical
2. Running around the backyard with my dogs
3. Bike rides or walking around the neighborhood
4. Swimming or Paddle boarding
5. Skateboarding (this is VERY recent for me)

All the while, I make sure I have some of my favorite music turned up so I can get lost in it for about half an hour or so. It’s therapeutic to just let all your worries go and focus on some physical exertion for a little while. Listen to an audiobook or podcast, if you prefer something else to pay attention to.

Find what time of the day works best for you; some people find it more motivating to wake up early to exercise or some prefer right after work. The key is to just move your body. Find a way to get in more steps each day however you can.

ProTip: Switch it up while doing cardio. Go as fast as you can for as long as you can, switch back to a steady pace for a while, then repeat!

Combination Moves

Build up muscle!

My real, true loves in the fitness world are weights & combo moves. These work muscles all over the body at the same time (efficiency!) and more muscle means more fat burn during the day when you’re not working out!

Here are a few tried and true exercises that you don’t need any equipment for:

1. Burpees
2. Pushups
3. Runner Situps
4. Squats & Lunges

Burpees are hellacious. Truly. But they really work every single muscle in your body (& count as cardio for sure)! So if you can devote some time to do just burpees and nothing else, you are good to go! I also get in some bodyweight moves like lunges or squats while I’m watching television – make time where you can, ya know?

Pro Tip: Add some hand weights to up the ante with these exercises.

Other Fitness Tips & Tricks

One of my favorite fitness gurus is Cassey Ho with Blogilates. She is like, the QUEEN, of making the most of your workout. You can heck out her videos on YouTube if you want to follow a workout.

I’ve also used 21 Day Fix in the past & enjoyed the heck out of Autumn’s workouts. I mean, they were made for people like me – intense workouts in 30 minutes.

To check out even more hardworking moves, just search for ‘combination bodyweight exercises’. There are so many different combinations of ‘simple’ moves you can do.

If you find yourself getting bored with an activity, then switch it up and try something new & different so you don’t quit exercising. For example, I sometimes get tired of walking around the neighborhood, so I have tried out paddle boarding and skate boarding to shake things up.

If you are an extroverted person, look into taking a class at your local gym. You can get your socialization on while getting in a workout!

This doesn’t work for me personally, but some people find they will keep an exercise schedule if they’re paying for a gym membership – because who wants to waste money, right?

Let me know in the comments below what gets you started and keeps you going with a fitness plan, because I am always looking for new ways to motivate myself!