The year is moving right along! Are you setting up strong pillars to build the rest of your year on?

As we have been discussing for the past couple of weeks, there are 4 Pillars of Wellness:

• Mental
• Emotional
• Physical
• Energetic

So far, we’ve talked about the pillars of mental wellness and emotional wellness, which are certainly interconnected and have an effect on both the other pillars and your overall health.

But when people talk about health & fitness, most people tend to think about physical wellness – so that’s what we’re talking about this week!

Physical wellness is defined as “listening to and taking care of your body for optimal health and functioning.“

Now I know that sounds a bit vague and it will look different for different people. Physical fitness is about doing what you can to help strengthen and care for your body.

More specifically, it is the ability to maintain a healthy quality of life that allows us to get the most out of our daily activities without unnecessary fatigue or physical stress.

Daily habits for physical wellness

Physical wellness has so many different factors that contribute to it! There are some things, like genetics, age, & chronic illnesses, that we can’t really do anything about. Rather than give up, you just have to learn to adjust accordingly.

There are some simple things you can do each day to support your physical wellness. You will notice that some of these tips align with other pillars. That’s because, as we’ve said before, we are holistic beings and all of these things are connected.

• Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day.
• Maintain a good sleep schedule to stay well-rested.
• Ensure you are taking in a well-balanced diet.
• Avoid excessive smoking, harmful alcohol, and other drug use.
• Take note of how different exercises make you feel.

Our minds and bodies aren’t separate. It takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit – a lot of that is in our heads, self-motivating and convincing ourselves to keep going.

Also remember that building better habits is not an all-or-nothing process. If you miss a day here or there, it won’t throw all your progress off.

Quick workout to pump up physical wellness

When we partake in physical activity, our brain gives us a dose of feel-good hormones (serotonin, oxytocin, & dopamine) PLUS it releases endorphins.

Endorphins are the body’s quick-release natural painkillers which can relieve stress and create a feeling of well-being. For this reason, they are still considered a feel-good hormone.

We also release endorphins when we laugh, fall in love, and even eat a delicious meal.

The following 10-minute workout is all about functional physical fitness. But what does that mean?

Functional fitness means we are training our bodies to properly execute particular moves that we do every day, multiple times a day. This helps train our bodies to do these moves in a proper way so we can prevent injuries.

Make sure you have a glass of water nearby and let’s get physical!

These moves are adaptable to chair or standing and are suitable for all abilities. They can be done with or without the weights – whatever you are more comfortable with.

Go at your own pace. If you need to lower the intensity, lower the number of reps you are doing and move at a slower pace with less range of motion. If you need more of a challenge, do 2-3 sets of these or increase the number of reps for each move.

Regular practice to maintain your physical wellness

It is a bit easier to feel the effects on your physical being after a workout, but you still have to keep it consistent for best results!

We have some great weekly classes (including some NEW ones coming up next month) that support physical wellness, such as:

• Yoga for Daily Life Movement
• Conditioning & Toning Bootcamp
• Adaptive Fitness & Strength Training
• Pilates for Core & Balance – NEW in February
• LIIT: Low-Impact Interval Training – NEW in February

If you haven’t tried a class before, feel free to use our code freebie to try your first class for free on us!

What is your favorite physical workout? Let us know in the comments!