Create a fun exercise routine and you’ll have more success
Remember recess? You crisscrossed the school-yard, chasing besties and butterflies with joyful, heart-pounding abandon, and you embraced all that movement as your reward for sitting and paying attention in class all morning. If you can do the same as an adult—that is, choose an exercise routine that you love and that feels like a reward rather than a chore—you just may eat less afterward.
In a study1 out of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab in Ithaca, New York, researchers looked at the eating habits of people who had walked 2 kilometers (1¼ miles). Half the participants were told the walk was exercise, and the other half were told it was a scenic excursion. Those who walked “to work out” ate 35% more chocolate pudding afterward than the latter group. And on a different occasion, the “exercisers” ate 206 more calories than the sightseers—a 124% increase.
As the study shows, it’s all about the reward. If you think of your exercise routine as hard work, you reward yourself more with food afterward. The trick is to exercise in such a way that the movement itself feels like a reward—just like it did when you were a kid. Now that you’re an adult, know who you are, find what you love, and do it—that’s the mantra when it comes to choosing a workout plan.
Grab a pal.
Everything’s always more fun with a friend, right? Plus, a workout buddy will make you accountable. You’ll be more likely to get to Curves ladies only gym—and get there on time—if you know a friend is waiting there for you. Nice thing about Curves: there are potential workout buddies all around, in Curves classes and in the circuit. Just seeing friends—apart from the full body workout—can be a reward.
Join a Curves class.
To break up the whole body workout you get in the circuit, throw in a Curves class. Curves offers both higher intensity—Cardio and Boxing—and lower intensity—Body Basics and Balance—classes, where you can meet new members and mix up your exercise routine. MyCurves On Demand brings Curves’ 30-minute total body workout online so you can workout when you want. Your own workout program that can be done at home, while traveling, or just whenever and wherever it suits you.
Give yourself a reward.
For some added fun, reward yourself for every time you hit Curves for your full body workout. That reward can be anything you choose—an hour you can spend watching your favorite show, a dollar you put in a jar to save up for new workout attire, or an extra 15 minutes of sleeping in on Sunday morning. Just try not to make the reward food-oriented, and you’ll give yourself some added weight loss motivation!
Regularly complete your full body workout at Curves or on MyCurves On Demand, and you’ll get a win-win-win. Not only will you get in shape and meet some new fun friends, you’ll also be less likely to mindless eat and therefore, more apt to stick to your weight loss eating plan and succeed with your ultimate fitness relationship goals.
The Curves women’s gym workout is convenient, combining strength training and cardio plus stretching – all in just 30 minutes – to strengthen your whole body. For more information about Curves and the full body workouts the Curves Circuit provides, visit ‘Why Curves’.
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