Make a Fitness Tradition

The holiday season is probably the biggest time of year for traditions. Just yesterday, my family and I gathered together for the traditional Christmas-time assembling of the pasteles (a Latin American dish typically comprised of a soft, savory green banana mixture wrapped around a meat filling). We make enough for all the households to split, store in our freezers and eat throughout the year. 

Traditions can be very hard to resist. Once we get in the habit of doing something at the same special recurring moments, those habits come to represent the moment and we may come to view them as inseparable from the time. While long-held traditions play an important role in our histories, families & memories, my favorite kind are the new traditions. The ones we are inspired to create somewhere along the way, as we move through life.

Today I'm inspired to share a tip with you for making fitness easy and fun by harnessing the irresistible power of traditions. Traditions can be about anything. They can be made for any reason, at any time. So then, why not make a fitness tradition?


I realized today that fitness traditions have become a major part of my life. When my husband and I first moved into our home, we started attending a Saturday morning yoga class at our local gym. Seven years later, we have only missed a class if our instructor was absent, or if we were out of town, and in both cases we always have a back-up class in our back pocket so we still don't miss a weekend yoga session. Saturday morning is yoga time and that is that. It's fun and it gives us something to bond over every week.

For years now, when my sister or aunt throw a family gathering, the evening often ends in a dance workout showdown. It used to be that I would bring over Zumba videos or DVDs. Now, my nieces and nephew will set up their Just Dance game on the Wii and the entire family will take turns pairing up and competing against each other. Even new guests are required to loosen up and join in the fun. By the end of the night we are all sweating and laughing...and the photos are priceless!

When my husband and I travel we always work at least one major physical activity into our plans. Travel workouts can be spontaneous and completely free (like the morning hikes we took in Greece) or much more organized (like the horseback riding we did in Argentina), or they may fall somewhere in between (if you already have experience, renting a kayak can be done with minimal planning, cost or instruction). The key is to do something that is fun and true to the nature of the place you are visiting. If you are visiting a town where the locals primarily use bicycles to get around, why not go for a bike ride?

The best part about the traditions I've mentioned is that they come at times (weekends, parties, vacations) when it is easy to fall off track and skip the workout for another day. Plus, they become less about getting exercise and more about the fun they bring to the moment (the fact that you are exercising is a bonus!).

In the spirit of the holiday season, a time brimming with traditions, why not consider inventing your own fitness tradition? Perhaps at the start of each new year you select a new physical activity you will try. Over time you will build quite the repertoire and eventually something may stick and become a regular workout routine! Even having a gym buddy can become a fitness tradition when you develop a regular routine around your paired workouts. Perhaps you and your buddy will have a favorite class you always attend together or maybe you always stop for a cup of coffee and a chat together after the workout (an incentive to keep your fitness date in the first place).

Give it a try and in the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy a happy and healthy season of traditions!

Cheers!
Diane


Image: FitSugar.com

The holiday season is probably the biggest time of year for traditions. Just yesterday, my family and I gathered together for the traditional Christmas-time assembling of the pasteles (a Latin American dish typically comprised of a soft, savory green banana mixture wrapped around a meat filling). We make enough for all the households to split, store in our freezers and eat throughout the year. 

Traditions can be very hard to resist. Once we get in the habit of doing something at the same special recurring moments, those habits come to represent the moment and we may come to view them as inseparable from the time. While long-held traditions play an important role in our histories, families & memories, my favorite kind are the new traditions. The ones we are inspired to create somewhere along the way, as we move through life.

Today I'm inspired to share a tip with you for making fitness easy and fun by harnessing the irresistible power of traditions. Traditions can be about anything. They can be made for any reason, at any time. So then, why not make a fitness tradition?


I realized today that fitness traditions have become a major part of my life. When my husband and I first moved into our home, we started attending a Saturday morning yoga class at our local gym. Seven years later, we have only missed a class if our instructor was absent, or if we were out of town, and in both cases we always have a back-up class in our back pocket so we still don't miss a weekend yoga session. Saturday morning is yoga time and that is that. It's fun and it gives us something to bond over every week.

For years now, when my sister or aunt throw a family gathering, the evening often ends in a dance workout showdown. It used to be that I would bring over Zumba videos or DVDs. Now, my nieces and nephew will set up their Just Dance game on the Wii and the entire family will take turns pairing up and competing against each other. Even new guests are required to loosen up and join in the fun. By the end of the night we are all sweating and laughing...and the photos are priceless!

When my husband and I travel we always work at least one major physical activity into our plans. Travel workouts can be spontaneous and completely free (like the morning hikes we took in Greece) or much more organized (like the horseback riding we did in Argentina), or they may fall somewhere in between (if you already have experience, renting a kayak can be done with minimal planning, cost or instruction). The key is to do something that is fun and true to the nature of the place you are visiting. If you are visiting a town where the locals primarily use bicycles to get around, why not go for a bike ride?

The best part about the traditions I've mentioned is that they come at times (weekends, parties, vacations) when it is easy to fall off track and skip the workout for another day. Plus, they become less about getting exercise and more about the fun they bring to the moment (the fact that you are exercising is a bonus!).

In the spirit of the holiday season, a time brimming with traditions, why not consider inventing your own fitness tradition? Perhaps at the start of each new year you select a new physical activity you will try. Over time you will build quite the repertoire and eventually something may stick and become a regular workout routine! Even having a gym buddy can become a fitness tradition when you develop a regular routine around your paired workouts. Perhaps you and your buddy will have a favorite class you always attend together or maybe you always stop for a cup of coffee and a chat together after the workout (an incentive to keep your fitness date in the first place).

Give it a try and in the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy a happy and healthy season of traditions!

Cheers!
Diane


Image: FitSugar.com