Let’s Get Physical: Fitness Tips For Book Bloggers

Glee Let's Get Physical

Let's Get Physical

I’m just going to throw this out there, so please hold your righteous indignation inside, but I’m willing to bet, if you are reading this, you are like me — an Indoors kid. Oh yes, we were the kids picked last in gym class. We got excited when recess was held inside because of rain. There is nothing wrong with being an Indoor kid, but it may leave you with something to be desired in the fitness department.

I’ve noticed plenty of posts with resolutions to get into shape. As someone who has read Cosmo and Glamour religiously and went through a fitness nut phase in college, I thought I would share some obvious tips with you since I am down for getting physical.

1. Water. This should be the most obvi thing EVAR. Guys, soda will make you unhealthy and rot your teeth. Resist it’s delicious and drink water instead. Water will make you less thirsty and pee more. Yay water! This is hard for me, I have to have coffee in the AM or I get a headache. However, as water comes free out of the tap at home and at work, I think of my pocketbook and how much money I save and can subsequently spend on new books.

2. Gym Membership. Get one. No, seriously, it’ll be one of the best things you do for your fitness resolution. I mean, how many of us have treadmills in our house and a home gym? I have one, BUT I hate using it. When I haul my lazy butt to the gym I think, well I am paying $60 a month for this, might as well use it! That, and the machines are so much better than at home. Plus if elderly people can hop on a cardio machine, you bet your bottom dollar I can too!

3. Accountability. We all have real life friends. And if not, we all have twitter friends. Find a friend and force them to hold you accountable. Even if this person just asks you every day, did you go the gym, that counts. Or, if you are keeping a list on your blog of miles you’ve gone, that counts too. I know when my boyfriend asks me if I’ve gone to the gym, and I haven’t I start to feel guilty and wind up going, just because I like to please people. Now, we aren’t all people pleasers. So if you aren’t a people pleaser, get a hardass to be your accountability partner.

4. Audible/audiobooks. Well, you are a book blogger or a very big reader. If not, wtf are you doing here? Anyways, I am willing to bet you’ve heard of audible and you know what audiobooks are. These things help you read AND workout at the same time. If you are rich and banned from the library like me get an audible account, it’s only 14$ a month for an audiobook credit and you can listen on your phone! If you are poor and not banned from your library, did you know you can borrow audiobooks FO FREE. SO borrow those audiobooks and get your butt to the gym.

5. Change it up. Running, while amusing at first gets boring after awhile. So does elliptical. So does ARC climber, etc. If you find yourself getting bored with your workout, do something fun, like play Just Dance or Dance Dance Revolution. Go swimming. Walk your dog around the block. Shovel the driveway. Whatever, just do something different. Otherwise, you’ll lose motivation.

6. Park farther away. This is the wisdom of magazines not me. My lazy ass parks right next to the door, but hey, I guess this one works.

7. Finally, REWARD YOURSELF. Nothing says accomplishment like buying yourself some new books.

*This is not intended to insult, merely to be tongue-in-cheek.

How do you all stay in shape?

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April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.
About April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

Comments

  1. I go to the gym 4x/week but I’ve never tried listening to audiobooks there- I really should! It would probably work really well to keep me engaged and I could chip away at my TBR pile at the same time πŸ™‚

  2. Being a male, I was big on sports. Not all just soccer and track. But then I got injured in 05 and had to stop. And I never got motivated to try again after I healed up. I used to be 150 with an athletic body and went to 155 in the summer of 2010. Now I’m 163 and I’m starting to get a belly. I’ll definitely be drinking a lot more water instead of soda. Not only is it good but it helps the skin. I’ll get back to more running and maybe even join a gym.

    At least I know I’m not the only blogger doing this haha

  3. I was a reader but I was always outside during the day in the summer and snuggled up with a book all night.

    I definitely want to start listening to books and doing the elliptical or the bike. I know we’ve talked about this a few times. I think I need YOU as my accountability partner. lol. I know you’d tell me to get my lazy ass up and go work out! πŸ™‚

  4. Awesome advise, I need to do most of these. I have a gym membership but I don’t go as often as I should and I am definitely going to get an audible membership now to see if I can get motivated to go to the gym. =)

  5. haha too true…while I’m actually an athlete, I always need to get my butt in the gym no matter what…and I really should park father from stores πŸ˜‰

  6. I ran cross-country for a total of 8 years when you add up middle school, high school and college, so I don’t really count as one of these indoor kids you speak of πŸ˜› I actually love getting outside when I can to hike or bike or kayak.

    I applaud you encouraging all of your followers to get fit! Hooray for exercising!

  7. Great advice.
    eReaders are GREAT in the gym. Due to the large font they are easy to read on the elliptical machine (my personal favorite).

    http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

  8. My heart belongs to this post.

  9. Becky (Page Turners) says

    Great tips – I am starting a new job in the city the week after next and my plan is to join the gym right next to work so that I am more motivated to go. Can’t wait

  10. Jeez, I didn’t know it was possible to get banned from the library.
    Thanks for the (obvious) tips. I don’t need to lose any weight but I am horribly out of shape. It’s embarrassing. My laziness is an illness that infects my very being.

  11. Ugh, I’m definitely an indoor person, but these are great tips. I need to find someone to hold me accountable. Seriously though, how do you get banned from the library?

  12. Even though my fat ass should be taking notes on most of these helpful tips, I was most intrigued by the bit where you are banned from the library. Please tell me there is a super awesome story attached to this.

  13. I’d probably never read a fitness blog (do they even exist?) so it’s great that you posted this. I’m mostly an Indoor kid too, although I have gone through phases of being into running and bodyboarding. The only thing that’s worked for me for a long period is the Wii Fit. I’m into videogames as well as reading so nothing motivates me to get fit as much as beating my high score. Also, the Wii Fit kind of nags you if you start to perform worse, which is a good substitute for getting an actual person to nag you. I hadn’t thought of using audiobooks to make it more interesting, but I might check that out.

  14. This is an awesome post! I agree with all of the above. I’ve been doing really well cutting soda out of my diet, mostly thinking about my wallet, but having my body benefit too! Haha.

    Also, I know some people get dizzy, but I’m totally able to read on my iPad while on the elliptical, so I’m able to get lots of pages read, which is great. I also only let myself read the book I’m reading at the gym while I’m at the gym. So if I finish my workout and I’m at a really good part? Sorry! Have to wait until the next workout…which I can usually push up to the next day to finish the book.

    God, I’m such a book nerd πŸ™‚

  15. I’m a big, big fan of the gym. I used to try to get in shape using fitness dvds, but I never did it at home, so a gym subscription finally got me moving. I actually spent a lot more since I got a trainer and a nutritionist, but it totally paid off after so no regrets.

    I still go to the gym and attend some classes, and it’s helped me maintain my shape. I also join races to keep things competitive sometimes πŸ™‚ That, and I still stick to my diet (sort of, since I have cheat days). πŸ˜€

    I must try some audiobooks soon. It’s been a long time since I have listened to audiobooks, and I want to experience it while running or working out.:)

  16. I have a long way to go on the fitness train, but I am a fan of riding the stationary bike while reading. Hooray for the kindle or paperback books!

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