Hello and happy Monday!

As I move into the last couple weeks of second year (crazy!) and prepare for my 6-weeks of board studying I’ve been really thinking about how I’m going to maintain my fitness goals. It’s somewhat of a med student inside joke that your body turns into a jiggly, out of shape blob during board studying. That doesn’t super appealing and so I’m committing myself to staying active, and not falling into that trap.

A meta-analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine recently reported that sedentary behavior is not, in fact, completely neutralized by exercise. That means that intense exercise doesn’t make up for all the intense sitting we do all day! It’s more about maintaining a level of activity during the day on top of our dedicated “workout” time. It’s kind of scary to think of the damage we do to our bodies by sitting all day. It’s somewhat ironic that while I study and learn to be a healer, I’m simultaneously compromising my own health by being so sedentary. Luckily, there are so many ways to get around that!

I recently rediscovered Blogilates by Cassey Ho. Blogilates is an amazing fitness resource and it’s totally free - all you have to do is sign up for their newsletter in order to unlock the exclusive workout plan for the month. There are other features that don’t even require an email  like her meal plans, ab/thigh/arm challenges, workout calendars, before & after stories, and even recipes. I admire Cassey’s story  and her ability to bring something she is so passionate about to life! I personally love pilates, but classes can be really pricey. Cassey’s signature “POP pilates” style isn’t only free, but it’s pilates that you can do anywhere, whenever. All you need is a mat and some motivation!

One of my favorite workouts is her Pick-Me-Up Quickie Workout. I’ve been using it as a healthy study break!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/embed/PySN5tabiLQ[/embed]

My typical workout regimen is composed of 4-5 60-minute sessions on my elliptical while watching lectures or occasionally some Netflix. Although using my elliptical at 100% incline and the highest resistance is a fantastic cardio workout, it can be hard to target other very important muscle groups including my core and arms. I’ve been sticking to my elliptical workouts and have seen some great results as far as getting leaner and having more energy in general but I’m excited to incorporate Blogilates to my routine. I’m going to start the April “Aprilates” schedule today after my elliptical workout!

Since coming off my meds I have a newfound motivation for fitness and wellness in general. I’ve been making some adjustments to my diet that I hope will be easily maintained long-term, and I look forward to blogging about it. Living a healthy lifestyle is just that - a lifestyle. That means making lasting changes and truly committing yourself to doing what is best for your your body, mind and soul. We are multifaceted beings and the care we give ourselves should be, too.

Have a wonderful, productive week!  