“What do I need to do to feel really strong and fit for this summer?”

Right now, your fitness level might not be where you want it to be. You’re feeling the winter fluff a bit, and the idea of putting on your summer clothes, let alone a swimsuit, is a bit scary. Not only that, you want to be active this summer without being nervous about your body!

You’re thinking, “I need to workout”, but should you do cardio? Strength train? If strength training - how much, and which exercises? How do you balance it all out over the course of the week?

Things can start to look haphazard and disorganized if you’re not careful. When your fitness routine is random and disorganized, that’s when you don’t see the results

Speaking of haphazard…

The last couple weeks, my own fitness routine has been haphazard, and I’ve done a lot of sitting. Do you know what that resulted in?

• Something was going on with my hip socket - it feels unstable and wobby and I am NOT ok with that feeling
• My R knee feels weirdly stiff
• My SI joint was starting to bark at me again

Up here in North Idaho, the summer’s are amazing. There’s hiking, swimming, boating, we play soccer in the backyard and pickleball. My boys are 11 and 13 and so we stay super active. And as soon as I have that feeling of stiff, achy, wobbly joints, I’ll start running through the list of things I might not be able to do. That’s horrible.

When I think ahead to summer, I want to feel confident in my clothes and also have a strong and resilient body that’s not hampered by anything.

Here’s Your Workout Plan

Last week I covered the 3-step nutrition plan to start focusing on that will help you trim up and give you energy. Make sure to go back and listen to that episode.

We’re doing this coaching call style, where I’m eliminating any fluff and tell you point blank exactly what you should do to trim down and get healthier.

Today, I’m going to lay out your workout strategy. So go grab a pen and paper or open up your notes app, and be ready to jot some things down. This is going to be really tactical.

I’m going to assume:

• You don’t have any injuries to deal with - you’re just feeling out of shape.
• You’re over 40 or older and want to make sure this is compatible with where your hormones are at right now
• You also have bone health, muscle health, and even balance and mobility on your mind, too, and you’d like to fit all that in.

3-step fitness plan for getting in shape for the summer - super tactical

1) Go for a walk everyday

Here’s why I want you to do this:

• This gets you some conditioning for your heart and lungs, it’s a very low barrier to entry so it’ll be easier to be consistent with it, plus it’s one of the best things you can do to lower your stress hormones and manage your blood sugars - 2 really important things that you need to pay attention to in midlife
• 2 Styles of Walks:
  • Can be a power walk, jog, or walking hills a couple times a week to get the heart rate up and improve your stamina
  • Can be relaxing on other days to be rejuvenating, restorative and stress-relieving
• 15-45 minute long walks

2) Strength train 2-3 days a week

Here’s why I want you to do this:

• This is moderate to high intensity exercise, stimulates your muscles and bones, is the very best thing for your metabolism in the long term, plus it dramatically improves your body awareness and control
• Does not need to be weights, especially if you’re new to strength training
• no spot training - only full body, functional movements allowed
  • Target 3 main areas
    • core - plank, bridges, birddogs
    • upper body - rows, push-ups, shoulder press
    • lower body - squats, hip hinges, curtsy lunge

3) Do flexibility & balance work 2-3 days a week

Here’s why I want you to do this:

• Lighter activity which will help you recover from your other routines better, targets some key aspects of your fitness that are often overlooked as you get older
• It has to involve mobilizing your ankles, knees, hips and shoulders
  • The more dynamic the better,
  • but should feel like light to low moderate intensity - an easy day
  • Can be a combination of foam rolling, stretching, and yoga

Let’s now map this out on your calendar:

Monday: Strength train + short easy walk

Tuesday: Yoga + power walk

Wednesday: Strength train + short easy walk

Thursday: Yoga + power walk

Friday: Strength train + short easy walk

Saturday: Longer combo easy/power walk

Sunday: Off

Now listen, this might be a big jump from where you are right now. If you’re starting at nothing, we need to intentionally ease you into this with a strategy so that you don’t get injured or burnt out or feeling like it’s taking over your life. Just do the daily walks, that’s an easy one to get started with, and then I can help you introduce the strength training into your week.

Last week on the podcast I mentioned that I was going to give you a good discount on my Jumpstart 30 program, and I had a ton of people reach out to me over the weekend and say they missed the discount but really wanted to register.

So, let’s do it again!

Jumpstart 30 is my signature program for beginners where I help you get the ball rolling with a well-balanced daily routine. We work on the basics of strength training, balance, flexibility and stamina - plus I guide you through all of those nutrition habits that I taught you last week to help you get your nutrition dialed in.

If you’re feeling weak, out of shape, and a little too fluffy right now and would like to turn things around by this summer, Jumpstart 30 is for you, and I’m giving you 20% off if you use the coupon code SPRING24 at checkout. Head to vigeofit.com/jumpstart and enter SPRING24 at checkout.

The coupon code will expire on Thursday April 18th at noon PST.

It’s April right now, and you have a choice.

• You can do nothing or just random workouts here and there that are pretty disorganized and have no plan of progression, and you’ll find yourself this summer with a knee that’s bothering you out of the blue, a back that’s starting to act up, zero stamina and conditioning, and you’re going to have to say no to fun activities with your family. (Or push through and get yourself really injured.)
• OR - you can follow the steps I laid out today.
  • Go for a walk everyday
  • Start doing functional-style strength training 2-3 times a week
  • Do mobility work that also works on your balance 2-3 times a week

If you do this, you will go into summer in better shape than you have been in YEARS - without doing anything extreme!

Seriously, if you combine the nutrition plan I walked you through last week, with this fitness plan, you’re going to feel absolutely AMAZING in your body.

Real Story

One of the ladies in my Jumpstart 30 program is on Day 24 right now, I think, and she said that she’s shocked at how great she feels in such a short amount of time. She’s in her 50’s, had put on some weight in the past couple years, but more than that she just felt unhealthy and out of shape, and didn’t know where to start. Right now, just 24 days in, she’s feeling better than she’s felt in years and is excited to keep going and to finally be able to go on adventures this summer.

I want that for you, too.

If you need my help, go get yourself signed up for Jumpstart 30 right now. Don’t put this off.

• Follow this link and enter the coupon code SPRING24 at checkout to get 20% off
• As soon as you register, I’ll send you information on how to access the daily videos online through a secure login access
• And then we’ll be off to the races, all you have to do is follow my guidance each day and follow-along with the daily videos that are less than 15 minutes long.

More Resources & Links

The Jumpstart 30 Program for Beginners - Spring Flash Sale!! Enter coupon code SPRING24 at checkout to receive 20% off!!

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