3 Ways to Create an Active Lifestyle | Episode 134: Angie the Expert
Working out and living an active lifestyle are two completely different intentions when it comes to your physical fitness.
In this episode of the Carrying Connected Conversations podcast, Ang is sharing her expertise for your physical fitness journey, and more specifically creating an active lifestyle. We are discussing two different people in the world, those that love being active and tend to go overboard, and those that want to be active, but struggle on where to start. Ang shares that an active lifestyle is different from simply working out because your intention turns it into a lifestyle rather than another task you need to check off the to-do list. There are 3 main tips that Ang is sharing so you can create an active lifestyle, no matter where you are at in your journey. Whether you need to feel motivated to get off the couch, or you need to better prioritize which activities to focus on, this is the episode for you.
Listen to the episode now to start creating consistency with the right intention for all of your active lifestyle dreams.
You can continue reading about the conversation Syd & Ang had on the podcast through the transcript below.
Syd: Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Carrying Connected Conversations. This is Sydney and I am really excited for today’s conversation because it is Ang’s expert episode. She is bringing in her expertise on all things physical wellness. Today specifically we are talking about creating an active lifestyle. Ang has some great tips and information for us on how to create an active lifestyle and what that means.
Before we get into the episode let me introduce my co-host. Ang, how are you doing today?
Ang: Hey hey! I am doing quite well today. I am excited to be recording today’s episode with the place that I am in. If you have caught on from previous episodes there was a move and I have finally officially moved and this will allow this conversation to be in line with, not only what I am currently experiencing but also those of you that are also trying to create an active lifestyle.
Syd: Yes I love that! I don’t know if we’ve actually told the listener that you’ve moved. Unless they follow you on social media, they might not know that you’ve moved. There is a bomb drop that just happened.
Ang: I definitely remember hinting that there was a move, but I never officially said where it was.
Syd: Okay that makes sense. So exciting! I love it so much and I am always here for a move. I’m thinking “let’s go on an adventure” and I am always in different places so I don’t think I ever update the podcast on when I am in a new place.
Ang: That is so true!
Syd: We are not here to talk about that, although maybe it can be included in the conversation. We are here to talk about an active lifestyle and building an active lifestyle. To jump into the conversation, I have a question for you Ang. Now I know, and you know, and everyone should know this, everyone is different. Active can mean different things to different people, so what is the best starting point in creating an active lifestyle?
Ang: I love that we are starting with this because you are absolutely correct, everybody is different. Every body will have different demands and everyone will be expecting different things in their active lifestyle. I wasn’t going to start with this but I feel like it might be a good place to start. The reason behind everything when you are creating an active lifestyle, in my opinion, is that you have other components in your life figured out. If you don’t, then it’s important to start with that and what I mean by where to start is about creating pillars. I’ve spoken about this in previous episodes before. Pillars are anywhere from 3 to 5 different aspects of your life that mean so much to you. These are the foundation of who you are. My active lifestyle and physical fitness falls under my self-care pillar. There are other pillars that I have as well. I have my business, my relationships, my personal development and my self care. This isn’t to say that one is more important than the other, all four are important in my life. However, I get to choose when to put more of a focus on my self-care than my business, or on my personal development over my relationships. Having this foundation of where you are at in your life in order to create an active lifestyle will make things easier to add it into your individual pillars. For me, it’s in my self care pillar.
Once you figure out what pillar it is in, then you can determine why it’s important for you. Why is an active lifestyle important for you? For me, it’s because I love to do so many different things and I want to be able to physically keep up with the things I want to do.
Syd: You are saying the best starting point is really about getting clear on the pillars of your life overall. Knowing the general type of lifestyle you want to live so you can see how that activity or being active fits into your lifestyle and the pillars that you prioritize. Can you give a couple examples of what you prioritize in having an active lifestyle?
Ang: Yes absolutely. With this new move I’ve made there are a lot of new things changing. I’m glad you brought this question up because sometimes when you want to change a certain component of your life it can seem like there is a lot that you need to change. It’s a lot easier to focus on one thing at a time, rather than focusing on many things. When it comes to what you prioritize, at least in my life I’ve just joined a rock climbing gym, so I need to determine when I can fit in my rock climbing sessions. There is also a gym attached to the rock climbing, so then I need to determine when I am going to prioritize my gym sessions. There are a lot of areas where I can be hiking here and I need to look at how I want to fit this in.
The idea is that there are so many physical things that you can include into your schedule, but you don’t want to lead yourself to burnout. In order for you to figure out the prioritization of it all is for you to understand how it will have an impact on your body, why it is important for you to get rock climbing in before hiking. Obviously hiking is not involving your upper body, whereas rock climbing is.
Syd: That makes a lot of sense. For me personally, an active lifestyle is kind of like you explained, being able to go and do the things that I want to do that involve me being fit in some way or another. I don’t want to work out just so I am strong. I want to be active so I can go for hikes. When I have children I can play with my children and not feel like I am tired all of the time. Having that fit active lifestyle, I don’t really know how to explain it other than that. For me, at least in this stage of my life, I am trying to fit in yoga more because I go for plenty of walks. It’s easy for me to go for walks which involve the ability to hike. Like you just said, I don’t get upper body strength. For me, yoga is becoming helpful because it’s not only about stretching, because I do sit in front of a computer for my job, it also allows me to focus more on my upper body strength and mobility and flexibility. Is that what you are explaining? This is what would work for me in being different?
Ang: Absolutely, and I am really glad you touched on this. Obviously our lives are completely different, so our activities are going to be different. You did talk about how when you are working you are sitting a lot and you want to use yoga as a practice because when you are sitting down you are in a very forward position. Now that you are actively practicing yoga it's to really open up your chest. Your why is because you don’t want to be stuck in that forward leaning position. Same thing is with your walks, you are wanting to get your walks in because you are always at your computer. I know for you specifically Syd it’s important for you to get outside, that nature component is super important for you.
Syd: Ya you are exactly right. Going outside is super important for me and that is again how it connects that active lifestyle. For my pillars of connecting with the Universe and my spirituality, being outside is a huge part of it and that really ties in with the active lifestyle. Before I get to my next question I want to point out, because you said while I am sitting at a computer and am hunched over yoga is really good for stretching, it’s actually something that I learned from you which makes me realize I tie in an active lifestyle in my daily work while I am at my computer. My posture is something I was really wanting to work on. I sit on the ground, mainly because it’s more comfortable for me, where some people probably think I am weird. I am sitting on the ground up against the wall while I am on the computer. I will take breaks throughout the day. If I notice I’m leaning forward a lot I will stretch out and put my arms against the wall like a cactus and do some stretching. It makes me think that I am bringing an active lifestyle into other areas of my pillars.
Ang: Exactly and I wanted to point out too that not everyone is working at a desk. If you are on your feet all day on hard concrete you are most likely going to have a lot of low back pain because of that hard impact on the ground. Those people that have that type of work will be more inclined to do yoga to stretch out their lower backs. The active lifestyle that you are creating is already complimenting the life you are living. It’s not that you are trying to add something more, you are trying to figure out better ways in order to keep up with the consistency of the activity of it all.
Syd: I love that! I love that perspective on it because it’s really like a preventative way. You are already living your life in a specific way, so it’s not about throwing in all these extra things like working out and going to the gym. Instead it’s about what subtle shifts and subtle additions can you include in your life, and maybe it’s preventative like yoga. It’s about creating a lifestyle to be active, not so you are running marathons or climbing Mt. Everest, if that’s your jam then go for it, but it’s mainly about having a healthy body and your physical wellness is top notch.
Ang: Exactly and that is where I was saying that you don’t want to throw in all of the changes all at once because you can lead yourself to burnout. Funny enough with my big move I have been wanting to over indulge in all of the things and I have to be mindful moving forward. It’s hard to change everything at once. Let’s use the example of not having worked out for a long time and then one week you start on a monday and you go to the gym every single day. By Thursday or Friday you are so burnt out that you become less inclined to go back to the gym the next week because your body still needs to recover. When you are creating an active lifestyle it’s about complimenting what you are already doing and it’s not to change everything. If you are wanting to add in a couple work out sessions then do that once, or twice a week, then on the next week reevaluate it. You are constantly adjusting your schedule based on what is working and what is not working.
Syd: I think that makes a lot of sense, especially for the people who are naturally active. You are coming from a perspective where you work with many different people so you can see things from many different perspectives in this regard. For you personally, you grew up being a very active person and you have the natural tendency of being in a new place and being excited about your activity.
My next question is for the other people. For me personally, it can be hard to find the motivation, especially if I feel like I am starting from scratch. I haven’t been doing yoga for a number of months now. I did my first yoga practice last night in a long time. It can have that feeling of starting from scratch. How can we best stay accountable, especially when we are feeling unmotivated?
Ang: I love that. My straightforward answer is that consistency is key. I want to break that down. Some people think consistency means go balls to the wall, go full ham, give it 100% and that is consistent. No, consistency can be small, but it can also be built on. Let’s use your example Syd, you said you haven’t been as super active in the yoga component. You already know what is going on in your life, so is there a time in your week where you can give yourself maybe 30 minutes rather than an hour session. If you think you can absolutely plug that in, you do that for one week. Then for week number two you are going to do that exact same thing. You’ve only added in one thing because you started small. Now as your week progresses, you did it and you are automatically going to be motivated to do it again. You are going to create another new base level where you are doing 2 workout sessions in a week. Now you pop into week three and you do your 2 sessions and you want to add in a third. The motivation is created based on consistency. If you are not consistent with it, then the motivation is not going to come.
Another way to look at it, coming back to the pillars, when you are figuring out why those pillars are important to you, maybe you’ll determine that yoga doesn’t fit your pillars. Maybe a foam rolling session is better, or maybe going to an actual yoga studio is better rather than creating your own yoga practice.
Syd: That makes a lot of sense. Just because I said that I want to do a yoga practice doesn't mean that I am doing it in the right way, or if I am feeling unmotivated it’s the reminder that I could do things differently. Rather than doing an at home practice I could go to an actual class. I don’t need to set up a YouTube video on my own, I could just go and I am there. It’s at a scheduled time and all I have to do is show up and then listen to the instructor. It’s interesting too because for myself, throughout the months I haven’t been doing yoga I’ve written it on my to-do list. I think I had this perspective of when was the best time of day to do it and then I didn’t end up prioritizing it at that time because I had other things that were more important. I had this belief that if I don’t do it by a certain time then I’m not going to do it and I couldn’t really see myself doing yoga in the evenings, whereas last night the exact same thing happened where I didn’t do yoga during the day and I got home from my walk, I made banana oatmeal muffins, then I sat down and relaxed. While I was making dinner I realized I hadn’t done my yoga practice yet. I had decided I was going to eat and enjoy my dinner, watch one episode on Netflix, then get up and do my yoga for half an hour and then I’ll still have time to watch more Netflix after. I never normally do yoga in the evenings and this helped me to see it was possible for me. Like you said, figuring out whether it’s important, if it's non negotiable and whether or not I want to include it in my life.
Ang: Absolutely. I made a little mock list for people who might be experiencing the same problem you were. So if you are skipping something that you want to do, there is most likely one of three things that is going on. Number one your why isn’t strong enough. Number two you are changing too much at once. Number three, which we haven’t talked about yet, you are not organizing your energy. What I mean by this is that sometimes we forget the things that we love love love to do. You love to go outside and do your hikes, well if you are trying to get something in addition to an active lifestyle that is going to compliment what you are already doing, then why not do the yoga session before you go for your hike. When you can tap into that feeling of how you feel after you’ve done something, for example the hike you know you will feel super energized and rejuvenated right after you come back. If you know you will feel great doing that and you will also feel great doing the yoga session, you can do the yoga before your hike which will not only compliment the hike because things become loose and limber for you. You also extend the feeling of feeling good and this is what I was talking about in regards to the motivation, it comes from consistency. If you can prioritize the timing of when you are wanting to do those certain activities you are more likely to do them. I love how you talked about having one episode to watch, then you pause it to practice yoga and then come back to what you were enjoying doing before. This is because you love what you are doing and you are now organizing your energy in a way that actually benefits you and not in a way that is going to exhaust you and over do it, which can make you resent it.
Syd: That makes a lot of sense. I think this is one of the reasons why I didn’t prioritize yoga for the last several months because in organizing my energy it’s almost as if I created a limiting mindset for myself. I created this belief of when I wouldn’t have energy in the evenings so I wouldn't want to do yoga in the evenings, so yoga in the evenings is not an option. If I don’t do yoga by a certain time then that’s it I don’t get it done for the day. I very much created a limiting perspective on when I could do it because I believed that I wasn’t going to have the energy to do it. Whereas why can’t I just go on a day by day basis? Maybe I will have the energy to do it. Or maybe I will see that actually it energizes me.
Ang: Oh 100%. There are two things I want to point out on what you just said because sometimes we do get caught up in wanting to do something and then getting caught up in all the other things that are important. I think it’s very important to assess your weeks on a week by week basis going off of two simple questions. What worked and what didn’t work? Then it’s a lot easier for you to move through the work without creating self-doubt and self-judgment. You aren’t demotivating yourself for not having done the things you wanted to do, instead you are looking at it from an objective standpoint by saying you didn’t get it done because you didn’t plan your yoga session or your hike that day in a way that made sense, hence why you skipped it. Next week you can plug it in differently. If you are constantly trying to do the same thing over and over and get a different result it's the definition of insanity and it won’t work. You need to do something differently. When you evaluate it from a what worked and what didn’t work perspective it becomes a lot easier to make the subtle changes.
The other thing I wanted to touch on is, have you ever heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Syd: Mhmm yup!
Ang: Okay, I don’t know it perfectly, but I have made my own little graph that kind of coincides with it. It’s to say that your safety is the bottom foundation. If you aren't feeling safe or secure then everything else is off kilter. For me, my hierarchy of needs is based on my fitness because for me my fitness is my foundation. If I am not doing anything fit in my life then things are going to feel a little weird. Once I figure out what I like to do for fitness then I can figure out the healthy habits that are going to compliment me and my fitness. This is where things can be a little bit different for each person. I like to have a support system right on top of that because the support system not only keeps you accountable, but it keeps you motivated. You stay motivated based on the consistency you are creating and the accountability you are giving and receiving from that person, the support system. It doesn;t have to be a coach, it can be a friend that is your workout buddy. There are two steps on top of that which is where your confidence in yourself starts increasing overtime because as you keep doing things more often you are going to be more motivated and then you create the confidence within yourself that shows yourself you can do it. This will give you the desire to keep going. That is how I have created Maslow's hierarchy of needs based on my fitness lifestyle. I need that fitness in my life and there are ways that I can complement that fitness and that is about going up the hierarchy. It might be a little different per person and you need to create consistency in order to feel the confidence in yourself to then reach out to a support system to keep going. Or vice versa.
Syd: That makes a lot of sense in what you are saying. You said earlier that having a strong why is really important, then you mentioned that having the check in on a week to week basis of what worked, what didn’t work is also a time to then check in with your why. Is your why strong enough to keep you accountable in showing up? Having that support system is huge in all aspects of life. The key to life is connection, we are here to connect with other people and so being able to connect in ways where we not only need support, but where support can be really beneficial in doing things that may be a bit uncomfortable or we are trying to create a change. Having support in this is massive and it can help us so much.
I love all of the tips you are sharing in being able to create an active lifestyle. I want to know as we wrap things up today, is there anything else that you’d like to share that maybe you had wanted to share that you didn’t get a chance to point out?
Ang: Ya, I think this might be a good overall tip for those that, again, are either trying to create more of an active lifestyle or are trying to maintain an active lifestyle. It’s the intentionality behind your movement. I want to simplify this for you. Let’s say you have a set of stairs that you have to go up and down to do your laundry. That moment when you first take a step, rather than going right to the laundry room and doing your laundry, you can notice that you are doing something physical. You are engaging your glutes, your hamstrings etc. and you can ask yourself, “have I done something physical this week?” If the answer is no, then why not go up and down the stairs a few extra times. It’s creating intentional movement based on what you are already doing, but not having to go above and beyond. It doesn’t mean that you have to stop the laundry momentum to go to a gym and come back. Just create a little more intentionality in your movement because again, consistency is key. The more often you become intentional with your movements physically the easier it’s going to be for you to want to schedule it in and then actually complete it.
Syd: I love that. It really is breaking down the concept of active lifestyle. You are simply living your life, yet you are bringing the idea of being active into each moment. What you just explained reminds me of the idea of presence.
Ang: Yes!
Syd: So often we are in our minds thinking about all the things we still have to do. Especially when we are doing our laundry we think of all the other household tasks we need to do, then we think of everything we need to do for work and then if you have kids you are thinking of that. It really is about bringing in the concept of presence and recognizing, “hey I am walking down the stairs right now, I am using my muscles” then you have the intentionality of recognizing if you’ve done anything active that day to then tie more activity into the moment. It really is making it more simple then what we believe it needs to be.
Ang: Exactly! If you are someone like me that loves to do every single thing at all times of the day, that is totally fine, but that’s because it works for me and my lifestyle. As you said Syd, it’s a matter of finding what works for you because everybody is different and everyone has a different way of living. It’s about finding a way to live an active lifestyle that compliments you rather than one that takes you away from what you are already doing.
Syd: Ya, that is really good. If you love to hike and go on adventures but you can only do them on the weekends because you have an office job during the week. It’s about looking into what you can do during the week to make yourself stronger or more ready to prepare you to enjoy. That is what you are saying, if you want an active lifestyle it’s because you want to enjoy the activity. Even if you like going to the gym and that is what you want to do, what other things can you prepare to do to enjoy the gym. Maybe you need to tie in more stretching or have a better sleep schedule. I’m sure that ties in.
Ang: Absolutely. It can even be about preparing you for the opposing muscles because hiking is all lower body. If you are at the office maybe you can do a couple wall pushups in between meetings. A perfect way to expel your energy, but also help you prepare for your hike the coming weekend.
Syd: Yes! I love this so much! There is so much goodness. I want to thank you Ang for sharing this, breaking it down and simplifying it. There are so many tips that you shared, so listener, if you didn’t have a journal, what are you doing? Go back, listen to it again and write down those key tips. The ones that stand out to me most is having the strong why, doing the week by week check in on what worked and what didn’t work. Starting out small to not change everything at once. It’s almost like you are walking up the ladder of consistency. If you want to start at 5 days a week chances are you aren’t going to be consistent. Then of course the support. I know my mom started a challenge with her best friend so they could be more fit in their everyday life. It was about how many days in the month they wanted to work out and then having an accountability partner to stay supported. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge on creating an active lifestyle and like I said, simplifying it. I think that is huge for us. Is there anything else you want to share before we close out?
Ang: Nope I think that is perfect. I can keep giving out suggestions, but like you said if you didn’t have a listener then go back and write down those tips.
Syd: For the listener if there is something you want to know more about in physical wellness, fitness, nutrition, self-love, then send us an email. All of the links are in the description below and then Ang will have an idea of what topics to bring forward on her next expert call. Hit the 5 star rating button if you enjoyed listening.
Next week I am coming in with my expert chat and really switching things up showing the variety of what Ang and I share. I will be talking about Spirit Guides and I will share the 3 Spirit Guides you need to be connecting with, so stay tuned for that next week. We are sending you so much love and light for now and we will chat at you next week. Bye everyone.
Ang: Bye!