How I Am Getting My Fitness In This Summer While Still Fully Enjoying It

 

Summer can make it feel like fitness has to wait.

The schedule is looser, the kids are home, trips are happening, weekends are fuller, and suddenly your normal routine feels harder to hold onto. So you tell yourself you are being flexible, you are enjoying the season, you will get back to it later.

But then later keeps getting pushed back.

And instead of feeling free, you start feeling off, tired, frustrated, and disconnected from yourself.

In this bonus episode of Embrace Your Real, I’m sharing the simple summer fitness commitment that is helping me stay consistent without making the season feel strict. We are talking about why waiting for motivation does not work, how a few non negotiables can make fitness feel easier, and why getting it done first can help you enjoy the rest of your day without guilt sitting in the background.

What’s Discussed:

  • How to stay consistent without needing a perfect routine

  • Why making movement optional can leave you feeling less like yourself

  • The simple movement and strength commitments I’m using this summer

  • Why removing the daily decision makes follow-through easier

  • How to keep showing up when travel, kids, and loose schedules are in the mix

  • Why consistency can help you enjoy summer with more energy and less guilt

The Movement With Julie app is there when you need your workouts to be simple, effective, and easy to fit into real life. You’ll get 30-minute and 60-minute options, home and gym workouts, band-friendly options, five brand new workouts every week, and exercise swaps for limited equipment so you can stay consistent wherever summer takes you. Head to movementwithjulie.com to get started.

If you loved this episode, you’ll also love Episode 619: 7 Unconventional Ways to Stay Consistent and Actually See Results. It is the perfect next listen if you want to understand what makes consistency stick during summer and every other season of life.

If you want more from me, be sure to check out…

Transcript

(0:00) Hey, hey beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you (0:06) but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter.

(0:13) I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. (0:19) Stay tuned if you're ready to Embrace Your Real. Let's get it, let's go.

(0:32) Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode on the Embrace Your Real podcast. (0:36) All right, today's episode is going to be a little bit different from our usual episodes because I'm not here to teach you anything today. (0:41) I'm not here to give you any framework or strategy or list of things to implement.

(0:46) I am just here to share what I'm actually doing this summer like my real routine, my real mindset, my real approach to staying consistent (0:53) while also fully enjoying the season of life that I'm in because I get asked all the time (0:58) how are you staying consistent in the summer? Like how do you show up when the schedule is unpredictable? (1:03) The kids are home, vacations are happening, life just feels a little bit more loose and free than usual. (1:08) And my honest answer is very simple. It might surprise you.

I just do it. Like that's it. That's the whole answer.

(1:13) Before we dive in though, I want to share just how much I appreciate every single one of you guys's reviews. (1:19) They really do mean the world to me and our team. If you haven't left a review or maybe you haven't left a review in a while, (1:24) if you could scooch over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating interview, that would mean the absolute world to me and our team.

(1:29) Just kind of know how maybe a specific episode was helping you or just the podcast in general, I would love to hear it. (1:36) All right, we're going to dive right into it. So let me tell you exactly what my summer fitness routine looks like right now (1:40) because I think sometimes hearing what someone else is actually doing in real life, not the perfectly curated version, (1:46) the real version is more helpful than any list of tips that I could give you.

(1:51) So here's what I personally have committed to this summer. That's two miles of movement every single Monday through Friday. (1:57) That's a non-negotiable.

It can be a run. It can be a walk. It doesn't matter.

(2:01) But personally for me, it gets done first thing in the morning before our schedules get crazy. (2:06) And on top of that, I am committing to at least three strength training sessions per week. (2:11) Sometimes that's 60 minutes.

Sometimes that's 30 minutes, whatever the day allows. (2:15) But those three days are happening no matter what. (2:19) And this is my summer commitment personally, and I'm not making it optional.

(2:23) Like two things, two miles Monday through Friday and three strength training sessions per week. (2:28) That's it. Simple, clear, non-negotiable.

And here's the thing about commitment. (2:32) I'm not waking up every morning and asking myself if I feel like doing it. (2:36) I'm not checking in with my motivation levels or seeing how tired I am or deciding in the moment (2:40) whether today is a good day for it.

It's just happening. It's already decided. (2:45) The decision was made and now I just execute it every morning.

(2:49) And I think that there's so something really powerful about removing that option. (2:53) Like when something is a non-negotiable, you stop wasting energy debating it. (2:57) You stop the back and forth in your head, like, should I, shouldn't I, (3:00) should I, should I, shouldn't I, like, do I have time? (3:03) Maybe I'll do it later.

And then that later never comes. (3:05) We all know that, right? So when I wake up in the morning, (3:09) my only question is, am I walking or am I running today? (3:12) And that's really the only decision I'm making. (3:15) And that simplicity for me is everything.

(3:17) Personally, when I travel, my resistance bands come with me. (3:20) No exceptions because summer means travel, of course. (3:23) And travel is not going to be the reason why I fall off.

(3:26) You know, I've done full band workouts in hotel rooms, in Airbnb's, on vacation porches. (3:30) And I'm proud of every single one of them, not because they were perfect, (3:33) but because I showed up anyways. (3:35) Now, here's the part that I really want you to hear.

(3:37) The reason that I'm personally enjoying the summer so fully (3:40) and the reason I feel present at all of the get togethers, (3:44) I'm excited for the vacations and just genuinely happy in my everyday life (3:48) is because I'm getting it done. (3:51) Like, that's it. That's the whole secret.

(3:52) When I get my miles in the first, done first thing in the morning (3:55) and I get outside, I get sunshine, I get the fresh air, (3:58) I get to check that box for the day before the day even fully starts. (4:03) And that feeling for me personally, that I already did something for myself today, (4:07) that changes everything that comes after it. (4:10) I make better choices.

I have more energy. I feel like myself. (4:13) And because I feel like myself, I'm able to show up fully for everything else.

(4:17) And when I stay consistent with my string training, I personally feel strong. (4:21) I feel capable. I feel confident.

(4:23) I do not have that nagging heaviness in the background (4:25) that just kind of follows me around. (4:27) You know, when you've been neglecting yourself, (4:29) there's no guilt sitting underneath the fun, right? (4:32) There is no, I should be doing more running through my mind (4:35) while I'm trying to be present with my family, my husband, my child. (4:39) I'm just genuinely free.

(4:40) Like I'm fully and genuinely free to really enjoy every single part of the summer. (4:45) And that freedom I have found comes directly from just getting it done. (4:49) Because here's what I know to be true.

(4:50) When I skip my workouts, when I let my summer schedule become an excuse, (4:53) when I keep making my fitness optional, I do not enjoy my summer more. (4:58) I enjoy it less. I feel less energized.

I feel less motivated. (5:01) Less like myself, the guilt creeps in and the heaviness creeps in. (5:04) And then suddenly the thing that I was trying to protect by skipping, (5:07) my rest, my fun, my freedom, that gets stolen away anyways.

(5:11) Like just by a different thief, right? (5:13) But when I just do it, when I just stop making it a question (5:16) and start making it happen, everything opens up. (5:19) The rest of the day feels lighter. The fun feels lighter and fuller.

(5:22) The summer feels like exactly what it's supposed to feel, (5:24) which is joyful and free and energizing (5:27) because I'm not carrying the weight of knowing (5:29) that I have been letting myself down. (5:31) So that's my challenge to you today. (5:33) I want you to stop making your fitness optional this summer.

(5:36) I want you to pick your non-negotiables. (5:37) Maybe that's miles. Maybe it's strength days.

(5:40) Maybe it's both. And just decide, make the decision once (5:42) and then just execute it every morning (5:45) before the day has a chance to talk you out of it. (5:48) You know, and I will be honest with you, (5:50) there are certain days, like a couple days ago, (5:52) we had haircuts in the morning.

(5:53) I had to get the haircuts done. (5:55) And then I just did it later in the day. (5:57) Like there's just a non-negotiable.

(5:59) When it's in my mind, like sometimes the schedules can't change (6:02) and you have something first thing in the morning, that's okay. (6:04) Let the non-negotiable be okay. (6:06) Well, then I'm doing it from the 4 to 5 p.m hour.

(6:08) Like you just have to make it a non-negotiable (6:11) and just get it done. (6:12) And then go fully enjoy every single second (6:15) of whatever else you are doing throughout the summer. (6:18) And if you need a program that makes those strength days (6:20) simple and effective, (6:22) that's exactly what I built my Moom and Julie community for.

(6:25) There's 30 or 60 minute options, (6:27) Dumbo workouts for everything, (6:29) and new workouts release on Saturdays at 8 a.m. (6:32) every single week. (6:33) All you have to do is just show up and get it done. (6:35) No matter where the summer takes you.

(6:37) We also have travel band only workouts (6:40) in the flex workout section of the app. (6:42) So if you want to learn more, you can go to sale. (6:44) That's S-A-L-E dot Moom with Julie dot com.

(6:47) But other than that, you guys, (6:48) I hope that this was helpful for you. (6:50) If you want to go deeper and actually figure out like, (6:53) okay, how can I actually make consistency work? (6:56) Not just in the summer, but all year round. (6:59) I have an episode for you, episode 619, (7:01) seven unconventional ways to stay consistent (7:04) and actually see results.

(7:06) I will link that in the show notes below. (7:07) If this episode resonated with you, (7:09) would you just screenshot it, share it to your stories, tag me. (7:11) I want to know what your summer non-negotiables are.

(7:14) If you are following me on my personal page, (7:16) Julie A. Ledbetter, I am posting my daily runs, my walks, (7:19) and I am encouraging you to honor your body with movement (7:21) because I truly, truly believe (7:24) that that's where it all begins. (7:26) When you make that decision, (7:27) when you make that non-negotiable to honor your body, (7:29) whether it's a walk, it's a run, (7:31) it's a strength training session, it's a mobility, (7:33) it's Pilates, whatever it is, whatever brings your heart joy (7:36) and allows you to fully just enjoy movement, do it. (7:41) But when you make that decision a non-negotiable, (7:43) I promise all the other decisions throughout the day, (7:46) they just allow you to flow.

(7:48) But I promise you all the other decisions (7:50) throughout the day, they just are better. (7:53) You make better decisions. (7:54) So thank you, thank you, thank you for tuning in.

(7:57) I hope that this was helpful for you (7:59) and just reminding you that you need (8:01) to create some non-negotiables this summer (8:03) so that you can get your butt in gear, stay consistent, (8:06) even though we are in July, (8:07) you still have so much more time in the summer, all right? (8:11) I believe in you, you've got this, (8:13) I love you so damn much, I mean it, (8:14) and I'll talk to you in the next one. (8:24) All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, (8:27) but I have two things that I need you to do. (8:30) First thing, if you are not already following me on the Gram, (8:33) be sure to do so, Julie A. Ledbetter, (8:35) yes, it's with an A in the middle, (8:37) for that daily post-workout real talk, (8:40) healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability (8:42) to keep your mind and heart in check.

(8:45) The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts (8:48) to never miss an episode. (8:50) Thank you so much for joining me. (8:53) It means the absolute world (8:54) and I'm going to leave you with one last thought.

(8:57) The most beautiful women that I have met in my life (8:59) are the ones who are completely confident and secure (9:03) in being authentically themselves. (9:06) Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface, (9:09) so go out there and embrace your real (9:12) because you're worth it.

 
Julie Ledbetterembrace your real, q and a, workouts, scheduleComment