Happy Friday!! I just know this weekend is going to be a good one! We have some fun stuff planned, the weather is supposed to be beautiful, and we’re going to eat some good food. All of that piled into one weekend makes me a happy camper. 
I’ve done a couple “Friday Favorites” posts in the past (Friday [Blog] Favorites & Friday [Recipe] Favorites), and today I’m bringing it back again! Several of you have been asking how I’ve been doing with my recent plan to exercise less and what I’ve been doing for my low intensity exercise.
I’ve been dealing pretty well with the whole “exercise less” plan. Some days it’s hard, but most days it’s not bad. I find that when the weather is nice and/or I’m feeling antsy or stressed is when I have the biggest urge to run. It is certainly hard when I see that my body is changing and that I’ve gained a few pounds, but I know that it’ll absolutely be worth it in the end. Other than that, I’ve actually felt pretty content with my walks and other low intensity workouts. I kind of surprised myself with this because looking back I think I was borderline “addicted” to my workouts. I love exercise and I had to make sure I got my workout in each day. Now I realize that there is definitely more to life than getting my workout in for the day! Thank goodness I learned this sooner rather than later! This whole thing has absolutely been a huge learning experience for me. It certainly hasn’t been easy, but I sure have grown a lot from it.
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I wanted to share some of my favorite forms of low intensity exercise that I’ve been doing lately. You can totally benefit from these ideas too! They are great options for an active rest day or if you’re trying to allow your body recover as well.
1. Walking
This is a pretty obvious low intensity exercise option, but walking has become one of my favorite things to do in the past few weeks. It gives me time to spend with my husband and pups or gives me time to personally reflect if I’m out on a walk by myself. I always feel refreshed and rejuvenated when I come back from a walk. I’ve also done a few of my walks on the treadmill when the weather is cold or rainy. I don’t enjoy treadmill walks as much as being outside, but reading a good book or watching a favorite TV show makes it a lot more fun.
2. Yoga
You may have read about my recent love development with yoga, and I’m still continuing to enjoy it! I’m no pro yoga-er yet by any means. Heck, I haven’t even been to a real yoga class or studio. I’ve only done several yoga videos at home, but regardless it’s become one of my favorite forms of low intensity exercise. It relaxes me, stretches out my body, and strengthens my muscles without getting too crazy.
3. Dancing!
I’m no dancer by any means. If it tells you anything, I give my husband a good laugh when I’m dancing to our Just Dance 3 game on the Wii because I’m that bad. Ha. I still LOVE it though! Dancing just makes me happy and puts me in a good mood. Yesterday I also did a Zumba DVD with one of my friends, and we had such a fun time!
(I promise I own more than a white tank top and black workout pants. 
)
4. Pilates
I’ve found a few pilates videos on Netflix and on Blogilates that I’ve really enjoyed. I haven’t done a ton of pilates in the past, so it was very new to me. Every single video I’ve done so far though has certainly made my muscles scream! Holy burn!
I hope this answers some of your questions as to how my new exercise “adventure” has been going, and gives you a few ideas for some fun low intensity workout options. Remember, a quality workout doesn’t always have to be balls-to-the-walls crazy! I wish I would’ve learned that sooner.
Have a great day!
P.S. Don’t forget to enter for a chance to win some NuNaturals Liquid Stevia!
Questions:
- What is your favorite form of low intensity exercise?
- Do you incorporate low intensity exercise into your weekly workout schedule?
- What are your plans for the weekend?
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m totally trying out that blogilates!!!! Sounds fun! And I love walks too, before I started running I would walk miles! It was my favorite thing to do, especially at home in my neighborhood and around Charleston.
her pilates videos had my abs and butt screaming like crazy! haha.
I like walking and hiking probably the best. I’m really not a fan of pilates … it’s hard!!
I don’t like anything that involves core-work, and pilates is a lot of core work!
No major plans this weekend. We’re doing a service project with our church tomorrow, and Sunday is just church right now!
yeah pilates does include a lot of core… my abs were so sore the following day! have fun with the service project!
I looove yoga! I haven’t done it in forever, but it’s such a great way to stretch out your muscles.
My favorite low-intensity workout is definitely walking! Unfortunately, my pug is on “strict rest” for 3 more weeks, so I can’t go on any long walks with my favorite side kick! Hopefully it’s not too hot once he’s “recovered”!
I starting to love walking too. I am the same with the nicer weather, the running urge hits me (esp. when I see other runners out) but to get out and go for a walk to enjoy the weather and sunshine is just as good!
I do Yoga Meltdown at home a couple days a week and love it. I have tried yoga classes and they are not for me.
This weekend we are keeping it low key, a walk and movie tonight, tomorrow errands & Costco, Sunday – gym, brunch and yard work.
that sounds like a perfect weekend! enjoy!
I LOVE Pilates too! I need more time in my day to squeeze that and yoga in….ahhhh! So awesome for the glutes and core. I need to be better. Go you for finding stuff you love to do!
I love love love walking. A good walk can be calming or invigorating. I guess it’s like yoga in that way; plus I can do it outside. Happy Friday!
I love all of the low intensity exercises you listed, especially walking and yoga! I used to do yoga all the time in college, but it has slowly been put on the exercise back burner over the years. This needs to change!
I’m all about walking! Yesterday my workout was just a 1 hour walk out in the sun with A Dash of Meg – it was so relaxing and I still felt great afterwards, even though it wasn’t a sweaty workout. I think its important to not do crazy intense exercise every day otherwise you just burn out!
I have been LOVING walking this past week! I’ve gone on 3 long walks outside and they have been glorious…of course part of that was due to the amazing weather haha. I need to start doing some dancing. I used to be a dancer, and seriously, just turning on the music and dancing my little heart out would be so much fun! I don’t need no choreography
. Hope you have an amazing Friday pretty lady <3
Love walking! I too get SOO bored on my treadmill but I am so thankful to be able to get outside to walk now that the weather is getting nice! I NEED to try yoga, I keep wanting to but never pick up a video, which one do you use? I have a ton of Jillian Michaels workout DVDs, so I’m thinking about just going with hers. This will all be SOO worth it in the end, keep it up! After I had my second son I lost a ton of weight and then when i tried getting pregnant with our third I kept miscarrying, looking back I never realized it was because of my low body fat and intense workouts, after I gained a few healthy pounds and lowered my workout intensity I finally was able to “hold onto” a pregnancy….us womens bodies were designed for that little bit of extra fat to grow a miracle inside of us, who knew!
i’ve just been doing some of the yoga dvds they have on netflix as well as the yoga channel on hulu! if you don’t have netflix, check out hulu – they have a bunch. thank you for your encouraging words emily!
I definitely love walking! It helps me unwind and is nice because you can just relax and enjoy the sunshine or view!
I love yoga, too! I try to do it at least once or twice a week. What’s your favorite yoga DVD? I’m always interested in new ones!
i’ve actually mostly just been doing the videos on netflix or hulu! there’s several on there that i really like. i’d like to buy some others though too.
i looooooooooove walking especially when the weather is nice!! hopefully that will happen this weekend if the temps warm back up!
Me too! The spring makes me want to walk and hike various trails. Love it!
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I love going on a good hike! During the fall my husband and I went on one almost every Saturday, and I’m so excited to start doing that again now that it’s getting nicer out!
You already know how proud of you I am for sticking through with the low intensity workouts, so I’m just going to say how proud I am that you’re taking a liking to yoga!
Are there no studios near you or anything? I would love to hear what you think of an in-person class!
thanks girl.
there aren’t any studio super near me… i live in a smaller city, so i’d have to drive 30-40 minutes to get to a studio. plus i’m cheap and don’t really want to pay for it regularly, but i’d love to try it out some time. who knows, i might get hooked and go all the time. 
That pilates site is so cool! I’ve always wanted to try, but don’t really have too many places here in my small town I can go to a class. That is perfect! Thanks for the link, I cannot wait to try it out!
I used to feel like I had to balls to the wall with my workouts too. I love blogilates!! How did you like Zumba? Sounds like fun girl. And you are right… it is/will be worth it!
yes i’m definitely hooked now to blogilates’ videos thanks to you!
zumba was way fun! i’ve been to a class before, but it was fun to do it at home with a friend too!
I love yoga! I try to do yoga 2-3 times a week even if it’s just a short session after another workout. I like to mix it up with power yoga and yoga for relaxation because they both do very different things for the body and mind. Thank you again for sharing your journey. It is super encouraging!!
Awww hunnie, I just want to give you a big old hug
Your blog is seriously one of my favourites and it is becoming more loveable after each post.
I am so proud of what you are doing and this post was just great to read! I love everything about it! I love blogilates. My Mom and I do them together
Have you tried the lower belly pooch attack yet? My abs SCREAM after that one! Let me know if you give it a try 
I also like going for walks. I would love to be walking my puppy! I get to see her in just a little over two weeks!
Have a fab weekend
Enjoy the weather xo
I’m so glad you’re liking lower intensity workouts – I’m sure it can be tough at times, given what a superstar you are when it comes to fitness. Now you’re just a superstar in other types of fitness
I totally know what you mean by the feeling of HAVING to get your workout in for the day. I became like this in high school for a while and I remember freaking out on the day when I went to go to my summer orientation for college. I’d have to leave early and would be back late, so I had no idea when I would workout. And I thought about it for days. I ended up not working out and SURPRISE, I was still alive at the end of the day. That finally made me realize that workouts are not absolutely necessary.
I love walking for a day when I don’t want to do a full on workout but I don’t want to be a bum either. As long as it’s not raining it’s so nice to just get outside and get some fresh air.
Enjoy your weekend plans!!
Oh I like these ideas for low intensity workouts. I’m still trying to put into action that not every workout needs to be balls to the walls. I can go easy some of the time too! Have a great weekend! I have party plans tomorrow night that I’m super excited about