Having spent the last 20+ years as a fitness professional and working with thousands of women from all ages, backgrounds and abilities, Sara Picken-Brown has some sounds advice and suggestions for you to make working out a passion and keeping that passion for life. Here are 12 rules she lives by and suggests you do to.

1	Aim for 60 X 6

Making exercise a priority in your weekly routine is essential to getting results and managing your mental wellbeing. If you are new to fitness or just starting a regimen, then go slow and make consistency your focus. If you have had a workout routine for a while, then there is nothing stopping you from going all the way and making a 60min daily exercise focus part of your long term routine. The MindBody Coach, Sara Picken-Brown suggests training for an hour a day, six days a week. “Do 30 minutes of cardio training (walking, dancing, skipping) and 30 minutes of muscular structure work (weights and stretches). Do it six days a week and make it a habit you enjoy, by doing exercise you have fun with, will make the hour you spend on yourself and you health more valuable, ultimately non-negotiable you time”.

If you are new to working out, it is important to ease into a new fitness routine. “Start with a couple of days a week. After you’ve been [working out] three to four days a week for a month or two, you’ll be able to add a fifth day” The MindBody Coach Sara explains. Know that you will go up and down with your motivation, we all do, but staying connected to your community is key. 

2	Keep Your Diet Simple

Nothing replaces wholesome food and cooking for yourself, because you know exactly what has gone into your meals. Additionally, cooking for yourself is a mindfulness practice that impacts your wellbeing positively, forces you to think about what you are eating and take the time to prepare it.  “I don’t like processed foods. I eat lean proteins and loads of veg, I stay away from gluten and get quality carbs from split, quinoa and sweet potato” she said in a recently. One of the biggest problems for women as they age is the craving for carbs and so people tend to load up on sugar. This is terrible for the body and the skin and accelerates the ageing process as well as promoting weight gain, so stay away from sugar.  “ I enjoy a few squares of 85% organic chocolate a couple of times a week which hits the spot perfectly. “

3	Don’t Restrict

If you are in restriction mode you are in disordered eating territory and that is simply not healthy.  Be mindful of what and when and how you eat (do you sit down and eat your meals or have them on the run?)  Avoid processed foods and inflammatory foods but enjoy a variety of wholesome foods and eat until you are satisfied. If you are working out, then you need the recovery. 

4	Only Drink on Special Occasions

Drink as little alcohol as possible. Alcohol slows your metabolism for three days after you drink. If you do drink, be mindful of the choices of alcohol; a glass of red wine is fine and spirits with soda water are best. 

5	Do Exercises that Move & Mobilise

Doing spot targeted exercises is not the best way to get results, so work on functional mobilising exercises that make your body burn fat, stabilise joints and stretch as well as strengthen the body. This way you will work the nervous system, encourage energy expenditure and be challenged with balance and stability at the same time.

6	Prep for Your Workout

Have a plan when you go to train.  Your results will be far better long term, you will stay motivated because your results will be observable (if you know what you are working towards, your see it when it happens), plus you will avoid injury and overuse issues.  Working on your weaknesses as well as doing the activities you enjoy is important for getting balance into your mind and your body. 

7	Start a Diary

If you tend to get overwhelmed with the happenings of your day-to-day life, you’ll probably find it challenging to make fitness and healthy eating a priority, too. “When people are stressed, it clouds their minds and makes them less productive,” To de-stress take the time to write things down that are getting under your skin at the end of each day as well as setting a plan moving forward. When your thoughts and emotions are in order, it becomes far easier to get your health in order. A recent study revealed that when women who were unhappy with their weight completed a one-time, 15-minute writing exercise about an important personal issue, they went on to lose at least three pounds over a three-month period while their counterparts who wrote about an unimportant topic gained three pounds. As it turns out, journaling can serve as a buffer to the stress and uncertainty that leads to emotional eating and sluggish workouts.

8	Don’t Watch TV During Your Cardio

Working out mindfully actually helps you burn more calories and activate muscle more efficiently. When we ‘zone out as we workout’ so does your body. The aim of working out is to recalibrate the nervous system and align the body and mind through breath, by turning on the TV we actually event this from happening. So turn up the music and turn off the TV.

9	Make Fitness Fun

The key is to find something you love and make it a big part of your workout regime. Even if it leaves you wiped out, so long as you are having fun you will keep coming back for more. Workout on your own or with friends and make the post workout routine as important, because then it becomes a lifestyle not just a tick the box activity. 

10	Find a Workout Buddy

Workout buddies are great because they keep you on target. If you have plans to meet up with a friend for a spin class or a run, the odds that you’ll skip it are very low. You won’t want to let someone else down. If getting a workout buddy is not for you then having a Personal Coach is the next best and  targeted option, your trainer is an expert on supporting you and your needs.

11	Don’t Detox

Detox from your tech, not for your food. Detoxes and fasting doesn’t work and will put your progress back sometimes by months. “Juice fasting destroys your metabolic rate. If you want to support your weight loss results then drink plenty of quality water, eat wholesome foods, sweat lots when you exercise, which is why The MindBody Coach supports working out in a warm environment, get a colonic every 3-6 months and have supplements that support gut health.

12	Just Say No To Soda

Soda is basically just carbonated sugar-spiked chemical water, so it makes sense that Sara recommends cutting it from your diet entirely. “It’s bloating and full of sugar—or if it’s diet soda, it’s full of chemicals. Drink water. Not coconut water—water.”