We all know the impact exercise can have. It helps us to become physically and mentally strong as well as improve our emotional health. So why is it so difficult to move our bodies on a regular basis and how can we overcome this hurdle? In this episode of the Routine and Things Podcast, I chat with Maia Delogu about developing a realistic exercise routine. Maia is the owner and holistic health coach at Becoming Well Together which aims to help busy moms reduce stress, increase energy, and lose weight by focusing on whole foods, fun movement, and mindfulness. Tune into this episode to get inspired to make movement a priority!
To learn more from Maia, follow her on Instagram @becomingwelltogether
Word for word
Ashley Brown 0:00 [Intro]
We all know the impact exercise can have. It helps us to become physically and mentally strong as well as improves our emotional health. So why is it so difficult to move our bodies on a regular basis? And how can we overcome this hurdle? In this episode of the routine and things podcast I checked with Maia Delogu about developing a realistic exercise routine. Maia is the owner and holistic health coach at becoming well together which aims to help busy moms, reduce stress, increase energy, and lose weight by focusing on Whole Foods, a fun movement and mindfulness. Tune into this episode to get inspired to make movement a priority.
Ashley Brown 0:59
One of my least favorite memories as a mom happened when I was a stay at home mom. This day in particular, I had so many things to do, I was behind on laundry I needed to schedule my daughter a doctor's appointment and the house was a mess, I mean, a hot mess. And Funny enough, even though it's not funny, when I got to the end of my day, nothing had been done. You know, those days. Thankfully, I had a God moment and realize I have fallen out of routine. Yes, this routine oriented girl had fallen out of routine. And honestly, it took me a while to get back on track. Because routines are always naturally falling into place for me in the past, but this was very different. I had to intentionally rebuild my routines one by one. And although it took time and patience, the impact routines had on my life was incredible. And I learned so much along the way. This is why I'm so excited to share with you that your girl did a thing. I've wrote a book, the Routine Building Handbook, you're all in one habit builder for increased productivity inspired work and lasting success.
Ashley Brown 2:08
The Routine Building handbook is an easy to use Practical Guide for starting creating and maintaining routines to help you decrease stress, improve your sleep, and build a productive joyful life. It gives you all the tools you need to introduce structure predictability, and stability, including a customizable habit building roadmap, ideas for weekday, weekend, morning and night routines. Plenty of examples of realistic daily and weekly routines, and advice for staying flexible. You can now pre order the book which comes with some amazing bonuses for a limited time to pre order the Routine Building handbook you can head to routineandthings.com/book, or click the link in the show notes.
Ashley Brown 2:58
Hey, girl, Hey, welcome back to the routine things podcast. Thank you for joining me today we are talking about movement. And I am super excited about this conversation because I was able to chat with Maia Delogu. Maia is a wife, mother and owner of becoming well together. She's a holistic health coach and Pilates instructor and enjoys helping busy moms reduce stress, increase their energy and lose weight by focusing on Whole Foods fun movement and mindfulness. So did you see what I just said there fun movement. Because this was a huge part for me that I needed to make my routines more fun. But that's a conversation for another day. I want to go ahead and get into this conversation because I think it's going to be really, really helpful for you in making movement a priority in your life and giving you some tips and inspiration for doing so. So let's go ahead and get into the conversation.
Ashley Brown 3:58
Hi, Maia, I am so happy that you're joining me today we're going to be talking about exercise routines. Oh my gosh, this is a conversation I really need to have with you. I know that many people listening right now are like yes, give me all the juice about exercise routine. So I'm so happy that you are here. So just to get us started. Can you tell us a little bit about who you are share a little bit about your family and then what you do.
Maia Delogu 4:25
Hello everybody. My name is my year. I am a mother to a very sweet, but very spicy three year old. Her name is Maddie. I've been married for almost seven years now. I am by professional trade. I'm a school librarian in public school system and by passion. I am a health coach. I started my health coach business the summer last summer 2020 and been learning and growing.
Ashley Brown 5:01
Oh, I love it. So, exercise, you're a health coach. Everything that I love, I'm getting really heavy into like, thinking about my health more, especially since I'm getting older.
Maia Delogu 5:16
Yeah
Ashley Brown 5:16
I'm like, Oh, no, I need to really be intentional about what I'm putting in my body, I need to be intentional about movement. And so were you always I would love to know this. Have you ever struggled with not moving your body as much? Or have you always been the type that exercise came easy to you?
Maia Delogu 5:34
Oh, no, I was never the type where exercise came easy. Um, I am a librarian, I love to read, a lot of my hobbies are very sedentary hobbies. So it honestly wasn't until. I mean, you know, I did, I played tennis in high school play basketball. But it wasn't something where like, I was a kid that was doing, you know, weekend sports consistently, or training every day. Nothing like that. It really wasn't until 2019, right around where my daughter turned two. I mean, you know, after having a baby, of course, your body is shifting and changing. But I noticed a huge difference when I stopped breastfeeding. Like, all of a sudden, you know, these pounds came from nowhere. And I was like, hold on now. And that's when I really decided, you know, I have to make the changes that I want for my body. And it started with, you know, finding, you know, what I love to do, and dance has always been a favorite of mine. And kind of working from there. Um, but no, I've not always been an exercise person. So when people, you know, say they're starting from the bottom, I started from the bottom, and, you know, still working my way up. And you know, it's not linear. You know, you start from the bottom and you get better, stronger, faster, however you see fit for your body. And, you know, things happen, you know, life changes happen again. So things peak in, and you come to valleys, but you know, it's it's just a journey.
Ashley Brown 7:14
Yeah, yeah, no, it's totally our journey. And and you say start from the bottom, definitely. Many of us, probably right now are starting from the bottom, and we're wanting to get back on track with moving our bodies more. So when someone's looking to when they're starting from the bottom, and they're looking to take that first step. What, like, what did that look like for you? And what would you advise someone to do if they're trying to look to make that first step into exercising?
Maia Delogu 7:46
So looking back, I honestly, um, you know, sometimes you read, you know, different things and you think, Okay, well, I have to start with my goal, I have to start with what I want to do. And I'm actually thinking about where I started, I wish I would have started with my why. So what is the true reason why I want to be to lose a couple pounds to, you know, get, like, what is my true reason, and it kept coming back to just being a healthy mom for my daughter. Maddie has always been a big baby. So she's always been like, really heavy. And I honestly was like, I gotta, you know, people say I gotta get my weight up, I gotta get stronger to carry this baby carry all the things that I'm you know, she needs and you know, just having the energy to run around and play with her. So she was she was always been my why just wanting to be physically fitter for her and also to have her see me taking care of myself in that way. So you know, as she grows up, she knows that, you know, exercises isn't something we just have to do to punish ourselves, but she knows that, you know, it's a way of life to feel better about ourselves internally and externally.
Ashley Brown 9:09
Mm hmm. Definitely. So I know when I move my body and I exercise, I definitely feel stronger. Externally, I feel stronger internally. My mindset is even better when I exercise. And so I love it. But still, sometimes I feel like this is one routine that definitely I've struggled with. And I'm always like, Okay, what is this about Ashley and you spoke about why and I think that is very, very important. Knowing your why what is it about an exercise routine that is important to you? Or what about moving your body is important for you? What is this about and why? And I remember I said to myself, one day my why was really vain. It was like I just want to lose this kangaroo pouch Yeah. And although it was super vague I didn't care about no trying to be healthy, healthy mom. No, I need to lose the stomach. That's what that was my why but but it helped it helped even though it seems vain it really helped because it just shows that really be true for about your why might hear a lot of people say certain things about why they want to exercise and why super important for them, but it has to hit your heartstrings.
Maia Delogu 10:28
Yeah, Yeah, and I think for the long term reasons, because initially, my why was, you know, I want to lose 30 pounds. And but when I noticed coming around, because I set that goal in 2018 and coming around to 2020 you know, when I finally reached the goal, I didn't feel how I thought I wanted to feel so, I wasn't as intentional as you know I could have been so keeping the focus on Who am I doing this for why am I doing this? Because once the 30 pounds and I was like, Okay, do I stop exercising? No, you know, you keep maintaining you, you keep you know, whatever, whatever your goal is, if you want to be faster if you want to be stronger if you however you want you know what you want your lifestyle to look like you know you keep progressing. So I think you know long term you do have to find that true why because once the you know the X amount of pounds or the pouch like you say is gone, then what?
Ashley Brown 11:29
Yes. Yes you just spoke to me there. I'm have to think about what is that? Why after I lose this kangaroo pouch? Yes, for sure. So I would love to know, and I think many people would love to know what is your exercise routine look like.
Maia Delogu 11:45
So my exercise routine, it looks like a mix of things. I don't do so I started with dance, I love to dance dance is always my cardio of choice. I'm not a treadmill person, not really a gym person, I go to gym for the classes. So I started my gym for this, like hip hop fitness dance class called mixed fit, and I was hooked. And I think from that it allowed me to be more comfortable and going and doing more things with like the weights. And but you know, as a mom, you know, trying to coordinate gyms, you know, gym time, and, you know, kid time, it was really tough, especially once the pandemic started. So then I started working out at home. And you know, believe it or not, there are so many different fitness YouTube channels that are free. I've even done Beachbody for a while and saw some results with that too. But my current routine, I preferably I like to work out in the mornings, just to set my day. And just give me the energy that I need, you know, helped me feel good about myself. You know, once when you exercise, there's so many different chemicals in your brain that are just releasing these feelings, you know, just, I mean, I'm getting so excited thinking about it, just because I love the feeling of it, you know, you feel you know better in your physical body, but also in your mental body. You know, let's say you are lifting weights, and you're like, dang did I just do 15 reps today, I only did 10 yesterday. So just really feeling good about yourself in that aspect. So I usually work out before um, before my daughter wakes up before I have to work get to work in the morning. And depending on and something else I prescribed to really follow his cycle thinking. So kind of dependent on where I am in my menstrual cycle determines how much energy I have, what my body is capable of doing. So at some point of my menstrual cycle, I have you know, we have lots of energy. So that's when I will do more cardio, more HIIT training. When the times that are coming closer to my period. I'll do more strength training with lifting weights squat more slower and maybe even heavier weights and then once you know my period comes it's time to kind of slow down restore, do more yoga, Pilates. But because I am in the phase of kind of maintaining. I have about two, let's say two cardio days, three strength training days right now. And then if I feel like it, I might do like yoga on the weekends and walk. So that's what my week kind of looks like.
Ashley Brown 14:56
Yeah, so some as I hear a lot of flexibility which I love. I'm always preaching flexibility when it comes to your routines, even in your exercise routines, because nobody I mean, I'm not gonna say nobody but doing yoga or any type of exercise every single day, you're gonna get tired of it after some time, and you're, sometimes you're in the mood for something else. And so flexibility, I think can be a real game changer, possibly when someone is thinking about exercise routine and not boxing themselves in. But I could also see how, you know, starting out, maybe having one exercise that you're doing could be helpful to you talked about that there are a bunch of free, you know, YouTube channels or exercise programs that people could do or just exercise shows that or, you know, YouTube shows that people could tune into?
Maia Delogu 15:53
Yes.
Ashley Brown 15:54
What do you feel like? Or do you have any favorites? Do you have any favorite YouTube channels that you absolutely love for exercise?
Maia Delogu 16:04
Yes. So I would follow and this is where you have to determine for yourself, do you like doing the same thing over and over because I follow a woman named Sydney Cummings, and she's more about strength training. So she does have a mix of cardio and then hit and kind of lower intensity exercises, between 30 to 60 minutes. But I felt, like I said before, because I do kind of go off of my menstrual cycle and how I feel because she has new videos every day five AM. Yeah, so new videos are posted. So you get that variety. It's just a matter of, you know, if I'm not feeling like hit today, then I have to have an alternative. So um, she's my go to for sure. I just found this other woman she does. She has, like, I forgot to mention this in my, in my intro, but I am a believer. And when I feel like turning on music, praise music and just dancing that's another way I like to move. And her I think her name is on Instagram is I mean, YouTube is like work hard. Praisehardfitness or something like that. And it was really fun. So some of she has like a lot of Christian hip hop tracks, and she'll do like cardio to them or a dance. So that's fine. And who else do I like? Oh my gosh, popsugar Fitness is a really fun one. And usually, if you ever type in like, you know, upper body workout, lower body workout, any type of cardio, I'm sure Popsugar fitness pops up. And they have a wide variety of exercises for definitely for beginners. So they have like fun low intensity dance ones, and they have, you know, more intense So it all depends on your level. And that's a great place to start. Actually, Popsugar fitness is a great place to start. Just because they definitely have a wide variety of exercises. And you can kind of, you know, depending on what your goals are and what you like to do, you can kind of pick and choose videos from there, and kind of make a plan for the week or the month. And that's a good place to start.
Ashley Brown 18:30
Yeah, I can attest to that. I love popsugar fitness. I was doing some of their dance videos last week. So
Maia Delogu 18:39
I did one this week.
Ashley Brown 18:41
I really love that. So thank you for sharing those. We'll also link it in the show notes too, if y'all want to check them out. But okay, so you gave us I want to go into like some really practical tips to help people create and maintain exercise routine. And I know you share one, which is knowing your why. Yeah, what are the what are some other tips you can share with us to help.
Maia Delogu 19:09
So after you figure out your why I want I think it's important to find the one way you love to move the one way you love to be active. So, and don't think of any of these ways as you know, not important, not essential, or it doesn't count. Because walking counts. You know, for me, it was dance, so dance counts, gardening counts. Anything you can do to keep yourself active and that you know that you you could be consistent with and once you figure out the one thing, then set yourself up to maybe try to do it at least twice a week. And I say 30 minutes, um, and you know, see how you feel for a couple of weeks. Let's say you you start walking on Tuesday and Thursday, and, you know, and that's 30 minutes, and then you just keep on with that twice a week for maybe about two weeks. And always kind of monitor how you feel. So you know, what are your feelings before you, you know, start walking, because now, you know, most of the time, we're like, oh, I don't feel like doing this. But then notice how you feel afterwards. So you know, you may be more tired, but just give it a second. And you could say, I feel happier, I feel more energetic, I feel more excited. And, you know, once you are managing your twice a week, then you can move yourself up to three times a week, and even consider what is something else that you would like to try. So now that you, you know, you've worked your way up to three times a week with your walking, what's another way you'd like to move your body? Would you like to, you know, check out a Popsugar fitness video and start with one upper body training, since you're already walking and moving your legs do you want to add in one upper body work in your arms and your back and your core, and be consistent. So now you have your one, and you have your walk in. And you can do that for a couple of weeks. And then you can add in maybe flexibility. So more, you know, taking a day to take some time and stretch. So you just gradually increase. So you start with your why you find the one movement that works for you commit to something small, so twice a week. And once you get the hang of it, you can gradually increase your days and gradually increase the type of activity that you decide to include.
Ashley Brown 21:45
Start small. That's what I heard from there. Start small, that resonates with me, because I'm the type I like to go big or go home and I have to catch myself. Because I'm I know I want to do it five times a week and -
Ashley Brown 21:59
Go big or go home. It works. But it doesn't it doesn't last long.
Ashley Brown 22:04
Exactly, exactly. That is what I have learned. So with that being the case, starting small, I think that's a really, really great tip. All of the tips are really good, because I think there are principles that apply to a lot of things that also apply to exercise. Yeah, right. Knowing your why for anything is important. Also having basically a plan like, Where do you want to start? What exercise are you going to start with, that's always helpful. And then also starting small and then gradually increase as you go, I always share about that even when it comes to routines. Just in general, you can start small and then increase in gradually add on as you go along. So thank you so much for those tips Maia. Thank you so much. So this has been a really good conversation, but I would love to hear from you. Which routine Are you either loving right now or working on improving right now?
Maia Delogu 23:02
Hmm, I feel like I'm just always gonna be working on my cleaning routine. Um, I was talking to my friends the other day, and we were like, you know, once you start a routine, and you have these habits, and then you do it once and you're like, Oh, no, you got to keep going. So this cleaning routine, I don't know, hopefully I get it in this lifetime. Hopefully. What I'm constantly working on what I'm loving is my self care routine. I'm just taking the time to because you know, our days are just so go go go. I love just taking the time in the evening to you know, take a nice shower, read a book, and even watch one of my favorite shows. I used to put my shows on the weekends. But then I don't know just missed that kind of entertainment throughout the week. So just having a show in the week and reading a good book. definitely helps me wind down in the evening. And and of course my exercise in the morning, there was a period of time recently well at the beginning of the year. My personal life was just all over the place. So a lot of my routines got thrown off and coming back to my exercise routine. Sleep has been so much better. So just having those things to look forward to throughout the day. My exercise for myself care, my exercise routine, my meditation, deep breaths throughout the day, and then my evening wind down has really been helpful.
Ashley Brown 24:44
Yes, yes, loving it all loving it all and you are going to get those cleaning routines. You are you definitely are it is so doable. It is so doable. Right now you will you will you will no thank you so much Maia I know that people have learned a lot. I know that I know I've learned a lot. And so where can we learn more from you? Because I know that you have a lot more to share. So where can we do that?
Maia Delogu 25:12
Yeah, so I am everywhere @becomingwelltogether. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, that's also my URL. Online, I post different tips. Like we talked about today exercise tips, more about eating healthy. You know, focus on nutrition, Whole Foods. You know, moderation, substitution, different things like that, that I help you figure out how to eat a little cleaner, a little healthier. I post a lot about self care and the aspect of mental health and really taking care of ourselves and distressing. And yeah.
Ashley Brown 26:04
Yeah, I love it. I love it. So like she says, @becomingwelltogether is where you can find her. And definitely go check out Maia and what she has to offer, because we all are trying to strive to just be well in this life. And so one, one step at a time, one routine at a time. Thank you so much for your for joining us for talking to me today. I've really, really enjoyed it.
Maia Delogu 26:28
You're welcome. Thank you, Ashley for having me bye everybody.
Ashley Brown 26:33
Oh, I absolutely loved the conversation with my year, it was so much fun. It was great. Just hearing how she prioritizes movement. And what really inspired that for her. You know, we all have a story. We all have things that inspire us. But it's just so nice to hear just other stories from other women that are inspiring, and I feel like I now definitely have some tips to help me stay on track. And now exercise pretty regularly at least five times a week. And that is because I realize that exercise, especially just moving my body in general really impacts my mental and emotional health. And so because of that, I have made it a major priority to prioritize. So first thing in the morning is to exercise, although I really don't like exercise in the morning, but you got to do what you got to do. And for me to make sure I am well and that my physical, mental and emotional health is, you know, thriving, I need to do what I need to do. I'm super excited about being able to stay on track with moving my body on a regular basis. And so now I'm hoping that you are able to do the same or at least your wheels are turning your head about what you can do to start to prioritize movement more in your life. If you want to stay in touch with Maia, you can do so by following her @becomingwelltogether on Instagram or Facebook. And remember that the Routine Building handbook is on preorder right now you can definitely go grab it at Routineandthings.com/book. There are some really amazing bonuses that come when you preorder. And this is only with preorders. So go check out those bonuses. One bonus for right now is a ticket to the virtual book tour. So you get a free ticket to the virtual book tour which includes five stops and I'm so excited to chat it up with some amazing women. And to dive into the five routine buckets with each of them. It's gonna be such an amazing time. So it's a preorder head to routineandthings.com/book, or you can click the link in the show notes. But thank you for joining me today. Be sure to rate and review the show. If you absolutely loved it, give it five stars. also share this episode with someone you know today who may need some more movement in their life. But until next time, continue to enjoy wherever you are, whatever you're doing, stay happy and I'll talk to you soon.
Ashley Brown 29:14 [Intro]
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, take a screenshot and share it on social I would love to know you're listening and for tools to help you start maintain and enjoy your routines. Be sure to head to routineandthings.com. Here's to staying happy.
We all know the impact exercise can have. It helps us to become physically and mentally strong as well as improves our emotional health. So why is it so difficult to move our bodies on a regular basis? And how can we overcome this hurdle? In this episode of the routine and things podcast I checked with Maia Delogu about developing a realistic exercise routine. Maia is the owner and holistic health coach at becoming well together which aims to help busy moms, reduce stress, increase energy, and lose weight by focusing on Whole Foods, a fun movement and mindfulness. Tune into this episode to get inspired to make movement a priority.
Ashley Brown 0:59
One of my least favorite memories as a mom happened when I was a stay at home mom. This day in particular, I had so many things to do, I was behind on laundry I needed to schedule my daughter a doctor's appointment and the house was a mess, I mean, a hot mess. And Funny enough, even though it's not funny, when I got to the end of my day, nothing had been done. You know, those days. Thankfully, I had a God moment and realize I have fallen out of routine. Yes, this routine oriented girl had fallen out of routine. And honestly, it took me a while to get back on track. Because routines are always naturally falling into place for me in the past, but this was very different. I had to intentionally rebuild my routines one by one. And although it took time and patience, the impact routines had on my life was incredible. And I learned so much along the way. This is why I'm so excited to share with you that your girl did a thing. I've wrote a book, the Routine Building Handbook, you're all in one habit builder for increased productivity inspired work and lasting success.
Ashley Brown 2:08
The Routine Building handbook is an easy to use Practical Guide for starting creating and maintaining routines to help you decrease stress, improve your sleep, and build a productive joyful life. It gives you all the tools you need to introduce structure predictability, and stability, including a customizable habit building roadmap, ideas for weekday, weekend, morning and night routines. Plenty of examples of realistic daily and weekly routines, and advice for staying flexible. You can now pre order the book which comes with some amazing bonuses for a limited time to pre order the Routine Building handbook you can head to routineandthings.com/book, or click the link in the show notes.
Ashley Brown 2:58
Hey, girl, Hey, welcome back to the routine things podcast. Thank you for joining me today we are talking about movement. And I am super excited about this conversation because I was able to chat with Maia Delogu. Maia is a wife, mother and owner of becoming well together. She's a holistic health coach and Pilates instructor and enjoys helping busy moms reduce stress, increase their energy and lose weight by focusing on Whole Foods fun movement and mindfulness. So did you see what I just said there fun movement. Because this was a huge part for me that I needed to make my routines more fun. But that's a conversation for another day. I want to go ahead and get into this conversation because I think it's going to be really, really helpful for you in making movement a priority in your life and giving you some tips and inspiration for doing so. So let's go ahead and get into the conversation.
Ashley Brown 3:58
Hi, Maia, I am so happy that you're joining me today we're going to be talking about exercise routines. Oh my gosh, this is a conversation I really need to have with you. I know that many people listening right now are like yes, give me all the juice about exercise routine. So I'm so happy that you are here. So just to get us started. Can you tell us a little bit about who you are share a little bit about your family and then what you do.
Maia Delogu 4:25
Hello everybody. My name is my year. I am a mother to a very sweet, but very spicy three year old. Her name is Maddie. I've been married for almost seven years now. I am by professional trade. I'm a school librarian in public school system and by passion. I am a health coach. I started my health coach business the summer last summer 2020 and been learning and growing.
Ashley Brown 5:01
Oh, I love it. So, exercise, you're a health coach. Everything that I love, I'm getting really heavy into like, thinking about my health more, especially since I'm getting older.
Maia Delogu 5:16
Yeah
Ashley Brown 5:16
I'm like, Oh, no, I need to really be intentional about what I'm putting in my body, I need to be intentional about movement. And so were you always I would love to know this. Have you ever struggled with not moving your body as much? Or have you always been the type that exercise came easy to you?
Maia Delogu 5:34
Oh, no, I was never the type where exercise came easy. Um, I am a librarian, I love to read, a lot of my hobbies are very sedentary hobbies. So it honestly wasn't until. I mean, you know, I did, I played tennis in high school play basketball. But it wasn't something where like, I was a kid that was doing, you know, weekend sports consistently, or training every day. Nothing like that. It really wasn't until 2019, right around where my daughter turned two. I mean, you know, after having a baby, of course, your body is shifting and changing. But I noticed a huge difference when I stopped breastfeeding. Like, all of a sudden, you know, these pounds came from nowhere. And I was like, hold on now. And that's when I really decided, you know, I have to make the changes that I want for my body. And it started with, you know, finding, you know, what I love to do, and dance has always been a favorite of mine. And kind of working from there. Um, but no, I've not always been an exercise person. So when people, you know, say they're starting from the bottom, I started from the bottom, and, you know, still working my way up. And you know, it's not linear. You know, you start from the bottom and you get better, stronger, faster, however you see fit for your body. And, you know, things happen, you know, life changes happen again. So things peak in, and you come to valleys, but you know, it's it's just a journey.
Ashley Brown 7:14
Yeah, yeah, no, it's totally our journey. And and you say start from the bottom, definitely. Many of us, probably right now are starting from the bottom, and we're wanting to get back on track with moving our bodies more. So when someone's looking to when they're starting from the bottom, and they're looking to take that first step. What, like, what did that look like for you? And what would you advise someone to do if they're trying to look to make that first step into exercising?
Maia Delogu 7:46
So looking back, I honestly, um, you know, sometimes you read, you know, different things and you think, Okay, well, I have to start with my goal, I have to start with what I want to do. And I'm actually thinking about where I started, I wish I would have started with my why. So what is the true reason why I want to be to lose a couple pounds to, you know, get, like, what is my true reason, and it kept coming back to just being a healthy mom for my daughter. Maddie has always been a big baby. So she's always been like, really heavy. And I honestly was like, I gotta, you know, people say I gotta get my weight up, I gotta get stronger to carry this baby carry all the things that I'm you know, she needs and you know, just having the energy to run around and play with her. So she was she was always been my why just wanting to be physically fitter for her and also to have her see me taking care of myself in that way. So you know, as she grows up, she knows that, you know, exercises isn't something we just have to do to punish ourselves, but she knows that, you know, it's a way of life to feel better about ourselves internally and externally.
Ashley Brown 9:09
Mm hmm. Definitely. So I know when I move my body and I exercise, I definitely feel stronger. Externally, I feel stronger internally. My mindset is even better when I exercise. And so I love it. But still, sometimes I feel like this is one routine that definitely I've struggled with. And I'm always like, Okay, what is this about Ashley and you spoke about why and I think that is very, very important. Knowing your why what is it about an exercise routine that is important to you? Or what about moving your body is important for you? What is this about and why? And I remember I said to myself, one day my why was really vain. It was like I just want to lose this kangaroo pouch Yeah. And although it was super vague I didn't care about no trying to be healthy, healthy mom. No, I need to lose the stomach. That's what that was my why but but it helped it helped even though it seems vain it really helped because it just shows that really be true for about your why might hear a lot of people say certain things about why they want to exercise and why super important for them, but it has to hit your heartstrings.
Maia Delogu 10:28
Yeah, Yeah, and I think for the long term reasons, because initially, my why was, you know, I want to lose 30 pounds. And but when I noticed coming around, because I set that goal in 2018 and coming around to 2020 you know, when I finally reached the goal, I didn't feel how I thought I wanted to feel so, I wasn't as intentional as you know I could have been so keeping the focus on Who am I doing this for why am I doing this? Because once the 30 pounds and I was like, Okay, do I stop exercising? No, you know, you keep maintaining you, you keep you know, whatever, whatever your goal is, if you want to be faster if you want to be stronger if you however you want you know what you want your lifestyle to look like you know you keep progressing. So I think you know long term you do have to find that true why because once the you know the X amount of pounds or the pouch like you say is gone, then what?
Ashley Brown 11:29
Yes. Yes you just spoke to me there. I'm have to think about what is that? Why after I lose this kangaroo pouch? Yes, for sure. So I would love to know, and I think many people would love to know what is your exercise routine look like.
Maia Delogu 11:45
So my exercise routine, it looks like a mix of things. I don't do so I started with dance, I love to dance dance is always my cardio of choice. I'm not a treadmill person, not really a gym person, I go to gym for the classes. So I started my gym for this, like hip hop fitness dance class called mixed fit, and I was hooked. And I think from that it allowed me to be more comfortable and going and doing more things with like the weights. And but you know, as a mom, you know, trying to coordinate gyms, you know, gym time, and, you know, kid time, it was really tough, especially once the pandemic started. So then I started working out at home. And you know, believe it or not, there are so many different fitness YouTube channels that are free. I've even done Beachbody for a while and saw some results with that too. But my current routine, I preferably I like to work out in the mornings, just to set my day. And just give me the energy that I need, you know, helped me feel good about myself. You know, once when you exercise, there's so many different chemicals in your brain that are just releasing these feelings, you know, just, I mean, I'm getting so excited thinking about it, just because I love the feeling of it, you know, you feel you know better in your physical body, but also in your mental body. You know, let's say you are lifting weights, and you're like, dang did I just do 15 reps today, I only did 10 yesterday. So just really feeling good about yourself in that aspect. So I usually work out before um, before my daughter wakes up before I have to work get to work in the morning. And depending on and something else I prescribed to really follow his cycle thinking. So kind of dependent on where I am in my menstrual cycle determines how much energy I have, what my body is capable of doing. So at some point of my menstrual cycle, I have you know, we have lots of energy. So that's when I will do more cardio, more HIIT training. When the times that are coming closer to my period. I'll do more strength training with lifting weights squat more slower and maybe even heavier weights and then once you know my period comes it's time to kind of slow down restore, do more yoga, Pilates. But because I am in the phase of kind of maintaining. I have about two, let's say two cardio days, three strength training days right now. And then if I feel like it, I might do like yoga on the weekends and walk. So that's what my week kind of looks like.
Ashley Brown 14:56
Yeah, so some as I hear a lot of flexibility which I love. I'm always preaching flexibility when it comes to your routines, even in your exercise routines, because nobody I mean, I'm not gonna say nobody but doing yoga or any type of exercise every single day, you're gonna get tired of it after some time, and you're, sometimes you're in the mood for something else. And so flexibility, I think can be a real game changer, possibly when someone is thinking about exercise routine and not boxing themselves in. But I could also see how, you know, starting out, maybe having one exercise that you're doing could be helpful to you talked about that there are a bunch of free, you know, YouTube channels or exercise programs that people could do or just exercise shows that or, you know, YouTube shows that people could tune into?
Maia Delogu 15:53
Yes.
Ashley Brown 15:54
What do you feel like? Or do you have any favorites? Do you have any favorite YouTube channels that you absolutely love for exercise?
Maia Delogu 16:04
Yes. So I would follow and this is where you have to determine for yourself, do you like doing the same thing over and over because I follow a woman named Sydney Cummings, and she's more about strength training. So she does have a mix of cardio and then hit and kind of lower intensity exercises, between 30 to 60 minutes. But I felt, like I said before, because I do kind of go off of my menstrual cycle and how I feel because she has new videos every day five AM. Yeah, so new videos are posted. So you get that variety. It's just a matter of, you know, if I'm not feeling like hit today, then I have to have an alternative. So um, she's my go to for sure. I just found this other woman she does. She has, like, I forgot to mention this in my, in my intro, but I am a believer. And when I feel like turning on music, praise music and just dancing that's another way I like to move. And her I think her name is on Instagram is I mean, YouTube is like work hard. Praisehardfitness or something like that. And it was really fun. So some of she has like a lot of Christian hip hop tracks, and she'll do like cardio to them or a dance. So that's fine. And who else do I like? Oh my gosh, popsugar Fitness is a really fun one. And usually, if you ever type in like, you know, upper body workout, lower body workout, any type of cardio, I'm sure Popsugar fitness pops up. And they have a wide variety of exercises for definitely for beginners. So they have like fun low intensity dance ones, and they have, you know, more intense So it all depends on your level. And that's a great place to start. Actually, Popsugar fitness is a great place to start. Just because they definitely have a wide variety of exercises. And you can kind of, you know, depending on what your goals are and what you like to do, you can kind of pick and choose videos from there, and kind of make a plan for the week or the month. And that's a good place to start.
Ashley Brown 18:30
Yeah, I can attest to that. I love popsugar fitness. I was doing some of their dance videos last week. So
Maia Delogu 18:39
I did one this week.
Ashley Brown 18:41
I really love that. So thank you for sharing those. We'll also link it in the show notes too, if y'all want to check them out. But okay, so you gave us I want to go into like some really practical tips to help people create and maintain exercise routine. And I know you share one, which is knowing your why. Yeah, what are the what are some other tips you can share with us to help.
Maia Delogu 19:09
So after you figure out your why I want I think it's important to find the one way you love to move the one way you love to be active. So, and don't think of any of these ways as you know, not important, not essential, or it doesn't count. Because walking counts. You know, for me, it was dance, so dance counts, gardening counts. Anything you can do to keep yourself active and that you know that you you could be consistent with and once you figure out the one thing, then set yourself up to maybe try to do it at least twice a week. And I say 30 minutes, um, and you know, see how you feel for a couple of weeks. Let's say you you start walking on Tuesday and Thursday, and, you know, and that's 30 minutes, and then you just keep on with that twice a week for maybe about two weeks. And always kind of monitor how you feel. So you know, what are your feelings before you, you know, start walking, because now, you know, most of the time, we're like, oh, I don't feel like doing this. But then notice how you feel afterwards. So you know, you may be more tired, but just give it a second. And you could say, I feel happier, I feel more energetic, I feel more excited. And, you know, once you are managing your twice a week, then you can move yourself up to three times a week, and even consider what is something else that you would like to try. So now that you, you know, you've worked your way up to three times a week with your walking, what's another way you'd like to move your body? Would you like to, you know, check out a Popsugar fitness video and start with one upper body training, since you're already walking and moving your legs do you want to add in one upper body work in your arms and your back and your core, and be consistent. So now you have your one, and you have your walk in. And you can do that for a couple of weeks. And then you can add in maybe flexibility. So more, you know, taking a day to take some time and stretch. So you just gradually increase. So you start with your why you find the one movement that works for you commit to something small, so twice a week. And once you get the hang of it, you can gradually increase your days and gradually increase the type of activity that you decide to include.
Ashley Brown 21:45
Start small. That's what I heard from there. Start small, that resonates with me, because I'm the type I like to go big or go home and I have to catch myself. Because I'm I know I want to do it five times a week and -
Ashley Brown 21:59
Go big or go home. It works. But it doesn't it doesn't last long.
Ashley Brown 22:04
Exactly, exactly. That is what I have learned. So with that being the case, starting small, I think that's a really, really great tip. All of the tips are really good, because I think there are principles that apply to a lot of things that also apply to exercise. Yeah, right. Knowing your why for anything is important. Also having basically a plan like, Where do you want to start? What exercise are you going to start with, that's always helpful. And then also starting small and then gradually increase as you go, I always share about that even when it comes to routines. Just in general, you can start small and then increase in gradually add on as you go along. So thank you so much for those tips Maia. Thank you so much. So this has been a really good conversation, but I would love to hear from you. Which routine Are you either loving right now or working on improving right now?
Maia Delogu 23:02
Hmm, I feel like I'm just always gonna be working on my cleaning routine. Um, I was talking to my friends the other day, and we were like, you know, once you start a routine, and you have these habits, and then you do it once and you're like, Oh, no, you got to keep going. So this cleaning routine, I don't know, hopefully I get it in this lifetime. Hopefully. What I'm constantly working on what I'm loving is my self care routine. I'm just taking the time to because you know, our days are just so go go go. I love just taking the time in the evening to you know, take a nice shower, read a book, and even watch one of my favorite shows. I used to put my shows on the weekends. But then I don't know just missed that kind of entertainment throughout the week. So just having a show in the week and reading a good book. definitely helps me wind down in the evening. And and of course my exercise in the morning, there was a period of time recently well at the beginning of the year. My personal life was just all over the place. So a lot of my routines got thrown off and coming back to my exercise routine. Sleep has been so much better. So just having those things to look forward to throughout the day. My exercise for myself care, my exercise routine, my meditation, deep breaths throughout the day, and then my evening wind down has really been helpful.
Ashley Brown 24:44
Yes, yes, loving it all loving it all and you are going to get those cleaning routines. You are you definitely are it is so doable. It is so doable. Right now you will you will you will no thank you so much Maia I know that people have learned a lot. I know that I know I've learned a lot. And so where can we learn more from you? Because I know that you have a lot more to share. So where can we do that?
Maia Delogu 25:12
Yeah, so I am everywhere @becomingwelltogether. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, that's also my URL. Online, I post different tips. Like we talked about today exercise tips, more about eating healthy. You know, focus on nutrition, Whole Foods. You know, moderation, substitution, different things like that, that I help you figure out how to eat a little cleaner, a little healthier. I post a lot about self care and the aspect of mental health and really taking care of ourselves and distressing. And yeah.
Ashley Brown 26:04
Yeah, I love it. I love it. So like she says, @becomingwelltogether is where you can find her. And definitely go check out Maia and what she has to offer, because we all are trying to strive to just be well in this life. And so one, one step at a time, one routine at a time. Thank you so much for your for joining us for talking to me today. I've really, really enjoyed it.
Maia Delogu 26:28
You're welcome. Thank you, Ashley for having me bye everybody.
Ashley Brown 26:33
Oh, I absolutely loved the conversation with my year, it was so much fun. It was great. Just hearing how she prioritizes movement. And what really inspired that for her. You know, we all have a story. We all have things that inspire us. But it's just so nice to hear just other stories from other women that are inspiring, and I feel like I now definitely have some tips to help me stay on track. And now exercise pretty regularly at least five times a week. And that is because I realize that exercise, especially just moving my body in general really impacts my mental and emotional health. And so because of that, I have made it a major priority to prioritize. So first thing in the morning is to exercise, although I really don't like exercise in the morning, but you got to do what you got to do. And for me to make sure I am well and that my physical, mental and emotional health is, you know, thriving, I need to do what I need to do. I'm super excited about being able to stay on track with moving my body on a regular basis. And so now I'm hoping that you are able to do the same or at least your wheels are turning your head about what you can do to start to prioritize movement more in your life. If you want to stay in touch with Maia, you can do so by following her @becomingwelltogether on Instagram or Facebook. And remember that the Routine Building handbook is on preorder right now you can definitely go grab it at Routineandthings.com/book. There are some really amazing bonuses that come when you preorder. And this is only with preorders. So go check out those bonuses. One bonus for right now is a ticket to the virtual book tour. So you get a free ticket to the virtual book tour which includes five stops and I'm so excited to chat it up with some amazing women. And to dive into the five routine buckets with each of them. It's gonna be such an amazing time. So it's a preorder head to routineandthings.com/book, or you can click the link in the show notes. But thank you for joining me today. Be sure to rate and review the show. If you absolutely loved it, give it five stars. also share this episode with someone you know today who may need some more movement in their life. But until next time, continue to enjoy wherever you are, whatever you're doing, stay happy and I'll talk to you soon.
Ashley Brown 29:14 [Intro]
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, take a screenshot and share it on social I would love to know you're listening and for tools to help you start maintain and enjoy your routines. Be sure to head to routineandthings.com. Here's to staying happy.