I have written before about exercise, diabetes prevention and weight loss. I know, it's crazy that here I am a Business Architect, Lifestyle Strategist and Growth Coach writing about this stuff. But here’s the thing – like you I am human and I can be working or having fun but either way if I don’t exercise I am not taking care of myself. And the thing with life is that when you don’t take care of yourself how will you ever be in a place where you can take care of someone or something else, right?  Now you might be wondering what I do, so let me share that below as it could give you some ideas for what you can do too if you are at risk of Type 2 diabetes, overweight or just generally concerned about your health. 

People have asked me about my exercise routine so here it is. I am a Muslim woman who covers (wears a headscarf and an abayah which is a long dress) and yet I exercise. There is no reason to stop you. I mix it up a bit – sometimes I do it at home, sometimes I’ll run outside, sometimes I go to the gym. The onus on me regardless of faith is to look after my body – in fact God has commanded that I look after my body. When you think of it as a gift from God then you take a very different perspective on health and exercise. We all know that at any time things can start to fall apart or we can get ill. I know it, you know it. But hey, the days that we do have on this planet why not make them the best and live above what is becoming the standard norms of being slightly overweight, lethargic and eating badly. Preach!

My routine

Now you might be wondering what I do, so let me share that below as it could give you some ideas for what you can do too if you are at risk of Type 2 diabetes, overweight or just generally concerned about your health. This might be a pain to start but is actually easy once you get going. If you are worried about starting then please read my post on the language that we use with ourselves – it’s a real eye opener. 

Running (or walking) I use an app called ‘Get Running’ (Couch to 5k). You can download it on your phone (both Apple and Android) and start running. You will be amazed at how far you can get. Look, if I can pound the streets of London wearing an abayah and headscarf you have no excuse, right? Just believe you can do it and get going. Even if you just want to walk for 20 minutes a day, please begin. Going out of the house and taking in fresh air and reflecting on nature has incredible wellbeing properties both physiological and psychological. It also does wonders for your spirit.

This is also my time for listening to podcasts. I love listening to Tim Ferris, Perpetual Traffic, Brendon Burchard, Tony Robbins, and my collection of podcasts is growing! Sometimes I also listen to religious talks. Sometimes I listen to nothing at all and just reflect on life.

HIT training. I am using Craig Ballantyne Turbulence Training Program.  It was the best $97 I spent ever for exercise. You can do the videos anywhere and you need no equipment at all. For me an added bonus is that there are no women in skimpy clothes or loud music in the videos – it’s just Craig and his buddies showing you how to do high-intensity workouts.

Skipping. I recently added skipping to my routine. I use a Reebok Weighted Speed Rope (costs about $10- add link) and I use this routine –

• 30 seconds skipping
• 30 seconds rest
• Repeat 5 times with the final rest in the round being 60 seconds)

The first time I did it I struggled and managed just about 3 sets of bad skipping. I felt like I was going to die but I kept at it and now I can skip 6 sets… I still feel like I will die at the end but it is worth it! As you become more proficient, you can mix it up with different skipping techniques or short/longer intervals.

My weekly routine

Monday – Run, Skip

Tuesday – HIT, Skip

Wednesday – Run, Skip

Thursday – HIT, Skip

Friday  – Run, Skip

Saturday – HIT, Skip

Sunday – REST!

(Note, when I first started I was just running 3 times a week. I did this for 2 months before I added HIT training and then did that for 3 months before adding skipping. Don’t overdo it at the start, listen to your body).

To help me with the HIT Training and skipping routine I downloaded an app called Seconds from App store and set my routine up as a custom routine in that. It’s £3.99 for the Pro version but worth it for the ease of use and configuration options.When you are skipping it is high-intensity so personally I find that there is no time to listen to any talks, music or anything else. You just wait for the timer to tell you that you can rest and enjoy the rest, people!

There you have it my friends. I’d love to hear what insight you had when reading and reflecting on this, please comment below.

Now if you have read this and are thinking about going and sitting on the sofa and eating cake let me tell you this – go for a walk, do some exercise, plan to get fit and make it happen and then in a months time when you feel a-maze-ing then sit on the sofa and eat cake because the next day you will be going out and doing some exercise, right?

P.S. – I use a lot of these don’t I? Hehe. If you are a parent, busy student or professional and are reading my schedule and thinking what the…. How on earth can I do this then let me tell you something that happened to me yesterday. I missed the skipping in the morning, things didn’t go to plan. So rather than let it go, I decided to find another time to skip. I usually cook what we will eat for dinner at lunchtime so I am only in the kitchen for a longer period once a day. Yesterday as I was cooking and the food was simmering and boiling I was skipping! I was interval cooking and skipping. My message to you is work out what you need to do and make it happen. This decision could be the thing that increases your quality of life, your standard of life and enables you to live beyond standard norms.