Are you looking for a new fitness routine for this Spring and Summer? Today I am sharing my favourite program so far. I keep coming back to this program over the last 6 years. I feel like people assume us nurses are healthy because they have knowledge of health and wellness but people… this is a grand assumption.

Shiftwork makes it extremely difficult and thank goodness I don’t have to work nights anymore. I would feel the gut wrenching guilt sometimes discussing nutrition and exercise with people as I skipped my workout that morning or on my days off. I worked 12 hour shifts and just did not have the energy at the end of the day to move my body more, and I would come off night shift on my first day off and spend most of it sleeping. There are a lot of shift workers who are able to still exercise consistently but I was not really one of them. If that is you….good work! I envy you.

Now I work a 9-5 ish job with lots of flexibility. Having this job allows me to be better able to get into a routine for myself and my personal health goals. I am the woman who was consistently inconsistent over the last 6 years but I was still generally healthy. I’m a few weeks into a new routine and feeling pretty empowered. I can feel the motivation snowballing as I am feeling better mentally and physically. Things have settled for me and I have been prioritizing my physical and mental fitness for myself and those around me. If you’re looking for a fitness routine to help you feel strong, grow your glutes, and help your overall health… check this out.

Benefits

I like to exercise to maintain my overall health. Relieving stress is something that exercise helps me with and has been important because I have had more stress in my life lately. I tend to feel more comfortable in my body and more connected to my body when I listen to what it tells me. It likes movement and I feel better in my clothes when I am consistently moving my body. I am also addicted to the feeling of being physically capable feeling like I’m working towards my fitness goals. After buying a house, there was a lot of work we wanted to do to our home and being physically fit helps with me not complaining to my husband and being a more active participant in the difficult jobs.

Being physically fit helped me in my nursing career. We only get one body and it is our job to take care of them to prevent illness, disease, or injury. There isn’t a pill for everything and I believe people should be responsible for their health and not rely solely on a medical system. What do you do to maintain your health? It’s never too late to start something small everyday. If you have a favorite fitness routine share it below!

I am doing a strength training program which has many different benefits:

• Increasing muscle strength (and glute size)
• Improving cardiovascular health
• Reducing body fat
• Improving quality of sleep

Home Gym

I was previously going to the gym when I was working shiftwork and lived in an apartment. It was a block away and accessible for me at the time. Since I bought a house two years ago I have been exercising outside and in my home gym. There is a section of our garage where we put a folding squat rack etc. This brings equipment and my fitness routine to my home and there are ZERO excuses! We also have an empty spare bedroom that I will go into to do mat exercises. Here is the website that we purchased our home gym equipment from.

Morning Exercise

If I don’t complete my fitness routine first thing in the morning then I most likely won’t do it. I know myself and I will not exercise if I don’t prioritize it for first thing in the morning. I like to workout Monday to Friday and take the weekends as active rest days. Four times a week is my current goal. It has been doable for me as two of the workouts are only 35-40 minutes. I will usually set my alarm to wake up between 530-6 to get my workout in first thing before work.

Program

For my current fitness routine, I am primarily completing the Strong Curves program currently. I have had this book and completed this program previously when I was going to the gym. I loved strength training and feeling physically strong. Lots of women can be concerned about their quads also getting large with strength training but this book outlines the myths and how the program supports glute growth. I saw noticeable changes in my body and glute strength and size.

The book outlines two programs, a beginner and advanced workout regime each 12 weeks in length. The workouts weren’t too long, and the book included a suggested warm up. The program is flexible and you can choose how many workouts a week works best for you. It is suggested to workout four times a week but three (or even two!) is sufficient as well. There are specific sets and reps for each workout, and the exercises progress every 4 weeks.

This is something that works for me and if you’re looking for a flexible program I recommend this one. Thanks for reading! If you have any fitness routines or favorite workout videos you absolutely love or want to share please comment below!