The Daily 10 – part I

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Welcome to the South of France! Being on vacation, doesn’t always make it easy to keep up an exercise routine and I am no exception. So, I’ve decided to challenge myself with what I call ‘The Daily 10’ – a true and hopefully feasible attempt to live “a Pilates Lifestyle”. Here is how it works:

Going for an ice-cold dip in the river
will definitely be part of an upcoming
Daily 10.

Throughout the day, try to come up with creative ideas and exercises on how you could incorporate a healthy routine into your everyday life. The idea is NOT to drop everything in order to go for a 45-min run or follow an hour long Yoga DVD – it’s the accumulation of small things that count. This idea might not be the most effective if you only do it once or twice, but if you manage to keep up your Daily 10 routine EVERY DAY and truly make it part of your life, I assure you that you will see results.

Ok, ok, I just started myself, so let’s see how I do before I make big promises, but I would be more than happy to find a few friends to join me in the task and share their ideas and reflections.

Here’s my first successfully completed Daily 10:

1. 3 minutes of wide plie squats and single-leg back kicks while brushing my teeth (worked my glutes, thighs, challenged my balance and ended up with really clean teeth!)

2. Enhanced my regular hot shower with a sense-awakening cold-water finish (felt fantastic and boosted my blood-circulation)
3. Substitued a 3rd piece of toast with a fresh peach from the garden at breakfast (fruits are an important source of fibre and a great choice if you crave something sweet)
4. Took baby Timo for a ride in the stroller and pushed him up the 800m steep driveway from house, (same idea as taking the stairs instead of the elevator…)
5. While watching over my son Iluka playing in the pool, I did planks on all different surfaces and heights (floor, rocks, wooden box) instead of simply hanging in the deck chair.
6. In the afternoon Timo and I really needed a nap, which as a breastfeeding mom is still important, but when I woke, I did a nice long set of Kegels in bed.
7. 10 minutes of raking pine needles (great for arms and abs – try switching arms for some fun and a challenge)
8. Soothed my crying baby with a little dance to some great Jazz. (If you don’t have a baby, dancing with a 6kg sandbag might feel a bit silly, but maybe grab your spouse instead. It’ll make a welcome break in the day and get those endorphines flowing)
9. Watched Leah Stewart’s great cadillac class on Pilates Anytime (since I couldn’t set aside the time to participate in the class, not to mention the fact that my in-laws don’t own a cadillac ;-), I felt great after and enjoyed learning and watching probably as much)

10. Had sex (definitely a worthy substitute to the missed class)

So here you have it. Today, I am still as motivated as yesterday and I will keep you posted on my best Daily 10s throughout the summer.

It’s all about setting realistic and attainable goals. Feel free to adapt this idea to a ‘daily 7 or 5’, depending on what you think you can handle. Maybe start off with 5 and set a goal to progress to 10 by the end of the summer. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

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