Spring Into ACTION!

Can you believe that summer is roughly one month away? As much as I adore spring, my heart longs for cookouts, water slides, and hopefully the chance to visit loved ones. While having the “summer body” is certainly not the most important thing about summer, it is a goal of many because we want to look—and more importantly feel—our best during this eventful season. And guess what?

You still have time. If getting in better shape for summer is among your goals, here are five ways to spring into action!

#1: Start tracking your progress TODAY

This tip is helpful across many areas of life, especially fitness goals. Let’s say, for example, that your goal is to tone your legs and arms by the time summer is here. You could make a chart with these categories: Date, Day, Workout Type, Duration, Ate Healthy. It could look like this:

Date	Day	Workout	Duration	Ate Healthy?
5/19/25	Monday	Zumba Toning	50 minutes	No
5/20/25	Tuesday	Zumba	60 minutes	YES!

And you simply continue logging progress, being honest with yourself each day. Put some gold stars on the days when you workout out and ate ehalthy. It is more motivating to keep going if you hold yourself accountable—and no one wants a bad grade, right? So be your own professor/teacher and log workouts like homework assignments! The reward will be consistency and eventually achieving those goals.

#2: Mix up your workout routine.

Like begonias blooming in fresh soil, spring brings with it a sense of newness and novelty. Your game plan for winter workouts may indeed look different than your spring workout plan—especially with opportunities to go outside more! If you’re like me and love Zumba, try adding a stretch class like Circl Mobility and maybe scheduling outdoor walks or bike rides too. Keep doing Zumba consistently while incorporating other workouts as well. Schedule daily workouts in your planner for at least 3-4 times per week. Your body, mind, and spirit will thank you as you work toward those fitness goals with a balance of consistency AND variety!

#3: Recruit an accountability partner!

Most of us have at least one friend who cares about fitness (and hopefully more!). Invite them to set goals alongside you and agree to cheer each other on with intentionality! Even if you cannot workout with the person, zero excuses—we have all sorts of technology to help us communicate hope and encouragement! Try fun apps like FB Messenger or Marco Polo (my personal favorite) to send a motivational video message to your friend.

While many of us can think of a friend in two seconds or less, some of us may have a harder time. Maybe we aren’t around people who care about health or fitness. If that’s the case, I would encourage you to either (1) find a fitness class to attend weekly or (2) find an online group with people who are striving to reach fitness goals. You are almost guaranteed to make at least one friend who could be that accountability partner. So be friendly and find common ground with fitness!

#4: Spring into Fruits and Veggies

Most of us know that fruits and vegetables are great for our health, but today I want to approach the need for these edible treasures from a different angle: psychology. Consider how you feel when you eat a donut versus an apple. The donut will taste good (especially with coffee or milk, right?), but the apple will leave you feeling light on your feet and more energized. Because fruits and vegetables are more natural, the body naturally knows what to do with them more easily. I have seen study after study showing the negative effects of highly processed foods, from risk of dementia to extra weight gain. I’m a self-proclaimed cookie monster, but I must admit that I should probably eat more fruit!

So if you love cookies or another sweet, reserve it for an occasional treat (once a week, once a month, etc.). Make the fruits the everyday go-to instead. And as for veggies, try making sure every meal has a good portion of those--not just a sad piece of lettuce under a burger bun, haha! Eat healthier to more effectively reach your fitness goals.

#5: Pray For Spiritual Strength From Above

The Bible is filled with so much wisdom, and it compares the body to a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). We have a biblical responsibility to take care of our bodies. What does that mean? God loves us no matter what; however, when we make an effort to be healthy, we are actually honoring God by being good stewards of what he gifted us with: a beautiful body made in His image!

You may consider some sort of fasting as well, but exercise wisdom as fasting can slow the metabolism down if it is too extreme. Many people like intermittent fasting to reach both the spiritual goal of growing closer to God as well as the physical goal of a healthier body. Whatever you do, keep God at the center of your plan and you shall succeed!

Conclusion

Spring is upon us, and we have about one month until summer to work toward our fitness goals for the next season! That said, do not rush through spring or stroll along unintentionally—allow this season to inspire workouts that are consistent and varied; find a friend to hold you accountable to your goals; and remember to lean on God’s strength, especially on those days when life is not easy. Visit our fitness family at Island Time to work out with some of the kindest, most encouraging people I’ve ever met...

Remember, you can reach your goals no matter how far off they seem! Simply take one day at a time.