Snow may still linger on the ground and in the trees, but spring is in the air.

Now is the perfect time to condition your senses and your body for summertime’s high heat and activity levels.

Summertime is on approach. Water is trickling from sunkissed snowbanks, the birds are chirping and before long, people of all sorts emerge from their conservative, layered hibernation. Spring is known as ‘shredding season’ to many weathered bodybuilders which can really resonate with any person who has accumulated a little extra insulation over the winter. The cold months are also a time when many runners, cyclists and other athletes take an ‘off season’ which is now over. It is time to condition our cardiovascular systems, our muscles and to shed the fat content that no longer serves purpose for us. Today we literally ‘spring forward’ our daily start time to yield more out of the sunny hours. How can we prepare ourselves for the upcoming beach season, athletics and the inevitable high intensity heat?

Make the most out of your mornings.

Since today is the ‘Spring Forward’ into sunnier mornings, take full advantage! Meditate in the morning when you wake up to bring your morning, daily and ultimate goals to the forefront of your mind. Invigorate your spirit. Build a great relationship with your intuition and create accountability for what you can, want to and will do.

Use the mornings to work out as well, after a meditation. Running, flowing through yogic asanas or lifting with the newly risen sun is a pearl of divine enjoyment. Also, your daily energy levels will be high due to the mode you set your body into by invigorating the systems and mind. This really is the start to a trend of accomplishment.

You can revamp the fundamentals of your morning routine by reading more here.

Eat more organically grown fresh, local and raw foods.

Incorporate a generous amount of fresh, raw foods into your diet. Fruit, and an abundance of vegetables with nuts and cold-pressed oils as well as some other healthy starches such as grains create the pinnacle of balance . Reduce the processed foods as much as possible, and where you can, do the processing yourself (example, making your own burgers, salads/ salad dressings, juice etc). The more fresh and raw you replace processed foods with, the higher your energy levels will be. The sooner you can flush your body of toxins that cause inflammatory response/weight gain.
If I may, the better you will smell also.

Spring and summer are an excellent time to buy locally grown food. Search for farmers markets in your area and try to buy the majority of your food from them. Not only is this food the most fresh, but  you are also supporting the growth of ethical food. Many farmers do not have the funds to have their products labeled as organic but talk to the sellers and they will know if anything has been sprayed on the food, what soil is used etc.

Stick to a physical activity routine. Sweat.

Create a routine yourself or with your personal trainer that you can stick to. You should be working out at least 3 days a week to really improve your muscular, cardiovascular, bone and mental health. Create goals and set dates of accomplishment. Try to beat your expected date!

The refreshing detoxification that sweating yields cannot be replaced by diet alone (vice versa: exercising and eating unwell will leave gaping holes in the benefits and progress). Push yourself out of your comfort zone and flourish wholly.

It is so vital to properly nourish yourself in order to heal and regenerate post exercise with the right nutrients.

I may need help with my nutrition. Am I taking too much of something, too little of another? How do I nourish my body based on my needs?

Adequate rest will fully synthesize the process.

Get your home ready.

This is the perfect time to purge your home of blockages into your active transition. Rid your kitchen of the winter comfort foods such as cakes and heavy meat roasts, box up your winteresque interior decorating books and ‘warm and cozy’ cookbooks for the season. Breathe in the nuances of advertised patio sets and outdoor dinner party ideas. Ladies can put their favourite bikini top into their unmentionables drawer for a daily reminder.

Have reusable water bottles at hand, and keep athletic shoes accessible. These subtle steps will mentally prepare you to dive, or keep swimming, into your active, healthy and fresh spring routines.

Plan activities.

Planning activities such as a day with friends and family at the nearest amusement park or beach, playing sports at a local park/field or running a marathon all give affirmative answers the question ‘why’ of bettering our health and physical fitness for the summer- if not all times of year.

Enjoying fun activities with family and friends betters your personal community by promoting light hearted demeanors and healthy accountability. If someone in your personal community needs help with their healthful journey, raise them up with you! Invite them to run with you or introduce them to your trainer or athletic group. The next planned activity will be all the more enjoyable and challenging if there are competitive sport elements.

Take pictures and hang them on your wall. Once one plan is fulfilled, create a new one.

Start your preparation routine as soon as possible so that you may enjoy the beautiful, abundant and warm months for all that they are worth! Experience vigor and intensity in your life, improving your overall health. Your hard work and healthy habits will show at the beach every single year.

Summer will soon be knocking… answer with a readily welcoming smile.

Living a healthy, energy filled lifestyle takes an honest and raw commitment.

Not to fear- Eventually the commitment will be a natural occurrence.

     Whether you are newly committed to your fit lifestyle, or you have been a beacon of health and vitality for years, there are promises we all must self-constitute. It’s like a disciplinary self love that ends up being the light from within. Here are some promises you can make with yourself to turn your healthy body and lifestyle into overdrive:

“I promise to be honest with myself.”
Is it serving me to skip a workout or active-living opportunity? A lifestyle consists of preferences, choices, opinions & communications- ultimately leading to habits. On the libra scale, your inner voice will know that fulfilling your body’s purpose of movement and strengthening will trump the desire to keep up with the Kardashians.

“I promise to thank my food.”
     Why is thanking our food purposeful? To start, it prepares us both physically and mentally for a meal, believe it or not! The anticipation allows your body to adjust to ‘mealtime’ mode, and triggers salivation (hello metabolism kickstart). Appreciating the food you have allows you to savour the meal and ultimately feel more satisfied once the meal is finished. Anticipate how the food will serve you- this kind of makes the processed junk  seem pointless for its lack of nutritional content. Over time, allowing yourself to be thankful for the food, its purpose, the opportunity to eat and the satiety you feel afterwards will naturally help you to make better selections and portion sizes.

“I promise to routinely work out- and enjoy it!”
Whether you prefer dancing, lifting, running or hiking- enjoying the activity is at par in importance with the physical action. Its natural to push yourself further when you feel like you are accomplishing a feat on multiple planes. “I’m more fit and healthy, I held that yoga pose longer than I could before, my posture is great, I feel amazing!”. Take classes, hire a personal trainer [a great trainer will creatively incorporate your niches into a result-yielding program ;)] and experiment on your own. Love it, DO IT!

“I promise to discipline myself. I promise not to ‘punish’ myself.”
Discipline is accountability. Truly pivotal lifestyle & body changes can only manifest with the partnership of discipline. You know you set that reminder for a reason, don’t ignore it! Something came up? Reschedule. Tongue says yes, arteries say no. My advice? Listen to the arteries. On the same token, you are allowed to treat yourself. Keyword TREAT (Its not a deserved delight if you do it all the time). Do not give up, partake in self-pity or overwork/undernourish your body if you happen to slip up. Tomorrow is a new day where you will return to your course of healthy habits.

“I promise to celebrate and treat myself.”
You work hard in many ways to maintain your lifestyle. Take a day off to rest and indulge. This day is not only gratifying in its instance, but it allows you to regenerate, reenergize and really appreciate the “why” to your strife. Hit the ground running the next day!
If you lost 2 pounds, buy a new article of clothing. Write yourself a thank you note. Tell someone who can celebrate it with you. An ounce of joy is the alchemic reaction of 10 ounces of discipline and effort. Enjoy that valuable, precious joy.  Oh, and if you reach a big goal, that’s party or vacation worthy.

“I promise to nurture valuable relationships.”
Every person is as good as their support system. Just as much as you need others to support you, you are needed vice-versa. Express love, appreciation, anticipation and honesty. The people who love you most will exchange these vital emotions with you. If you are being unhealthy- expect them to tell you! Practice putting your ego aside and considering the advice. Assert the advice you have for others as well. Loving and feeding your truest relationships will establish strength in you and them.
These people will be the ones you celebrate with when you’ve reached your goal weight, passed a physician’s test or reached a new physical peak.

“I promise to consider my body, mind and soul as one in the same.”
**NOTICE** Dear Atheist readers, the term ‘soul’ is non-denominational. Feel free to interchange it with ‘morale’, ‘disposition’ or ‘conscience’. This still applies to you.

     Your ‘body’ is a physical manifestation of your ‘soul’, influenced by your ‘mind’. This can be exemplary in those whose soul is depressed- they may eat unhealthily and in excess, as well as move lethargically if at all. The emotions are caused, on a long term scale, by a constantly negative thinking mind- “I can’t, I hate, I don’t believe.” etc. This results in physical manifestations like high blood pressure, larger waistlines, lower lung capacity, digestive issues, skin problems and more.
Quite the opposite is true of a positive minded person. “I can, I will, I like” etc. If you fail, the mindset of “I can” will push you to try harder, or in an alternative manner and “will do” does become “done”. Taking the positive mindset and applying the premise of health will lead to success, eventually. Know what you want, have a vision in mind and apply action. If anything is off about you, try the process of elimination: Is my morale up/ soul healthy? Am I thinking and acting in a happy manner? Is my body in a state of health?

Voila! The promises any fit-healthy-happy person keeps to stay on their track. Try keeping these promises with yourself for 30 days. Your fitness results and general lifestyle is sure to benefit.