The Teacher Burnout Podcast

Becoming More Active in the Summer
[00:00:00] In today's episode, I'm going to talk about ways to become more active in the summer. That's all coming up next, right here on the teacher burnout podcast. So stay tuned.
Welcome to the Teacher Burnout Podcast, where we explore the challenges of burnout for teachers and share practical strategies to support teacher well being. I'm your host Barb Flowers. If you're a teacher looking for ways to prevent burnout or an educational leader searching for strategies to support your team, this podcast is for you.
Let's dive in.
Welcome back to the podcast today. I want to talk about becoming more active this summer. I feel like this is a great topic to talk about with educators because our schedules are so different in the summer. We go from very routine schedules during the school year, to the summer where we're off of work.
And, if we want to have a routine schedule, we have to create our own routines. And so. It can be really hard to be active depending on your lifestyle [00:01:00] and what your life looks like. You know, when I was growing up, I lived where we had 88 acres. I had horses, and I was just constantly outside all summer.
It was easy for me to be active. I always lost weight in the summer, even as a kid, because I was just outside all the time. As soon as I was out of school. I would be riding my horse, walking in the woods, whatever it was. , but now it's a little bit different as I'm an adult.
And even with my own kids, we live in the suburbs. And so we don't have a lot of property. And it can be very easy to just sit in the house because we don't have any commitments outside. Like I used to have to go outside to take care of animals. Well, now I don't have that. And so it can be really easy to just not be active.
And especially with technology, you know, my kids love watching TV. They love being on electronics. Like most kids. And so I have to be really intentional about making sure that they're active, but also making sure that I'm active because my lifestyle just looks different than it did in the past. And [00:02:00] I have a very good exercise routine in place already, but I'm talking about even more than exercise because I'm talking about being active throughout the day and not just one time throughout the day.
As teachers and educators, we're walking through the building, we're walking around classrooms. All day that we might get a lot of steps. If you count your steps, you get a lot of activity because you're so busy during the day, and then you go on break
and it's easy to just relax and sit and not be as active. So it is really important for your own physical and mental wellbeing to stay active. I. I have heard multiple studies where they talk about sitting, being the new smoking, because sitting is so bad for you. Movement is so important for your body. And so today we're just going to talk about some ways to stay active this summer.
So the first way to stay active is to create an exercise and movement routine. If you don't already have a routine, I just encourage you to create some sort of routines because routines help you be [00:03:00] consistent. So, if you don't have a morning routine with exercise, I really highly recommend that you start one summer is the perfect time to start a routine that you might want to continue when the school year starts. So if you want to start exercising and getting in movement in the morning. And maybe you're new to exercise.
I would recommend just even doing 10 minutes a day. I actually did a program where she would say do a four minute to Bata set each day. So that's like a high intensity set. And just start with that because the thinking behind 10 minutes a day is usually if you get yourself ready to go get dressed,
you can get yourself doing more. And I personally do body, which was formerly Beachbody, and I love the on-demand videos. It's kind of like Netflix for exercise. And that works for me because I have little kids and so I can go downstairs. First thing in the morning, I get my exercise in and they're still asleep.
So if you're interested in trying something like that, reach out to me, but the other thing you can do is YouTube. I have a client [00:04:00] who I helped her become more active. She was not getting. Very many steps at all. She started tracking your steps and she realized how active she was. And she was sitting a lot. And she decided to start walking videos on YouTube, which I've done those before.
And they're great. So she started them and she would start with one video a day. And now she's up to doing three videos a day. 'cause. She said, once I get started, I'm thinking I might as well keep going. And I do another video and then another, and that's how she ends up doing three videos a day to get more movement.
And it's just been really cool hearing her experience as someone who has not been an exerciser. That she's like, I feel so much better. I have so much more energy and this is what I try to share with people. If you just try it and see how much of a difference it makes for you, I'm sure you will love it.
So. Like I said, she did something as simple as those walking videos on YouTube, and those are a great way to get started.
Another way to stay active this summer is just.
Incorporate walking into your [00:05:00] daily routine. Walking is such a great form of exercise because it's relaxing, it's low impact. And so walking to start the day is great. If there's also a lot of research and a lot of things I've read about getting outside and having that sunlight, it helps with your circadian rhythms for sleep.
If you get up and go outside and have that sunlight, and then you go to bed in a dark space, it helps your body adjust to night and day. And so getting up and going for a walk to start the day is a great thing to do also. So evening walks after dinner are great for relaxation and digestion, you know, after you eat a meal to just go for a walk, you'll feel better. And that's a great time.
My husband and I like to go for a walk after dinner. It's a great way to connect and just get some more activity. So just short, consistent walks help build that habit of moving and being more active. Exercise. Doesn't have to be this high intensity thing.
There's a lot out there about heart rate zones and things like that. But if [00:06:00] you don't exercise, just start with getting movement and just start with being more active. It's going to help you be healthier overall. Another way to be more activist, join active social groups. So I've been in a lot of different social groups.
I've actually done a book club where we would meet and we would drink wine. And then we decided that we were all moms and we didn't want to just drink wine and eat food when we got together. So we decided. Our book club was going to be walking. So we would meet and go for walks.
I've also been part of running clubs and that's great.
It holds me accountable for running. , I've been part of bike groups. That's actually how I met my husband. So that was a great way to get social and meet people. And yoga studios, going to yoga classes or even group X classes where you could do cycling, kickboxing, whatever you really enjoy.
And I have taught group X classes and just that comradery of people coming together and exercising together is really motivating. And I would have people who would say, Hey, I'll see at the gym tomorrow at 7:00 [00:07:00] AM. And that was accountability to get me to the gym. So that's another great way. If you're trying to be more active. Also engage in family activities that are active.
So walk to the park with kids. I have a friend that, I go to her house and then we walk to a park that's a little less than a mile from our house. We walked there, the kids play, we walked back and it's just us being active. It gets the kids active and instead of us just sitting and talking and catching up. We're being active.
And so it's a great way to get more movement. And also like with my own kids, they're at an age they're seven and nine. We go on bike rides. And so getting that physical activity is not only good for them and modeling for them how important it is to be physical, but it helps me just get extra movement throughout the day. Also using accountability tools is a great way to get more active.
I am a person who I love accountability tools. I love checklists. And so I use my apple watch. I've done Fitbit as well, but having a [00:08:00] fitness tracker where you have goals to achieve. Is really helpful in getting yourself motivated to do things. So I, my apple watch. It calculates my calories and I have to get, I think you can choose your goals, but mine is like 600 calories a day, 45 minutes of activity and 12 time standing throughout the day.
And when I do all those things that closes the ring and that really motivates me to do those things, then it's super simple. and it's motivating. And also, I like to make sure that I get 10,000 steps a day. And again, what does 10,000 steps mean? I don't even know. It's just a number that I know is good to get. 10,000 steps that keeps me active. And I can look at my watch and see how far or close I am. And it's just an average, you know, There's been days where I'm at 4,000 steps at four o'clock and I think, okay, I've not been active enough.
I've not moved around enough. And so it just motivates me to go for a walk or I have a treadmill. So get on the treadmill and walk inside either way. Also joining fitness challenges for add, and motivation [00:09:00] is great. We have those on body where we do different fitness challenges, but even things like, you know, for the longest time I had my own finished challenges to do, be able to do a pushup on my toes, or I've seen where people have challenges to do a hundred, sit-ups a hundred pushups, whatever that is for you.
Just having different challenges, maybe it's walking a mile, you know, it doesn't matter how big or small the goal is. Just having a challenge that you work. Towards or some sort of goal that you work towards in the summer can be really motivating. And summer's a great time to pick those exercise and activity goals, because like I said,
if you create good habits in the summer, then you'll be able to sustain them. When you go back to work in the fall. And what that's going to do. If you become someone who's more active in the summer, when you go back to work, you're going to keep that. It's really going to help build your resilience. that's one of the things I talk about. For beating burnout is you have to build resilience. And exercise is a way to do that.
Taking care of [00:10:00] yourself, being healthier. That is a way to build up your resilience. And then my final way to just be more active is explore new activities. So try new sports or hobbies that require physical activity. Do things like going paddleboarding, hiking, dancing. You know, I love to kayak in the summer.
That's a great activity where you're moving. So whatever that is for you, but find things that you really enjoy because. If you enjoy it, it won't feel like your exercising. My husband loves to golf. That's another one. That's great for just getting out and getting movement.
So just to recap, ways to stay active the summer, create an exercise and movement routine. Incorporate walking into your daily routine. Join active social groups, engage in family activities that are active. Use accountability tools and explore new activities that you might enjoy. So I hope that you take one of these. Try it and really make your summer more of an active summer where you can focus on your own [00:11:00] physical and mental wellbeing.
And if you try something I'd love to hear about it. You could find me on Instagram at bark flowers, coaching and share what you've tried from the podcast. , if you want to feel more resilient during the school year, join us in the resilient educator academy.
This is going to help you prevent burnout in the future. And it's going to help you learn to prioritize your own wellbeing. Set boundaries, reduce overwhelm, and reduce stress. This group is such a great way to build resilience. You could access to group coaching calls.
All of my courses. A private Facebook group and monday motivation videos that are sent out to you on Mondays. So, this is a great way to just learn, to prioritize your own wellbeing and be in a group of community. With other educators who are trying to do the same thing. Thanks so much for joining us today for another episode of the teacher burnout podcast.
Make sure to follow me on Instagram. , at Bart flyers, coaching.com. If you like the show and you're listening on apple, please scroll down in your app and leave a review.
Keep in [00:12:00] mind, you have the power to shape your life. According to the mindset you choose. I hope you have a great week and I'll see you back here next time.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.