my fitness principles.

I get asked often about how I stay 'fit' so I thought I'd write a little about my fitness journey and my approach to movement, fitness, and staying in shape.

First of all, let me tell you that by no means have I always been consistent with my workouts nor have I always had a positive body image. I was however a dancer growing up and my family has always been quite active so I have always enjoyed movement and the concept of fitness generally.

The best thing to happen to my approach to fitness and body image was, wait for it.... Back surgery!

Ok look, that's a bigger story for another day. What I mean is having back surgery and going through the recovery process with a physical therapist was HUGE for me.

I was 26 and ready to get my ass moving so I did everything he told me to do.

EVERYTHING.

Here are the main fitness principals that I've developed for myself since then (and predominantly thanks to that physical therapist):

• Walking - I go walking almost every day if I can help it. Getting outdoors is an enormous mood booster not to mention that it's the safest form of cardio.

• Planks - There are SO many different versions of planks that you can do. I do multiple versions of planks AT LEAST 4 times a week for overall core strength. I now also do a variety of ab exercises (I mean, when I'm feeling it) but really planks are all you need for a good core.

• Consistency - Yes, lifestyle changes as does location and seasons but a general baseline of consistency is KEY not only in fitness progress but also in maintenance. This means that even if I don't have time to go for a long walk for multiple days in a row, I can still go for a 20 minute walk and knock out a series of planks in 30 minutes. OR maybe just grab a chair or bench to do 3 or four rounds of step-ups and push-ups to get my heart rate and muscles going for 10 to 15 minutes. ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING.