Let autumn inspire your healthiest lifestyle. Here is how …

Any time is the best time to get healthier. However, fall lends itself to fitness in unique ways. Capitalize on nature’s way of helping you maintain (or return to) a healthy lifestyle.

1. Jump-start your goals.

   Set year-end goals. It is the last few months of 2018. What are your goals? Pick three (likely remaining from your new year resolutions list) and tackle them. A new year is coming. How do you want to welcome 2019? Elastic waistbands or skinny jeans? Cigarette in hand or a mug of green tea? Now is the time to act. Talk with a personal trainer about those pending fitness goals, before the caramel-drizzled drinks drown your resolve.

2. Get in the groove. As summer ends, schedules naturally settle into a routine. Vacations wind down, schools reopen, and life takes a more predictable rhythm. We thrive when healthy essentials are set in a daily routine: sleep, wake, eat, and exercise; repeat. Fall transitions us from spontaneous daytrips and late-night movies to a more consistent, maintainable existence.

3. Feast on fall!

   Feast on fall’s bounty. Apples, sweet potatoes, figs, and pumpkins abound! The high-fiber content of apples helps everything from bathroom regularity (there’s that association with fall routine again) to reducing cholesterol. Pumpkins and sweet potatoes are packed with vitamin E and low in calories. Figs contain fiber and potassium, which make them a filling snack that also helps prevent muscle cramps. (Toss some in your gym bag.) Summer stars linger so don’t forget the finale of local tomatoes, peaches, and plums.

4. Create a challenge. Fall’s abundance also includes plenty of competitive and community events. Try a walkathon or bike race. Join a fitness fundraising event to bring special meaning and dedication to your efforts. Work with a personal trainer to increase your endurance and strength. With the deadline of a competition ahead, you will be sure to remain committed.

5. Experiment.

   Color your life. Let the changing leaves around you be a constant reminder to keep your fitness routine colorful. Join a different Group Fitness class. Hit the Fitness Floor and discover a new piece of equipment. Get in the pool, a novelty this time of year when outdoor aquatics are off limits. Keep muscles confused and mind engaged. A trainer can show how to be limitless in your endeavors while remaining in safe parameters.

6. Build your resistance. Included in fall’s soundtrack are sneezes, coughs, and complaints of cold/flu season. Regular exercise at moderate intensity levels helps boost your immune system. Make exercise your medicine with its powerful preventative effects. A fit body performs at its peak, without additional physical stress that weakens the immune system. It also helps decrease mental stress and improve mood, to further combat illness. Plus, a well-exercised body more easily accomplishes quality sleep, another germ-buster.

7. Beauty in letting go.

   Learn to let go. Through its display of rich autumn colors, nature shows us how beautiful it is to let go. Embracing the present can take courage. It means we clear our minds of worry, regret, and sadness. Only then can we discover today’s new adventures, activities, people, and places. Let fall be a fresh start—one of self-acceptance and contentment. Affirm all that is good in your life and let the rest go.

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