Get Healthy, Get Fit, Get Ready for LOVE!

Posted on 09. Feb, 2010 by Becky in Work Your Body

Love is in the air!  Well, if it’s not…you’ve only got 6 days left to brew up a romantic atmosphere in your relationship.  If you’re feeling less than amorous because you’re up to your elbows in toddlers, spit up, laundry, and trying to keep a budget, it’s time to focus on getting in the mood.  And you may not have realized that a health and wellness emphasis can get you there!  Here are 5 tips to get you ready for a Valentine’s Day that you and your special someone won’t forget:

1.  Get some rest, for goodness sake!

According to a 2005 study by the National Sleep Foundation, nearly 25% of couples in the United States admit to being so sleepy that they have lost interest in lovemaking.  If you fall into this category from time to time, you are obviously not alone!  Do yourself and your loved one a favor and work extra hard this week to get the kids to bed on time so that you can get the rest you need to be able to give the time and energy you want to give to your sweetheart.

2.  Get Active, Get Sexy!

It’s hard to be flirty and fun if you don’t feel confident and desirable.  People who exercise have an improved body image over people who do not exercise. A study showed that more physically fit men and women rated their own sexual desirability higher than less active men and women the same age. Eighty percent of men and sixty percent of females who exercised two to three times weekly rated their own sexual desirability as above average. As the number of days of exercise per week increased, so did the ratings of sexual desirability.  So, if you’re having trouble feeling like you can work that lingerie, get out and get active this week!  You’ll feel better about you, and that’s sexy whether you’ve got cellulite or not.

3.  Try Yoga

If you’ve never tried yoga, this could be a great way to get in touch with your inner sensuality.  Yoga is all about flow, rhythm, stretching, and breathing.  It can help you find that inner calm and confidence you need to feel sexy.  If you’re a beginner, try Namaste Yoga on Fit TV.  It is a short practice that will warm you up, work you into a 20 minute flow, and then cool you down.   With settings like the forest, a cloudy harbor, and the beach, you’ll feel like you are a world away, and you won’t even realize that you are growing stronger with each dynamic flow.

4.  Try Zumba

While Yoga will help you find your inner sensuality, Zumba will unlock the wildcat you never knew existed!  I never knew I could shake my hips like that–let alone shimmy my shoulders, body roll, pump it and any of the other fun, freeing dance moves we do everyday in Zumba.  The more you Zumba, the more you can let go of all your worries and just have fun moving to the music.  And studies confirm that stress is a major romance-killer!  So, finding a fun, feminine way to burn off that stress is essential to keeping the romance in your relationship!  Yet another reason to Zumba!

5.  Get a Couples’ Massage

My husband and I have a tried and true Valentine’s Day tradition:  a couples’ massage.  It is perfect for many reasons:

1.  We don’t have to try to come up with some “perfect gift” to surprise the other

2.  It is a once-a-year treat that costs us a reasonable $100 and leaves us both feeling like royalty

3.  It is super-relaxing and super-sexy!

Massage has a plethora of health benefits, but of course, on Valentine’s Day, perhaps the best one is that it gets you in the mood for romance!

This Valentine’s Week, treat yourself well every day so that by the 14th, you’ll feel less like an overworked mom and more like the sexy little thing you remember from so long ago.  She’s still in there somewhere!