A Beginners Guide to Exercising

Where do you start if you want to work out? Take that first step. When I moved to a more rural community than an urban one in high school, I decided to go on long walks and listen to the radio on a Walkman. When a song I loved pumped me up, I would run through the duration of it. I did this with a few songs and formed a habit. By my senior year of high school, I made strides running cross country. I make sure to jog or walk daily. This is my story about how I became a runner, and it was one decision I made and formed habits over time. Here is how you can start exercising.   

Set Reasonable Goals   

Start gradually and accelerate slowly with all that you do. Allocate yourself an abundance of time to warm up and cool down with leisurely walking or delicate stretching. Find the best time for you; even just 30 minutes a day is fine. A sensible goal of losing weight is at a pace of one or two pounds a week. Create a habit of drinking more water because you will need it. For me, I started slowly and worked my way up.  

Maintain Consistency   

Persistence is key. Find an exercise routine and what works for you. Work in the busy day tips and walk with co-workers. Try a different exercise routine every few weeks. You will want to track your goals to stay motivated and think of the bigger picture. If you lose inspiration, set additional goals, or attempt a new workout. Taking a class at the gym and even going with a friend could help, too. For me, every time the song came on, I would run. I picked a few other songs.   

Accept Being Uncomfortable   

Forming new habits, especially healthy ones, are accessible but challenging. If you switch from taking the stairs instead of the elevator, that can be an adjustment. Walk or ride a bike rather than drive whenever you can. Sore muscles and fatigue will be common symptoms. This feeling is expected, and people will have to comply with it. Know your body. I accepted the fact that sometimes this would hurt.  

But Know When to Take a Break   

You will figure out how your body responds to different situations. Slow down and take a breather if you feel soreness, shorter breath, dizziness, or nausea. You may be forcing yourself too much. Overreaching can happen when your activity becomes extreme for what your body is used to, and performance drags consequently. Respond to your body's clues and know when to slow down. For me, I would slow down and walk when I got side cramps.  

Have Accountability    

Sharing your goals and being honest with others is the way to go. Make a friend, significant other, or co-worker your accountability companion and encourage each other by swapping healthy food tips, shipping motivational quotes, and checking in to see how each other feels or maintains their goals. Someone who can help you achieve your goals makes them easier to accomplish. For me, I told people about this habit, and they would ask me how I was holding up.  

At WSi, we value working out in the morning, after work, or even a few co-workers going on a walk together during our lunch hour. (Some even answer candidate and client phone calls while taking a stroll.) 

February is Heart Health Month. Here is What You Need to Know.

Valentine's Day is not the only February holiday that focuses on hearts. It is also Heart Health Month, and heart disease is the most common health issue that patients face. This is an ideal time to offer advice on how people can lower their risk of the various problems related to blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels steady and reduce their heart disease and heart attack danger.

Manage expectations  

Identifying a medical problem from a doctor's visit or on your own is a major step. You cannot resolve these types of difficulties overnight or even for a week or two. Immediate change can be overwhelming, and people resist adapting to new habits all at once. Tracking improvement is crucial for your health—persevering to confront these issues. Celebrate successes and overcome drawbacks. Momentum is a secret way to succeed at your goals.   

Eat Healthily  

Living a nutritious lifestyle can help keep your heart health in check. Carbs are not bad. Choose whole-grain bread instead of refined. Plain Greek yogurt makes for a nutritional snack and eat it with natural fruit. Increase your protein intake and drink more water. Avoid fried foods. Skip diet foods tend to have more sugar. All of this will contribute to lowering weight and relaxing your blood pressure.   

Lower Stress  

Maintaining stress is a way to fight for your heart health. Anxiety can trigger dramatic but temporary increases in your blood pressure. Bodies react by unleashing stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) into the blood. These hormones condition the body for a heightened response by causing the heart to beat quickly and narrowing blood vessels to circulate more blood. Begin some relaxation techniques. Meditation, embracing guided imagery, and taking deep, rhythmic breathes.  

Exercise   

Many people do not spend a lot of time working out. Forming new habits, starting small, and building up to something matters. Both lightweight training and cardio can help you, and temporary soreness is better than the long-term problems of managing heart health issues—however, ten minutes of brisk or moderate walking a few times a day can help. 

Increase Sleep  

This is an important one and could be the most challenging. Unwinding at night could be difficult for many busy professionals or when a personal life can become burdensome. Lower your blue light (screen time) at night. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon. Taking a melatonin supplement can help you fall asleep. Find a routine schedule of going to sleep and waking up, which allows a natural sleep cycle.  

Heart Health month is a fantastic opportunity to book doctors' visits and commence to make small but significant lifestyle modifications. Since 1988, WSi has been staffing health care professionals. Contact us if you are looking for your next position. 

4 Mental Health Tips When Job Searching

Job hunting can be exhausting and dehumanizing. You work so hard on your resume, applying for work, preparing for the interview, all for it to vanish when you receive the rejection email, or worse, suddenly: you are even ghosted after everything! A recent trending article shared on LinkedIn compared job hunting to online dating, bruising egos. As more people continue to interview during this transitional season, here is a way to keep your mental health in check while looking for a job:

Embrace Perseverance     

Being persistent is the key to success with looking for your next role. You must keep going knowing that the best fit is waiting for you. Remind yourself of previous experiences when you needed to embrace persistence. It can be a motivator. You came out stronger in the end. Dopamine motivates people to work harder. However, balance a rhythm of work with a healthy mindset, but take a break with something you enjoy if you need to do so.   

Keep It Positive  

Most of the time, you cannot take the rejection personally. Easier said than done. If the experience was terrible, know that this doesn’t define your self-worth. Someone else was a better fit for the job, either skill or personality-wise. Mastering the ability to overcome obstacles allows you to work through challenges more manageable.   

Reassess Your Goals    

Double-check the jobs you applied for in the past. Were you the best fit? Reflect on the positions where you went farther in the interview process. How did it go? Could you have done something differently? You might not be a “square peg, square hole” fit for the jobs you interviewed for. People can learn lessons from those experiences. You could be on the wrong path and need to get back on track with what you want and your values. Goals can change, too.      

Tap Into Your Network   

Not only is relying on your network a fantastic opportunity to find your next job, but it is also even better to lean on close friends and family to vent and seek emotional support. Reaching out for advice both benefits you psychologically and professionally. This is a way to strategize a plan and know that people who care about you have your back. We need individuals rooting for us during the challenges of life. 

Since 1988, WSi’s recruiters have been transparent and honest with candidates looking for other work opportunities. If you are interested in finding your following healthcare positions, get in touch with us today!