Adrianne Ho is the go-to girl for fashionable fitness. Recently, she launched Sweat The Style, an online platform for sharing industry secrets on the fitness perspective she’s developed over the years as an internationally-renowned model. Here, she’s shares her tips for an active, fashionable lifestyle with Galore.
1. Invest in great active pieces you can live in.
As people are becoming more educated about their bodies and their health, it’s only natural for that lifestyle shift to affect fashion. That’s why it’s important to invest in great active clothing that you wear before or after your workout. Having a strong active wardrobe is a huge motivator for me! You can purchase cool, rare, vintage athletic and sportswear gear from The Locker Room, and limited edition Sweat x Sweat The Style exclusively on SweatTheStyle.com. In August, Sweat The Style is launching a new brand, called Sweat Crew with the American retailer PacSun. It will be available online, and in over 650 of their stores across the United States. It’s the first of its kind as truly fashionable fitness clothing that can be worn in the gym and the streets. It has a high fashion aesthetic in the tailoring, silhouettes, and details, but you won’t think twice about sweating in it.
2. Make exercise part of your lifestyle.
Once you have some the perfect active wardrobe, it’s time to incorporate exercise into your daily life. Your workouts can blend into your day seamlessly instead of interrupting it—that way it won’t feel like you’re stopping everything just to get a sweat in. Plan to take a class after or before work, meet some friends for a hike, or run to your next meeting. This is what I do—I start my mornings with a short run. I usually run about 2-3 miles and loop around to grab my morning coffee, stopping by my local breakfast spot, or buying fruits and veggies at my local farmers market.
3. Hit the farmer’s market and eat real food.
What’s real food? Anything that doesn’t come with a label or an FDA-approved nutrition facts label. If the list of ingredients includes words you can’t pronounce or define without a background in chemistry, chances are it’s not a real whole food. Your local farmer’s market is the mecca of all real whole food and nothing beats that, especially in the summer. What’s key about the farmer’s market is that the produce grown by the farmers is not only organic, but local. The minute a fruit or vegetable is picked is the moment it starts to change chemically and lose its nutritional value. By the time the vast majority of produce reaches the aisles of the supermarket, it doesn’t contain nearly the same amount of nutrients as when plucked from the plant or yanked from its roots. You may not notice a difference right away, but consistently eating the right foods from the right places will improve your energy, weight, skin, and health!
4. Workout with friends!
Make a plan to workout with your friends. You’ll be less likely to skip out if you have someone else counting on you, and the added company will motivate you to push a little harder. Exercise generally makes you want to be healthier in other aspects of your life as well, so if you sweat as a crew, you’ll be more likely to eat better and make new healthy habits together. Participating in activities that push your body and get your heart pumping has been scientifically proven to make you feel closer with the people around you—not a bad bonus!
5. Workout outside.
Take advantage of summer days by getting out of the gym and taking your workout outside! Whether that means bringing weights and a yoga mat to the beach, playing summer sports with friends, or going for a hike, this added variety to your daily workouts allows you to spend much-needed time in nature. Studies have shown that outdoor exercise had a 50% greater positive benefit on mental health than going to the gym. Burn calories while bonding with mother —can’t go wrong with that!
6. Protect yourself from the sun.
It’s hard not to stay out of the sun during the summer months, and why should you? Just keep in mind that as good as the sun feels on your skin, it also contains harmful UVA – UBA rays that can cause wrinkles, sunspots, eye damage, and even worse, skin cancer. The sun is the harshest from 10 AM to 4 PM, so make sure to especially protect yourself during that time. You can do this by applying sun protection continuously, wearing sunglasses, and/or a hat. If you’re going to be sweating outside make sure to use either waterproof or sun protection made especially for sports. Look for both UVA and UBA protection, these are called “broad spectrum”.
7. Set realistic goals.
Don’t underestimate the power of your mind. If you feel happy, healthy, and positive in spirit than your body will follow. Set goals that align more with your health and happiness than with body shape or fitting into a specific size. The goal of “running for 30 minutes every morning to improve your health and mood” is more achievable and constructive than “to lose 5 lbs”. If you can set these types of positive goals in all aspects of your life, then you’ll be winning—doing something that benefits you is more motivating than doing it because you unhappy with your body. At the end of the day, there’s nothing better than being the best version of yourself!