Get Your Body Moving with Alexa

As we’ve already established, I am an epic procrastinator. When it comes to getting up to exercise, what I do can’t even be considered procrastinating, it’s just not doing.  I paid for a gym membership for over two years and never went. When the CrossFit craze started, I wouldn’t join until I lost weight first. Is it a surprise that I never went?

Nowadays, I have a secret weapon…Alexa. No, not my daughter Alexa but rather, Amazon’s Alexa. My brother bought us an Amazon Echo Dot last Christmas.  We’ve been using it primarily to find out about the weather forecast and as a timeout timer (yikes).

I don’t remember when or how I stumbled upon it, but I learned that we could enable skills using the Alexa app. If we had read the instructions, we probably would have been using the skills sooner. 

I’ve been using Alexa as a motivator and a fitness coach.  As you probably know, for the month of October, I’m doing 31 Days of 31 Minutes of Exercise.  It’s any type of exercise I want to do for those 31 minutes. Alexa has been helping me achieve my goals. 

Use these Alexa skills to motivate you.

1. Exercise & Workout Motivation

To Open, say: Alexa, open Five Minute Workout.

This skill is great in getting me to just get up and do something. This skill consists of motivational sayings, much like the ones that we’re constantly pinning on Pinterest. Sometimes the sayings can be pretty sassy and those are the ones I’ve found to be quite effective in getting me off my butt.

My favorite quote: Behind every successful woman is the butt she got moving to get her there.

2. Five Minute Workout: Core and Cardio 

To Open, say: Alexa, open Five Minute Workout.

For those times that 30 minutes or more of cardio is just too daunting, I use the Five Minute Workout: Core and Cardio Alexa skill. You’d think that 5 minutes wouldn’t have much effect, but my abs would beg to differ.

3. Daily Stretch 

To Open, say: Alexa, open Daily Stretch.

I sit in front of a computer all day and when I’m not, I’m chasing or carrying two toddlers. Needless to say, my muscles are super sore most of the time. My neck is usually very sore and my lower back is painful. The stretches that I’ve been doing have definitely helped in alleviating some pain (not all…I need an excuse to go to the masseuse after all). The stretches are pretty repetitive and you have to be aware of your body and it’s limits. I try to be very careful with the wrist stretches since I have carpal tunnel. This skill also gives good reminders to keep shoulders down or back to encourage good posture. 

4. 7-Minute Workout

Again, you would be surprised how effective such a short exercise can be. What I love about this skill is that there are really good descriptions of each exercise. You just have to ask for “Help”. You can also get a description of the exercise by going to the Home page of the Alexa app on your phone. It’s really good for beginners who might not know exactly how to do a pose/exercise. A downfall of this skill is the ticking timer in the background. It would be better if there was some music. There also seems to be a glitch that when you ask for help during the Wall Sits, it automatically describes how to do Pushups.

5. Animal Workout

This might be my favorite skill since it allows me to exercise and have fun with my kids.  My kids and I get to play pretend and exercise. Dance like an elephant? Sure. Crawl around like an ant? Okay. My favorite is pretending to be a T-Rex and opening my mouth wide for 3 seconds.  It’s a great stretch for my face and might help in tightening up my facial muscles. I mostly use this skill for playing with my kids and working my ab muscles from laughing so hard.  Remember to use proper form since this skill will not remind you.

By doing a combination of these skills every day, it’s easier for me to complete my 31 minutes of exercise.  It also makes exercising more fun and doable.  Have you used Alexa to exercise? What skills do you use?  Let us know in the comments.

Disclaimer:
The articles on bloggingwithbabies.com are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and are not to be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific treatment plan, product, or course of action.  Prior to joining us on this or any other exercise or fitness program, you must get your physicians approval.  Also, some of the links in this post may be “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I might receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials.”

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