Fitness & Mental Health by Rebekkah Dale
Model & Content Creator, Rebekkah Dale, about her fitness journey.
While my fitness journey has in many ways sustained my mental health, I didn’t always possess the discipline to get myself to the gym. I first started working out when my parents forced me to join the track team in high school. I was in such poor shape, the schools' track coach had me attending morning workouts before classes started a few times per week. Being accountable to another person kept me disciplined and I was surprised by how my mental space improved as I grew stronger. This is when I first began to understand how interconnected our physical and mental health is.
While studying in uni, it only became harder to stick to a regular routine. But I was often reminded that without taking care of myself physically, I would find myself slipping into a dark headspace. With the stress of performing well, balancing work and studies and still maintaining a social life, the gym remained my happy place – where I could plug in my headphones and challenge my mental boundaries in pushing myself further each time.
My routine began to invite regular outdoor runs and group fitness classes. As I’ve moved around the world, this is also where I’ve been able to meet new people and then work together as we combat our goals and get closer to reaching our fullest potential. 
Some days I simply did not have the time to get myself to the gym however. So I began relying on YouTube workout videos to do in my living room and soon purchased some of my own equipment to step-up my at home “gym”.
My favourite equipment however has always been booty bands. Their versatility in utilising them for many different exercises, targeting different muscle groups and glute activation attracted me to this type of workout.
What is difficult however is that with so many booty bands on the market, I found most to slip, move and fail to stay in place. This is where Aura Eve comes in.
About a year ago I got myself a full Aura Eve bundle set. I had seen their posts on Instagram and thought their design was not only clever but practical too.
Even better, my package was accompanied by a book of exercises to get the most of my bands. I implemented these exercises with some of my own and began beach workouts where I could enjoy the scenery of my Gold Coast backyard while getting my sweat on.
My Aura Eve package came complete with:
- One mesh-bag to hold all my equipment;
- Leg straps designed to stay in place and not dig into my legs;
- Two light resistance, clip-in bands;
- Two heavy resistance, clip- in bands; and
- A loop set, perfect to implement other resistance training.
What is so great about the complete bundle set is the ability to do SO MUCH with such few items.
Exercises (my leg day HIIT workout!) 
As leg day has always been my favourite, I decided to share my Aura Eve leg day workout which can be completed anywhere, including the beach.
To warm up, I start with:
- 20 x slow and controlled squats;
- 20 x slow and controlled lunges with your arms above your head (10x each side) – if you have a weight, you can hold this above your head while lunging; and
- a 30 second wall-sit with pulses (pulse your knees outward, slow and controlled).
This should be completed without taking too long of a break between each exercise, but the key is to focus on slow and controlled movements to ensure your form is right and you’re properly warmed up to begin the HIIT aspect.
From here, I choose to do a HIIT booty band workout which is sure to get your heart rate up and legs burning the next day!
I really want to stress however that it is important you focus on correct form to avoid straining yourself.
My leg-day workout includes completing each exercise in 45 second intervals, with a 15 second break between each exercise:
- bulgarian split squats (alternating on each leg);
- bridged hip raises (for extra difficulty you can do one-legged hip raises);
- side walk while squatting (alternating on each side/changing the direction, remember that the lower you stay, the harder it is!);
- jump squats;
- leg raises (alternating on each side); and
- froggies
I repeat this workout in three rounds with cardio to separate each round.
When completing in the gym, I’ll do a 30 calorie run on the treadmill, rower, or stair climber (if I’m feeling ambitious) or when outside, this may include a quick 1km run or set amount of jumping jacks to keep my heart rate up.
The amazing thing about these bands being Velcro is that they stay where you put them which makes it easy to change between each exercise.
After trying numerous booty bands my vote remains with Aura Eve! Their bundle is the best for a complete workout and because they’re lightweight and don’t take up a lot of room, I also take them travelling with me to stay on top of my exercise, no matter where I am!
By Rebekkah Dale
@msrebekkah
x