The long and winding road to fitness, day 149

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Right now all I want to do is go soak in a hot tub and go to bed.  What a crazy, hectic, stressful, exhausting day this was.  Ahh…tis the season!!  A funny thing happened today though.  I was in the stockroom sorting repacks (freezing, by the way…wouldn’t you think they’d spring for some heat in that stock room?)  when some guy stepped through the door (the door that clearly has a sign that says “employees only”, and asked me if I worked here.  I felt like smacking my head and saying, “duh”…but I didn’t…I simply told him that I do indeed work at the store.  He then asked me if I knew how much “that is” and points up toward the ceiling.  Well, I had no idea what he was talking about, so walked out of the stockroom to try to figure out what he needed.  He wanted to know how much a floor plant was but then quickly told me he wasn’t going to buy it…oookay…so I moved a bunch of stuff around so I could get a ladder in there to tell him how much a plant that he wasn’t going to buy would cost…hmm…if you’re not going to buy it I guess it won’t cost you anything, will it?

My day was so crazy that I didn’t eat the lunch I brought to work…I didn’t eat lunch at all…so I ended up with only two fruits and a veggie for the day.  Darn it!!  I even left my lunch bag in the fridge, so I guess I can eat that yummy salad tomorrow.

I did do about 10 minutes of strength training before I left the house this morning.  Of course a lot of walking and lifting and throwing things and screaming (oh wait, make that silent screaming…no one heard me screaming, it was all in my head…no, no, not voices in my head, just that silent screaming to relieve some of that stress). 

I have to admit I was more than thrilled to get out of there today.  My body hurts and I’m tired…what’s that?  I think my bed is calling my name even though it is only about 6:30.

Oh, and I must mention this…go Hoosiers!!  The boys are coming together, looking vastly improved, the basketball world will be in proper alignment once again!

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My new training routine

Image by cindy47452 via Flickr

Okay, don’t laugh, but I did this last year and it worked.  So I figure it’s time to pull it out, dust it off, and go for it once again.  Last summer I decided I needed to start a training routine to get me in shape for the long hours of work during the Christmas season.  I tackled it just like a basketball player would tackle training for the upcoming basketball season (with that basketball analogy, how could you not know I was from Indiana?)…well, maybe not exactly, but you get my meaning.  I sat down and charted where I was and where I wanted to be and what I needed to do to get there. 

I did cardio every day, mostly walking, biking or dancing.  I also did a lot of strength training and flexibility exercises.  I knew I wasn’t in any kind of shape to get me through those 12+ hour workdays and decided to do something about it.  I’m right back in that same place again this year…yes, I need to figure out how to avoid going back and forth between fit and unfit, fat and thin…so I’m going to attack my training routine just like I did last year.  But I’m adding the online fitness and nutrition courses that my insurance company offers (for free…how cool is that?) to make these changes become permanent.  I have to admit, I was starting to think about bariatric surgery, but man, is that a huge step?  Now I’m going to attempt this once again, and I’m hoping that this new doctor I’m going to see next month will be able to help me solve this ongoing problem once and for all.

I’ve got a cardio plan set up for the next eight weeks, utilizing mainly walking and biking…but I’ll gladly throw in some different forms of cardio for variety.  The cardio plan is set up for five days a week and is very do-able for me.  I’ll also be doing strength training six days a week for the next eight weeks.  I’ll go to the site and track my cardio as well as my food intake…after the assessment, I rated my diet as fair, but the counselor rated it as good…needing a few tweaks here and there…need to eat a few more veggies, another serving of calcium and another serving of protein a day…doing well with whole grains and generally well with fat intake.  So I’m encouraged to see what I need to do laid out in those simple steps.  Up until today, I was feeling a little discouraged because I don’t feel like I’ve made the progress I’d like to have made during the past two months.  But now I see how making a few easy, small changes will get me where I want to be.

My Christmas season training routine is underway…starting right now…I’ll keep you posted!!

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Making exercise a habit (again)

After being quite the exercise slacker for a few months, I’m finally getting back into the daily exercise habit.  I haven’t reached the point where I’m feeling great physically yet, but I know it’ll come if I stick with it long enough.  I have noticed an improvement in my mood though.  I feel better about myself when I set a goal and stick with it.  I honestly believe exercise can often be as beneficial as antidepressants, maybe more so for a lot of people.

One of my goals is to convert my spare bedroom to a gym.  I have some pretty decent equipment to stock it with, it’s just a matter of getting everything else out of that room.  I’ve been able to use it to store Christmas decorations, craft supplies and out of season gardening supplies, so I would need to find some other means of storing these things (or…maybe get rid of a lot of the things I don’t really care about…hmm…now there’s an idea).  My plan is to figure out what to do with everything before I take my next vacation in June (can you believe this is the middle of May already?  How has that happened?), then put that plan into play while I’m off work.

I have several different dumbbells, various weights.  These are the ones I’m using most often now.  I also really like the kettlebells, particularly for core work.  The resistance bands are handy and don’t take up much room.

Stability ball….the people I work with chipped in and bought this (along with some other exercise equipment) a couple of years ago for Christmas.  I use this thing all the time.  I haven’t felt daring enough to try standing on it, you know, like you sometimes see people on the Biggest Loser doing…maybe someday!

My most expensive fitness equipment purchase, the treadmill.  It’s come in pretty handy this spring with all the rain we’ve been having.

Sometimes I think about buying more fitness equipment, but then I talk myself out of it.  I have an exercise bike, a ski machine, a lot of dvds, a ballet barre, Pilates equipment, etc.  If I can’t figure out how to get fit and stay fit with the equipment I have, adding more to my home isn’t going to do the trick.  It’s about consistency, challenging myself, trying new things and constantly looking for ways to improve.  I can do all of that with what I have as long as I continue to stay motivated.  And really, isn’t that up to me?  Isn’t that my responsibility?  I think it is and I’m willing to do what I need to do to reach my fitness goals!  5K, here I come!

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