Tag archives for exercise

Fall Food and Fitness

By admin Published October 30, 2012

Just a bit of autumn spirit while working from home for a few hours this afternoon.

My personal trainer did an assessment today to see how I compare to my first session. We definitely saw positive results. I haven’t really been working out outside my 2 days a week at the studio though; it just feels so hard to fit it in after work and to muster the energy. But today’s assessment motivated me to kick it up a notch. And I added a new goal: to run a 5K on December 1. My goal really is just to participate, no matter how quickly or slowly I take it. But if I could train enough in the next month that I could run the whole thing without walking, that would be huge.

Day 2 of meal planning continued today as scheduled. I wrote the week’s menu items on a white board in the kitchen, and the best part is when I wake up and stumble into the kitchen at 6:30 am, and it tells me what to make for breakfast. One less decision to make.

Now it is just after 9 pm and after staying up way too late the last few nights, I’m ready to curl up under 3 blankets and fall asleep early.

Posted in Cooking and Eating, Planning and Doing Tagged: candles, cozy, exercise, fall, fitness, goals, meal plan, nutrition, pumpkin, seasonal, tired | Leave a comment

Improvement!

By admin Published October 15, 2012

After a week of goofing off while personal trainer was out of town, I realized I needed to get back into exercise mode. And…I just ran a mile without stopping! At a decent pace (I mean, it was peppy, I wasn’t just dragging my feet)! And I didn’t get a cramp! And I’m dripping in sweat!

And now I should do push-ups and sit-ups but I probably won’t.

That is all.

Posted in Great Outdoors, Motivation and Inspiration Tagged: exercise, fitness, it ain't much, ran a mile, running | Leave a comment

Mindfulness, And Herman

By admin Published October 2, 2012

Tonight’s personal training session went really well. It was a lot harder than previous sessions and I know I’ll be in pain tomorrow. But I also felt more flexible and coordinated than I had in the others and overall more relaxed, so that was great. So great that I went ahead and signed up for ten more sessions. They are expensive, but I am going with more affordable 30 minute, rather than hour-long, classes and I will probably mix some group classes in. I feel like I’ve been neglecting my health for years by not exercising and this program is doing me a world of good. It also helps me spend my time more wisely after work, relieves stress, and makes it even easier to fall asleep at night. If I can get myself to clean my dishes soon, I’ll be in bed by 10.

I also have Herman again! It was such a nice evening to return home from my workout session, walk my dog, cook a good dinner while talking to my dog like a crazy person, read a little of a new book, and, well, cuddle my dog.

My new (library) book is called Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life. This weekend I also checked out books on exercise and pain relief, interior design, personal finance, and time management. What I find fascinating is the way all these new and different interests (not just those, but others too) in my life are so clearly intertwined–together, they are chanting a chorus of mindfulness. Being mindful about how we move, how we consume (through eating, through shopping, through media), how we organize and arrange our surroundings and belongings, how we work, how we spend our money and time.

And you know what? As self-conscious as I can be about my tendency to tediously document and analyze the mundane parts of my life, I realize now that it’s a form of mindfulness. I think I have always tuned in closely to small but important details of life. But I have lacked some sort of overarching structure to pull it altogether. I have not always known where I wanted to go. I’ve bought into ideas that aren’t actually good for me. But I think I’m beginning to see it all through a new lens.

Posted in Love, Motivation and Inspiration, Planning and Doing, Thinking and Writing Tagged: books, dog, exercise, Herman, love, personal training, pet, reading | Leave a comment

Motivated Monday

By admin Published September 24, 2012

Here’s my personal training “homework”:

1. Full body weight bearing exercises 3x a week
2. 4 Days of cardio minimum of 30 minutes sustained at or close to your target heart rate.
3. Eat 3 Healthy meals a day limit your carbs after 4pm.
4. 200 crunches every other day
5. Stretch every day all day
6. Food Journal

I wouldn’t say I’m quite there. But for someone whose normal exercise is ONLY walking (and even then, not much of that during some periods of time), I’ve been stepping it up, no pun intended. Running–not for long, only about a mile, but that mile is getting easier. Stretching, when I remember. A few push-ups, a few sit-ups, a few lunges. Healthy breakfasts and lunches (still inclined to pig out on stuff like pizza at dinner under the influence of the bf).

I was proud of the lunch I made and brought to work today though: Sandwich with whole wheat bread, pesto, eggplant tapanade, roasted red peppers, spinach, and a slice of smoked Gouda cheese. Salad comprised of spinach, carrots, tomatoes, half an avocado, no dressing. Walnuts on the side. For breakfast I had my usual barley & wheat cereal with fruit, slivered almonds, flax seeds, cinnamon, and skim milk. I did have pizza (and fries!) for dinner, but for tomorrow I’ve made basmati rice (cooked with coconut milk, a cinnamon stick, and 2 bay leaves) with sauteed sweet potato, onion, red pepper, jalapeno, tomato, garlic, and cumin seeds. Frankly it tastes a little bland, and I’m probably lacking spices and oils, but it’ll do. Maybe tomorrow night I will play around with spicing up the leftovers.

During tonight’s run I got to see a beautiful sunset. The sky was totally hot pink and I did some stretching there while watching the colors change. When I got home I grabbed my camera and headed back to the nearby park to watch the rest of the show. Hadn’t done that in a while.

My 5 personal training sessions, purchased at a huge discount on Groupon, are going to be used up by next week. I can’t imagine just stopping now, but it’s also really expensive. Maybe I’ll go with another 5 sessions and then try to transition into a cheaper group class. But frankly, I am so uncoordinated and inflexible that I’m pretty useless without the one-on-one attention from the instructor.

I think my favorite aspect of this new push to exercise more is that it gets me away from the computer. I’m on the computer most of the day at work, and I easily get sucked into reading blogs, articles, recipes, etc. when I get home. Physical activity is an extremely refreshing release.

Posted in Great Outdoors, Motivation and Inspiration Tagged: exercise, goals, health, outdoors, personal training, sky, wellness | Leave a comment

Mind, Soul, And…Body?

By admin Published September 20, 2012

I went to my first personal training session Tuesday, but it was really just an assessment. The good news? I have low body fat. Surprise surprise. The bad news? I suck at all other areas of assessment. I have ZERO flexibility (this has always been the case) and I am totally and completely physically weak (also nothing new).

Nothing new, maybe, but the severity of it all hit me today when I attempted to do my workout homework. First I got a cramp the second I started a short run; luckily it went away quickly but the pace of my one mile was, well, laughable. That didn’t make me feel too horrible though. I’ve gone through phases in my life where I run regularly and I know with a little repetition I can get better. Running is fairly comfortable to me. Walking, of course, is my most beloved physical activity and I feel like I’m meant to walk thousands of miles. Running is far less soulful for me, but it’s not awful. Even when I’m out of shape.

Then I tried doing some core exercises using a video. First of all, lol, yeah right, I can’t, I am so atrociously weak. Second, I’m so inflexible that I can’t do even the easiest version of basic exercise forms when the focus isn’t even on flexibility. It’s just horrible. Seriously. I tried switching to a yoga video because I just wanted to focus on stretching but it was so beyond my abilities I just gave up on the videos and went into my bedroom to stretch on my own. I just can’t believe how tight every muscle in my body is. How many muscles in my body I must never use. The single flex of a foot sends searing pain through my limbs. An attempt to sit at a 90 degree angle against a wall makes my lower back explode.

The trainer said that a lot of my upper back/neck pain probably stems from having such tight lower back muscles, which pull on the higher ones (or something). After going through tonight’s hell, I can only imagine what other ways my physical state impacts my life. Not just the back pain but the regular headaches. The daily fatigue.

I’ve always known I wasn’t really in shape, but I felt healthy because I do stay moving. Whether I’m on my hands and knees cleaning, or running from one side of the warehouse where I work to the other, or wandering on the beach, I move–a lot. Not at a high intensity, but I move. But suddenly I feel like I’ve been seriously neglecting my body. If this is me at 26, how on earth do I expect to age healthily? I can’t. I have to change. I’m probably overreacting and I’m sure if I stick with it, maybe tweak my eating habits some, I could see some improvement. But I don’t even know how I will find the strength or endurance, let alone the confidence, to get through tomorrow’s hour-long training session.

Posted in Planning and Doing, Thinking and Writing Tagged: exercise, flexibility, health, personal training, strength, weakness | Leave a comment

Groupon For Life

By admin Published September 12, 2012

While I’m waiting to pick up my camera, I’ll continue to post exorbitant amounts of text here. I’ve felt quite motivated at general life improvement lately so I’m enjoying tracking this phase. I’ve almost paid off my credit card, I have three different savings accounts growing (small, but growing), and I’m trying to buy less. I’ve been doing a pretty good job not buying much in the last few weeks, including cutting back on my biggest indulgence, eating at restaurants and coffee shops. I made a detailed budget for the month of September and although it’s been tweaked for various reasons, I’m really trying to stick to it. However, I did splurge by purchasing not one, not two, but three Groupons the other day. What can I say–I’m their target audience. And I don’t regret it. I got:

-Five personal training sessions at a studio in my neighborhood at a huge discount. I’ve checked out the training studio’s website out before and thought it looked appealing. I have never really learned how to use workout equipment or do weight training or even exercise in front of people. So I figure if I start with the personal training sessions, this guy can show me the ropes and then I can transition to the much less expensive group classes. If I actually go through with five personal training sessions, I’ll be a changed person. I’ve wanted to do something like this for years but always chickened out.

-A sixty minute deep tissue massage. The first and only professional massage I’ve ever had was with a Groupon earlier this year, it was amazing, and massages are basically the number one service I look to Groupon for (deep tissue only, no Swedish, thank you). At 50% off they are situated more in my price range comfort zone, and I have a lot back pain and crave massage constantly.

-A hair cut, deep conditioning treatment, and style. Super cheap since it’s at a cosmetology school. I’m easy enough for a student to handle–no layers, nothing complicated, just cut off a few inches and I’m good to go. What I really care about is having someone else do all the work involved in blow drying my enormous mane.

I’m fantasizing about using all three Groupons on one day–work out, get a massage, and then get my hair cut and styled. I’m not sure it will be feasible…but that would be one great day.

Posted in Planning and Doing Tagged: beauty, budget, exercise, Groupon, massage, money | Leave a comment

Yoga: It’s The Thought That Counts

By admin Published February 8, 2012

Week two of afternoon fatigue. It’s just an intense transition period in my life; the details aren’t worth rehashing. Point is that lately sometime around 5pm each day my energy level drops so low that I cannot even summon the strength to make myself food or take care of myself. I feel sort of ashamed, like I’m just incredibly lazy, but while it’s true that I am a little bit of a lazy person, this is really unlike me. So today I decided in a moment of inspiration (sometime around 4:30, before the now usual exhaustion set in) that I would finally use my yoga Groupon and try out a class by my house.

Oh, I felt motivated. I felt hopeful. Yoga would be good for me. My tense muscles ached and loosening them up would help me relax. Meditation would rejuvenate me. I planned on attending a 6:30 class which would last for 90 minutes. I got dressed for the exercise and pranced around in my yoga garb, which I always feel makes me look more fit than I really am. The bounce came back into my step.

Almost like magic, I suddenly had the energy to prepare myself real food instead of eating crackers and cheese for dinner, like I may or may not have done last night. But by the time I popped some cubed potatoes in the oven to roast and was rinsing spinach for a salad, 6:30 was quickly approaching. I realized I didn’t want to stress myself out about trying to make it to the class. Why overextend myself when I finally felt a little better than normal? Baby steps. I made dinner.

I already knew this, but the thought of yoga has always been a bigger influence in my life than the real deal. It’s psychological. It’s something people do who have their shit together. What do I really want? I am constantly wavering between grand ambition and a longing for the modest, simple life. But whatever the case, I want to have my shit together.

Maybe I’ll go to the class tomorrow. As for now, it’s 8:30pm and I’m getting sleepy.

Posted in Planning and Doing, Thinking and Writing Tagged: exercise, fatigue, goals, hopeful, lazy, tired, yoga | 2 Comments