Vacation + Exercise = ?

I just got home from the family vacay in the mountains. At a resort. With a spa and two pools. Maid service. And a fitness room.

Ah, the fitness room. I saw the inside of the fitness room for a total of three seconds; enough to scan the equipment and know it was all there for my benefit. And then I ignored it. Yes, I packed my running shoes and necessary clothing so I really had no excuses to not use the room, but I sure made up a ton. The most often used was "I need to spend time with my kids while on vacation and away from everything else" (I didn't have a computer!). So I improvised and still got my exercise on, despite my absence from the fully-equipped fitness room.

Hiking: We took the "local" gondola up the mountain and walked the trails. Since my three little tykes are 6 and under, vigorous hiking wasn't really an option for us. One way to burn calories on a nature hike is to increase your speed. Power walking is a great way to burn calories especially as you walk on an inclined trail. Contract your glutes and take long strides while walking for an added burn, but be sure to watch where you step so you're not falling over loose rocks or fallen tree limbs. (Side note: You get bonus points for carrying a toddler on your back. Or some rocks in a backpack. You know, whatever works.)

Swimming: There were two pools we had access to, and one of them was pretty long. My youngest is in diapers and he's most comfy in a floatable-baby-boat-device-thing. With the pool always crowded and only 3 1/2 feet deep, I found that I could push his float around the pool while kicking my legs, alternating from a normal scissor kick to butterfly kicks to side scissor kicks. I could really feel them working after 5 consecutive minutes of kicks, and baby boy loved the fact that he was moving and could watch other swimmers. As an added bonus I didn't have anyone throw dirty looks (or words) my way because we were able to avoid bumping into other swimmers.

Staying in: There are, on occasion, times when you become stuck in your room or in the hotel. Times like these make it nearly impossible to avoid the fitness room. However, there are other things to do, such as running the stairs in the stairwell. Sure, you may get funny looks from passerby's, but you'll be burning more calories. You can also stick to a full body routine in the comfort of your room, but avoid laying on the floors. Yuck. Or you could put a clean towel down.

And if all else fails, take a deep breath, and go. To the fitness room.

Yahoo! posted an article that I found to be interesting:

"Mississippi's still fatest, but Alabama closing in"

First off, I think they could have come up with a better title. Second, the article speaks of obesity populations in different states, and which state has the least and most obese adults. Colorado came in with the least number at 18.9% of the population, and Mississippi has the most, with 32.5% of the population experiencing obesity.

Regardless of where you live, this statement from the article has got to make you worried: "And obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year, and no state experienced a significant decline."

Not one state experienced a significant decline, but on a positive note, last year's report found the obesity rates rose in 37 states. So at least it's slowing down a bit.

Honesty.

So here I am, being honest. After all, what more could I offer to faithful readers? Or any reader for that matter.

Honestly, I've forgotten how to work out. You know, the importance of it, how to stick with it, why should I like it, and so on and so forth. Ironically enough my last post was on, what was it again? Oh yeah, motivation. Ironic.

I'm admitting it openly to all who read. I've slacked in the exercise department of life for a few months. Now you know.

Sometimes it's hard to have heard 100 billion excuses for not exercising. They tend to stay with me and shout at me in my head when the loves-of-my-life and work should be coming first. But guess what. You really do have time to do what you want; you just have to make the time for it. There's 24 hours in each day (duh) and you have to make room for what's important to you.

Moving on and a more positive note, I have decided to rejoin the exercise community as of yesterday. And today I decided to post about it and get this blog moving again. Also, C.J. and I are having a 6 week challenge to see who can "improve" their health the best. Still not sure how we're going to measure that, but we have 6 weeks to decide.

Monday: took measurements (yikes!) and weighed in (yikes, yikes!!). 20 minutes of intervals on the eliptical (1 min hard, 2 min medium) with a 3 minute warm-up and 5 minute cool down. Lifted. And I've found a new lift that I really, really like. Mostly because it takes coordination and strength. (It's an emphasizing kind of day today.) So I'm looking to lose this 5 lb weight gain due to neglect of exercising and going overboard with the treats over the next 6 weeks.

That's where I'm at. What about you? What have you been doing the last 3 months?

Your reason?

Reason(s) I will exercise today:

I'm training to decrease my mile time
I've got to lower my blood pressure
I'm going to be stronger
I'm will reshape my body
I want to see my kids graduate from high school
Oh, those "skinny jeans"
I love getting fresh morning air & seeing the sun rise
It's part of my daily routine
I'll see so-and-so in step/spinning/kickboxing class
I like seeing more definition in my muscles
My iPod exercise music list is THE BEST
I ate more than I planned last weekend
The 5k is coming up
Looking forward to some "me time"

What's your reason?

Frustration = Motivation

There are some emotions felt in life that can be used to motivate you to exercise. Mostly they are the negative feelings that give us a surge of bad energy. If you really try, you can turn this negativity into something positive. Harboring ill feelings within us isn't healthy (especially for your heart) and you've got to learn to let those things go.

Scientifically speaking, exercising releases endorphins that help put us in a better mood. Why not move your muscles for 20-30 minutes when you're stressing over something to help you feel closer to your normal happy?

IMO frustration has GOT to be my number one emotion that gets me moving. It doesn't matter if it's been a single person, a group of people, or a people-less situation that has sent me through the roof; if I'm frustrated I will exercise to help get rid of those feelings. (On the flip side of that, I'll exercise when I'm happy too.)

Do you exercise to help you feel better? Consider that the next time you're ready to punch a hole in the wall. :)

~Amy

A random title wouldn't suffice.

Oh, thanks for asking. Actually I'm particularly indecisive today on a variety of topics, including but of course not limited to what to write for my next wellness article, what design to use for the background of my personal/family blog, how I should structure my new fitness blog, if I should peruse the Internet for a while or begin my aforementioned wellness article... Yes. Dot, dot, dot because that list is continuing a mile a minute in the twisted confines of my brain tissue. BTW, I loved studying the brain and the heart in my anatomy class in college -- both times I took it -- and figured really, how difficult could it be to become a brain surgeon? Seriously? Not to demote the position of brain surgeon by any means, but merely the fact that if you wanted to be a brain surgeon, you could become one simply because you wanted that position in life. Note that I had to take anatomy twice, clearly stating that I had no desire to be a brain surgeon.

Perhaps the indecisiveness stems from the lack of sleep I've encountered. I can now fully appreciate Ambien commercials and the help that little pill provides to many during the dark hours of the night. Apparently my body gets a kick out of the practical joke of tricking my mind into thinking that 4-5 hours of sleep is the only rest my body needs for the next 19 or so hours. Get real. (The wakefulness is usually due to the little princes and princess who randomly wake in the middle of night needing comfort, and my problem is falling back to sleep in a timely manner.)

Despite this and the many other reasons for my inability to make a decision, the day trudges along. I'm hopeful at some point during this day (or night) I'll once again resume normality and press forward with sharp decision-making skills.

And that, my friends, was one attempt to clear my head. Hopefully I can get back to work now. Keep striving to live well!

~Amy

New Look!!

I'm super excited about my new logo -- and a BIG THANKS to my new friend Echo over at Echo Ect. for her creative thinking!!

You all know I've got three kids that keep me busy (among other things) and my family and work has been taking priority lately, hence my lack in blogging. I'm hoping to get back into it very, very soon, as well as launching a new site in general. Until then, continue to Live Well!!

~Amy

6 weeks ends...this week!

Well how did you do on your push-ups?? I had a busy 6 weeks...a funeral, a wedding, TONS of work, and sick children...but I managed to keep up on the routine. In the middle of it my wrists began to hurt and I think I strained some chest muscles (both hurt pretty badly) but after a weekend of rest all was well again.

I really love the increased definition in my shoulders, arms, and upper back. I also did bent-over-rows to work my upper back so my front and back muscles would be more balanced while doing the push-up challenge.

What were your experiences? How much did you improve??

Bragging Rights...

I placed within the top 50! Thanks for all of your votes!!

P.U.C. details

I announced earlier this week that I'll be starting the push-up challenge soon. "Soon" will be this Monday (Jan 12), and it'll run for six weeks. I plan to take a week or two off to rest, and then I'll start up again.

I know a couple people wanted to do this too, and if you want to stay on the same schedule then you'll need to do your initial test on or before Monday, and then do three days each week. Leave a comment here with your initial number and I'll have these posted. Every couple weeks you're instructed to do another test, and we'll post those numbers too so we can watch our progress.

Happy pushing!
Amy