Creative Workouts

So this week I haven't been following my 31-day challenge workout routine at all. The first day I had to watch a 10 minute video on how to do a 1 minute yoga pose and figured that if it was that complicated, maybe I'm not ready for it.

I've continued on with my stretching and I've been doing other things which may not seem like workouts but are definitely burning calories and keeping me moving for at least 15 minutes or more at a time. One was making a pound cake for a friend of mine. I had to use a hand mixer to beat the mixture for at least 10 minutes, which worked out my arms. I also had to do many dishes since the recipe called for each component to be in it's own bowl. I also just used a spoon to mix hot chocolate mix into some of the batter along with stirring in some chocolate chips. I also used a back and forth motion with the spatula to smooth the batter into a bread pan. I've cleaned out the litter boxes which involves bending and lifting and then taking stairs to throw the debris out. I've done lots of dishes including heavy bowls and I've actually done some of the dishes while balancing on one leg or another. I've made my bed every day, tucking in sheets and smoothing out the duvet. I scraped about half an inch of ice off of my car. I swept the living room and even moved furniture to get under things, and moved a 6 foot ladder into another room. I shook out the welcome mat and the bathroom rug. All of these don't sound like exercise and they aren't in the traditional sense, but they are doing something rather than me just sitting on the couch all day.

I've also really craved fast food this week, especially today, but I have stuck to my guns and cooked meals for myself every day instead. It saves money and is healthier in the long run. I did go out to lunch with a friend on Thursday but we just had a couple of appetizers and those were relatively healthy.

Although I've felt a little guilty for abandoning my challenge, I am proud of myself for doing something rather than nothing.

Drinking Water is a Challenge for Me

When I was growing up, you drank when you were thirsty. From the sink, from the hose, from a glass of water your Mom gave you to put next to your bed, or from the bubbler (drinking fountain) at school. Now water is everywhere. In fact, beverages are everywhere. You can't go to the grocery store without sipping on something. Even the carts have cup holders in them. At the jobs I've held in the past, they give you a cup when you start so you can always have something to drink at your desk during the day.

This is a problem with me. I tend to get busy at work and forget to drink my large cup of water. Or I'm doing something during the day or cooking or whatever and I don't carry a bottle with me everywhere. I find that I am able to make it through grocery shopping without coffee, or water, or gatorade. I find that I can travel short distances without having a drink in my car.

As I've gotten older I've developed some problems with kidney stones and needed surgery twice to remove them. Part of that comes from not drinking enough water. My urologist says that my goal, is to have constantly clear pee. So I'm trying. I have bottles of water that I refill from the tap and drink and if I feel a little tinge of pain in my flanks, I down a gallon of water. But I still don't drink enough. The stubborn in me says I shouldn't do what they say, I'm an adult, I can handle it. Don't tell me what to do. But in order to be healthier and to help lose weight, I'm supposed to drink water...ALL THE TIME.

I hardly drink alcohol, so drinking water shouldn't be that big of a deal. I've even tried getting into "sparkling water" so I don't miss soda so much, but I don't like that either. I've added citrus slices to my water to try and make it fancy or more interesting. Nope. I drink it, but it's not a big deal. I don't have a glass of water next to my bed at night. I don't get up in the morning and down a bottle of water or two, although I suppose I should.

So, as part of my fitness challenge I am challenging myself to drink more water. For me, it's almost harder than exercise.

Today is the First Day I've Felt Winter

One of the nice things about living in California for 3 years was the mild winters. I could survive California winters with a sweatshirt most times and we rarely ran the heat. It was nice, but I always find it weird to put up a Christmas tree while wearing shorts or while everything is still green.

Luckily, I moved back to Chicago in November and it was surprisingly mild here in the Midwest. I had lunch with a friend the first week I moved back and it was in the 70's. I was happy about the mild temps because I had lost most of my clothes in my "transition" period in L.A. and only had 3 pairs of shoes (2 pairs of sneakers and 1 pair of flip-flops). After the mild weather we got snow every weekend for about three weeks. Again, I didn't mind it because I hadn't experienced it in a few years. It was pretty, made it feel more like the holidays, etc.  After the snow, another mild streak. It was almost 40 degrees on Christmas and all the snow had melted.

Now the holidays are over and apparently so is the mild weather. This week we have had wind chills below zero all day for the past 3 days. I've been feeding some sparrows with a bird feeder on my porch and usually I can go out and sweep the seed debris away without having to get bundled up. Yesterday, sweeping was cold. I went out Friday night and it was cold. Again though, I haven't minded it. I've missed seeing my breath and frost on the windows.

Today that changed. I got up early to go to the grocery store and I needed to put gas in the car. I bought some mittens when I first got back because I knew I'd need something. It's hard to pump gas in mittens. So standing at the gas station this morning waiting for the gas to finish it's journey into my car, I was cold. My face was cold, my hands were cold, and even though I was wearing warm boots and a jacket, I was cold. I was cold when I got back into the car and put my mittens back on. It took me almost the entire drive to the grocery store to warm up. Leaving the grocery store I was cold again. The bottle of juice I bought started to fog up as I walked from the store back to my car. My trunk hesitated before opening. The sun was shining, but I couldn't wait to get the groceries back upstairs, feed the sparrows and be inside for the rest of the day.

Winter is here and now I know it.

Working out without a gym is harder than I thought...at least in the Midwest

This 31 day fitness challenge I am doing is getting harder to do without having a gym to go to or exercise equipment in my apartment. The exercises that involve me on my hands and knees are very difficult on a bare hardwood floor, and towels tend to slip which makes the stretch more of a challenge, if not dangerous. Then there is the Midwest weather factor. The other day I was supposed to do a 30 minute walk/jog. The air temperature was zero and the wind chill was -16 that morning. I don't have warm workout clothes and my sneakers have holes in them. I believe trying this walk/jog would have been more detrimental than helpful to me.

If I had a gym to go to, no problem. If I had a treadmill, no problem, but with what I do have, it's a bit of a problem.

Although it sounds like I am making excuses, I am not. I am modifying my workouts to do things that work with what I have, but I feel sometimes like I'm missing out on the benefits of ALL the different exercises I could be doing.

Hopefully, I will get a job this month and then I'll go back to Planet Fitness and join again. Then at least I'll have a warm place to exercise that has the proper equipment and it won't matter what the weather is like outside. Plus, I won't need cold-weather workout gear.

My muscles are still protesting, but I do find that I have more energy. It's going to be a long process, but I'm not giving up.

Tomorrow's exercise will be grocery shopping and cleaning the apartment.

Low Impact My...

As I mentioned yesterday, I am doing this 31 day fitness challenge. It is from "Thrillist" which sends out daily emails about restaurants and things to do in your city, etc. I'm probably a few years older than their major demographic, but I saw this fitness challenge and it said I didn't need to join a gym or buy any special equipment so I thought I'd give it a try.

Yesterday went well. Today, which is only day 2, was a bit more of a challenge. They called it "low impact lower body work." Well, maybe it's low impact if you are a 20 or 30-something who just happened to drink too much during the holidays and have worked out more recently than in the past 6 months. It was a circuit of 6 exercises that you were supposed to do for 45 seconds each, resting 15 seconds between the exercises and then a full minute after you completed the 6. You did this 4 times and the workout would take about a half an hour. The first exercise was "prisoner squats" where you put your hands behind your head while you squat. While I could do these with relative ease, it certainly got my heart rate going. Next was alternate lunges, which I could also do. Then I was supposed to plank for 45 seconds. Considering I only did it for 20 seconds yesterday, I figured I may skip this one and just double up on one of the other ones. Next one was standing on one leg for 45 seconds with your leg out behind you and your opposite arm stuck out straight. I used to have EXCELLENT balance. This one hurt. Luckily I stood closer to a wall so when I started to teeter, I could hold on and push myself back up. I was embarrassed, but since no one saw me but the cats, I guess it's ok. Next was something called "bird dog" where I was on my hands and knees and lifted opposite arm/leg outstretched ahead or behind me. I don't have carpets in my apartment, or a yoga mat so this one was incredibly painful and hard on my knees. I did it for about 20 seconds and gave up in favor of a stretch until I do it next time with a towel (or three) beneath me. Then was the oblique work. From the picture, I was supposed to sit down with my knees raised, feet on the floor and move back and forth with my elbows bent. Again, this was difficult because apparently I can't sit on the floor with my knees bent slightly and feet on the floor. But I pushed through.  

I made it through the workout. The planking was replaced with a stretch where I am trying to reach my toes (I figure by the end of the 31 days I can do it), and the bird dog was replaced with another stretch, but the other ones I did and completed the circuit 4 times. I was out of breath and a bit discouraged. I glanced at what they have planned for tomorrow and I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. 

I'm not a quitter however, and I will attempt to do my best each day with this challenge. I may have to improvise from time to time or replace ones I can't do with ones I can, but I will do my best. That's all I can ask of myself, especially since I've really not done any exercise for a long time. 

Every journey begins with a small step

I am out of shape. Badly out of shape. I will admit that I'm not as active as should be and without a job to go to, I have become more sedentary than I would like. Not that I moved that much at work, but at least walks to the bathroom or the break room to get more water or getting up to help out a co-worker got me out of my chair.

Yes, when I moved back to Chicago I moved a lot of things and built some furniture from Ikea, and did lots of trips up and down the stairs, all of which are good, but it wasn't consistent. Also I've always enjoyed food and since I love cooking for others during the holidays, the rich meals and many desserts have taken it's toll.

So this morning, as part of my New Year's Resolutions and my goal to get on a horse AND run a 5k, I started a 31 day fitness challenge. I started out with a 20 minute walk. Which was actually probably more like 25 minutes with travel time across the street to the park and back. I was glad we are in the low 40's in Chicago so I could walk outside with relative ease...no ice to slip on and no sub-zero temps to tempt me to stay inside. I walked 1.2 miles in that time. Not bad, at least it's a start.

Then I did the "base" challenges. I did 34 squats in 1 minute. I did 10 (girl) push-ups in 1 minute, and I planked for 20 seconds. Supposedly by the end of the 31 days these numbers will improve.

Then I did 10 minutes of stretching. My muscles are already screaming at me, and my cats think I have gone nuts, but they put a smile on my face. The Shmoo even thought he might help with a couple of stretches.

As Ellie's dad tells her in Contact "Small moves, Ellie, small moves."

2017 Here I Come!

I just noticed that I have not posted anything on this blog since December 31, 2015...wow! I know 2016 was challenging, just didn't realize that I completely ignored this blog. Time to change that. With the turning of the calendar, I am leaving 2016 behind. No regrets, no looking back and only (mostly) focusing on moving forward.

Here is my list of what I plan to accomplish in 2017:

1. Get healthier. Eat better, exercise more, and lose weight. Usually easier said than done, but I've been known to be a determined person and I'd just like to feel better in general.

2. Get back on a horse (I'll have to work on #1 to achieve this, but it WILL happen).

3. I'd like to finish a 5K race this year. I may have to run/walk it. It may not be until October or November, but if I can do this, I'll be really proud of myself.

4. Write every day! There is no excuse for not doing this. And while I may not need to put everything on this blog, I will need to write something every day.

5. I tried this years ago, but would like to do it again...eat at a new restaurant or try a new recipe every week. Now I realize that eating out every week would be expensive, that's why I throw the "try a new recipe" in there. Now that I'm back in Chicago, there are tons of restaurants I'd like to try. I'm also determined to meet Chef CJ Jacobsen at some point in 2017. 

I could go on and on with more things I'd like to accomplish, (less TV, more reading, etc) but resolutions are about setting achievable goals and I believe that these 5 are the most achievable for me right now. 

In 2016 I lost a lot of things. 2017 is my year to regain, rebuild, refresh and restart.