Friend of Julie: Get Moving

When is the last time you did any form of exercise? If you exercise on a regular basis, are you doing the same thing week after week? Is it time to change things up and get moving in new ways? I say yes, yes it it!

photo source: Kick it Up Asana

On Monday, as I worked out on the elliptical next to Aime, she told me she's planning to do a10k and to prepare, she downloaded a 5k to 10k running app. She hasn't been running much lately, so she's starting by following the first 10 days of the program and then start from day one again. I'm impressed. I would have started with the couch to 5K app and worked my way up, but she's jumping right in there. As we worked out, I watched Aime use her app to intensify her workout. Go Aime!

Me, I kept going at my own pace and as we moved to the incumbent bike, I didn't commit to anything. But I have to say, earlier when we talked about going to the gym, I said flat out I wasn't going and within a minute I turned it around and said "Do you want to go right now (it was 11:35) or at noon?" and within a minute I was on my way to the gym. While I didn't intensify my workout, I spent 40 minutes in the gym. My recent workouts were 20-25 minutes. As I walked back to my office, I felt great and I know the extra long workout was the reason.

After my shoulder injury in Dec., I stopped working out. An injury is a good reason to stop. On the positive side here, I did walk as much as I could during my 2 weeks in Florida in Dec., but when I returned home, I clung to the injury as a reason not to exercise. When the PT guy gave me clearance to return to the gym, I didn't resume my 3-4 times a week schedule and there were weeks that I didn't make it in at all.

After my injury I told a friend I didn't think I'll be a runner anymore. She encouraged me not to toss that idea out so quickly, to just give myself more time and to give it another try. I've decided it's time to take that advice and follow Aime's lead: I'm going to run in a 10k race too. What - did I really say that aloud? Yes I did!

I encourage you to get moving too. You don't need to start by running a 5k, but it is a good  idea to have a clear goal of what you want to accomplish. Start by walking in one direction for five minutes and then walk back. Or walk to a specific place and back. Begin with a goal you know you can reach and commit to walk a specific number of days for a week. Halfway through the week, set a goal for the following week, such as  increasing your time by a few more minutes or covering the same distance in less time. Don't worry about your pace, walk the set time and increase the amount of time over the weeks and months ahead.

If walking isn't for you, find something that you can do. Stretch for 2 minutes once a day. There are online videos of exercises you can do in a chair. Try yoga. Well, I say that, but I have yet to do yoga, because I had a hard time getting to the floor or up once I got down there. My point is, find some form of exercise and make a commitment to get moving.

If you want to take off weight and keep it off, you need to exercise at some point or it's going to take a really long time to reach your goal size. Plus, once you've taken off some weight, you'll want to be more active so you can spend the rest of your life healthy!

Does this sound too overwhelming? For those of you who don't exercise yet, start today by committing to have an exercise goal that you will start on the first day of spring - March 15. The rest of us - let's look at our exercise routine and determine what we can to kick it up a notch.

So, what is my goal? My goal is to find out what 10k Aime is doing and determine if that will fit into my schedule. Plan B is to look at the running events in Western Mass and commit to a 10k run. There are a couple races in June and Sept. that I will take a closer look at. I want to give myself time to really prepare for the run and in the meanwhile have a reason to keep running. This will encourage me to run during my European vacation  in April/May. How cool will that be!