Wrap Up: 40 Days of Fitness

So tomorrow marks the end of 40 Days of Fitness (which means I have been 40 for 40 days, yikes!) and I thought I would look back and see what I achieved in 40 Days.

When I came up with the 40 Days idea I really imagined it more as a day by day log of what I had done, but I see it more now as a way to focus on a couple of things during my fairly busy life, to set priorities and form good habits.  As a result, the end of 40 Days of Fitness does not mean I can go back to sitting on the couch for hours on end, it was merely a jumping off point.

Did I exercise every single day, no?  Did I think about it and plan my activity better?  Absolutely!  Here is what I have accomplished:

• Bought a Fitbit to help track movement and have averaged over 8,000 steps a day with that avg going up in the past 2 weeks to over 12,000 steps a day.

• Broke up with my old useless gym and found and joined my fabulous new gym where I have consistently worked out at least 4 times a week for the past couple weeks, including lots of swimming and a regular Zumba class.

• Improved my endurance.  I can walk and swim farther faster than I could 40 days ago.  True confession:  a walk to the library that I used to do without thinking about it had necessitated a break in the middle 40 days ago. Now I am back to an acceptable pace and I don't even think about stopping.

• Lost 15 pounds.  While weight loss is not my ONLY goal, it is one of them and it is the easiest to measure.

All in all a pretty good 40 Days!  Anyone have an idea for another 40 Day challenge?  I still need a few more to round out my year.

Get a Life!

If you, like me, are trying to form good solid habits about diet and exercise it can sometimes lead to many lonely nights and salads for one.  Luckily, at 40, I am not out partying all the time any more to begin with, but I also am not ready to become a hobbit.  How do you have a social life when you are trying to get healthy?

I have a friend who works in my neighborhood and she will often come over after work for dinner (usually take out) and beer.  We will sit and chat and catch up and it is a great way to see each other regularly now that she lives in the 'burbs.  Last Thursday we scheduled one of our post-work dinners, but instead of sitting on the couch catching up she suggested we take a walk before dinner.  It was fantastic, we had a nice walk, still were able to chat and still had delicious take out safe in the knowledge we had burned some calories first.  This friend has an awesome blog too, you should check it out here!

I then spent the weekend at my parents' house. The house I grew up in and the place where I traditionally fall off any sort of diet and exercise wagon.  I managed to channel the power of #40DaysofVeggies and my mom's visit to a local farm stand helped as we had tons of vegetables all weekend.  I also suggested we take a walk after breakfast on Sunday and we did a couple miles around a local town park where we got to talk and spend time together.

I know walking isn't a challenge for many, but it is a very easy way to combine exercise with socialization.  Even if you don't walk with your friend you can make plans to meet a friend somewhere you can walk to instead of driving or using public transport, then you can squeeze in some exercise around your outing.  Here in Boston we are approaching the time of year when you can walk places without sweating too badly and without needing 17 layers of winter wear, take advantage of fall with some good walks!

How do you manage socializing and a healthy life-style?

Group Exercise: The Good, the Bad and the Sweaty

 

In my 4 decades on the planet, I have seen the evolution of Group Exercise from the big hair Jazzercise craze depicted above through Step Aerobics (where no matter how hard I tried I was ALWAYS facing the wrong way on the step), Kick Boxing, Spinning, Zumba, Yoga and so on.  I have actually tried all of the classes listed except Spinning (it terrifies me) and many of them are quite fun.

 

This week I took 2 group classes at my new awesome Y.  Here is what I took away from each:

 

Zumba

 

Monday night I took a 50 minute Zumba class taught by an adorable young woman named Gigi.  She was perfect, she was delightfully curvy in a way a lot of gym instructors are not, she was encouraging without being pushy and she challenged without making the class out of reach. 

 

Speaking of the class I am happy to report that I was neither the oldest nor the fattest person there.  That is one of the benefits of Group Exercise -- Perspective.  Everyone in the class was friendly, there was a feeling of 'we are all going to pass out together so let's do this' and Gigi did a great job of forcing us to interact.  It is nice to lock eyes with another sweaty person and grin sheepishly at how silly you both look.

 

Zumba, if you missed the craze, is an aerobic class designed around Latin Music and Latin Dance moves (there are other iterations as well using African music, but I have never found one of those classes).  There is a lot of hip action in Zumba classes, hence the looking silly part, but it is actually a very good full-body workout. 

 

In the end I kept up fine, felt great and had fun.  Gigi only teaches on Mondays, so this is going to be my regular class.

 

Bars, Bands & Balls

 

This was a strength and conditioning class I took last night that uses free weights, resistance bands and stability balls (although we never used the balls last night - instead we did way too many push ups).  This class was taught by Leoni and she is the anti-Gigi.  Leoni is rail thin and while nice enough did not possess Gigi's encouraging demeanor.

 

The class was less diverse than the Zumba class. I was not the oldest, but I was definitely the least in shape and I felt a little awkward most of the time.

 

I managed about 75% of what was thrown at me, the weights and resistance band pieces were great, but the 20 minutes we spent on the mat doing push ups and planks and what not was kind of hell for someone who hasn't done any mat work in about 5 years.

 

I will likely not be back to Leoni's class for awhile.  I did take away several moves I could do on my own to build up my strength before trying a class like that again.  I am happy to report that I woke up this morning with full use of all of my limbs though.

 

Next on the schedule is a water-based group exercise class if I can squeeze it into my schedule.  What fun or crazy classes have you tried over the years?

Why the Y?

The Village People said it best:  It's fun to go to the YMCA and after less than a week, I have to agree.  I mentioned in my last post that I found a new gym and it is a branch of the Greater Boston YMCA. Finding a gym can be hard, this is how I made the transition:

Snail Mail:  I got a good old-fashioned mailing back in April telling me that the Y in my neighborhood (which I remembered vaguely as having existed) was about to complete a big renovation -- complete with a pool.  I was very excited and planned time to go to the Open House.  Sadly, the reno (like all renos) was not complete on time and I went back to my regular workouts of power-knitting and potato chip-eating. Finally in June they announced it was really ready, but I wasn't.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do:  I hated my old gym, but never had the energy to end my membership.  I was well past my commitment, so technically I only had to give them 30 days notice, but that took me a couple months.  Then I found out I had to give that 30 days via registered mail (hello, 21st century here!) -- so I did that right before I went on vacation.


Trial Run:  The Y offers a free 3 Day Pass to any new potential member.  You can find a form to fill out on the link above. As part of #40DaysofFitness I used my 3 day pass and joined on my 2nd visit.

Why?

1. The pool is absolutely the #1 reason.  There are not a lot of pools in Downtown Boston (and none to my knowledge so close to my apartment).
2. The rate is not bad, at $50 a month it is $10 more than I was paying for the gym I didn't go to that didn't have a pool or many classes. They also have variable rates for couples/seniors/students etc. and offer aid.
3. The classes -- there are tons and I took my 1st one last night (more on that later this week).
4. Location Location Location:  I can use any Y in the country when traveling and I can use the Y near my parents as long as it is not more than I use my local Y.
5. The clientele. During my couple of visits everyone was polite, friendly and diverse.  So were the staff.

If you live in Boston and are interested please reach out, I have a friend pass and I can get a free month if you end up joining!

40 Days of Fitness Update: Day 25

25 Days into 40 Days of Fitness and I am more proud of myself than disappointed (although there were a few days that I would like to forget).  Here are some hints at what I have accomplished:

1. Dusted off the home equipment
2. Researched a new gym
3.  Reduced the number on the scale
4.  Improved my endurance

These, ultimately were my goals.  I like the picture above because it doesn't say "Work out every day. Make sure you get those 10,000 steps in.  Eat only lettuce and salmon."  It says "Make Active Decisions" and it is a very interesting way to think.

Taking the stairs.  Parking far from the entrance to the store. Getting off the subway a stop early.  These little decisions can add up in a day.  What little decisions do you make to add some activity to your day?

Today I checked out the new gym.  It has a pool.  More on that soon!

Motion: Lace Up Your Kicks

So yesterday was a bit of a disaster.  Food-wise. Motion-wise. Breathing was about all I was capable of yesterday and even that got a little sketchy around 3:30 in the afternoon.

Set backs happen, I know this, and the very best thing you can do is rebound the next day.  I have rebounded into a beautiful sunny day with several tasks ahead of me sure to keep me in motion.  Just to insure that I sneak in as much movement as possible I put my sneakers on first thing.

Those of you that know me know that I work from home.  I rarely work in my pajamas, but I often work in very casual clothes and flip flops, it is my uniform.  This morning I purposefully put on decent workout wear and my sneakers right away, before I looked up and noticed it was 4:00 pm and I had barely moved from my desk.

Having my sneakers on makes taking a quick spin around the block possible at any moment and came in handy when the fire alarm went off earlier.  I know not everyone can wear sneakers at work, but hopefully your work shoes are comfortable enough for a little lunch time stroll on a day like today and maybe try out the sneaker thing on the weekend.

Bad news though, my current sneakers are giving me blisters.  I am shopping for new ones, any suggestions?

Nutrition: My Kingdom for a Carrot

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you are familiar with my #BunnyWatch series.  I live in an urban area with lots of bunnies and lots of greenery.  I am finally taking a page from the bunny handbook and getting on the veggie bandwagon.

Do not read this as Annmarie is now a vegetarian as that will never (ever) happen.  I will not consume fake meat made out of processed soy. I am committing myself to #40DaysofVeggies though in an effort to increase my intake and lower my consumption of other less healthy options.

Why?  I don't eat enough veggies.  In keeping a food journal I realized that I eat a paltry number of vegetables and that is silly because I actually like vegetables.  I like lots of vegetables and generally I like them fairly simply prepared (not a lot of butter or sauce or cheese).

So while #40DaysofFitness continues I embark on #40DaysofVeggies.  I chose now as it is still peak season in New England for fresh produce and I have easy access to a great Farmer's Market in Copley Square.  So today I will venture out and buy some fresh herbs and veggies for a quick stir-fry.

Do you have any veggie recipes that are fairly simple and don't involve fake-meat?  What are your favorite veggies to have on hand? Please share in the comments below!

Motivation! All I've Ever Needed...

At 4:00 yesterday afternoon, on a gray gloomy Saturday in Boston, my FitBit told me I had walked a grand total of 269 steps.  Despite the great desire to return to the couch, pick up my knitting in one hand and the remote control in the other, I threw on some gym clothes and my sneakers and took a 7,000 step walk.

The FitBit did not inform me of anything I didn't already know. I had managed to watch 3 movies while eating pancakes, knitting and chipping my nail polish off all day.  I knew I hadn't moved, but somehow the fact that the FitBit knew it too motivated me to do something about it.

#40DaysofFitness is a struggle.  I am not a gym goer at the moment (hate my gym finding a new one).  My favorite things to do are read and knit and I can't knit fast enough to get my heart rate up.

I did have an easier time on vacation where I spent about 30% of my day swimming and am happy to report that after eating everything I wanted I came back only a pound up from when I left and still down for the month of July.  This gray weekend at home has sapped my motivation though, thank God FitBit is keeping an eye on me!

What motivates you to work out?  What about when you are alone, on the road or live alone like I do, how do you find accountability when there is no one to be accountable to?