I really enjoy being myself during long slow jogs and getting that "feel good" after a good jog.
My knees and joints sometimes bother me afterwards, but tightening the muscles and knowing I have worked my heart and lung muscles make me feel like I have done my body as well.
Dr. Bob Keith at Auburn University describes how research shows running can increase life span -- "...run for your life".
The article gives us more reasons to exercise regardless of our age.
I gave the details of this week's exercises on the twit2fit Ning page.
Sunday jogged slowly 5 miles and walked 2.5 miles
Monday upper body weight lifting.
Tuesday jogged very slowly 2.5 miles.
Friday lower body and mostly leg weight lifting.
Saturday another test day with Operation Boot Camp.
Sometimes we have to take advantage of the time we have to exercise. I am speaking mostly to women who have school age children who are busy with various activities, like playing ball at different ball parks or practicing dance and piano on a regular basis.
Four years ago, when I became committed to losing weight and getting in better shape, I would walk around the ball field during warm-ups, rather than setting camp in my folding chair. I also decided to stand during the games. Standing is helpful because it uses more calories than sitting. Also, it becomes a stress-relieving activity. I get nervous when my kids pitch or bat or swim races. I want them to:
The more important the game or meet, the more nervous I get for them. I guess because using their skills become even more important during the games where something is at a stake--whether it is pride or a championship.
Anyway, I use the ball park as a great place to expend calories.
Today, when we first arrived in Millbrook for a tournament, I took a 50 minute jog. I know I can take time to walk or jog during the 1 hour before the game because my girl is busy warming up, she has the essentials, and she is being taken care of because my husband is the coach.
This morning I jogged down a street that turned into a county road. It made for an interesting jog. As I jogged "out" of town a bit, the shoulder at times had grass taller than me and patches of briars. Oncoming traffic required me to jump to the shoulder and sometimes straddle the briars.
It is always interesting to jog a new route, particular in a town I am unfamiliar. When I do this I learn something about the area. I also find myself not concerned with my speed or the distance, I just jog.
The most interesting part of this jog was in the outskirts of town, I found the smell of the country to bring back memories of the smells at home near the creek. Hot, humid , but fresh. It is hard to describe. I am not sure what is blooming that has a fresh and sweet smell that is not overbearing. The moisture in the air near the creek and today in Millbrook because the Alabama River is nearby has feel about that is beyond humid, but an almost refreshing feel.
This morning workout included:
The advantages of this kind of activity during warm-ups are:
The disadvantages are:
I forgot to mention two things about Operation Boot Camp.
The instructors were concerned with everyone doing the exercises, particularly squats and lunges, correctly. There were few exercises, like squatting to touch a plastic cone, this little jump step thing that George had to explain to me twice , and the plank that I had not done before so the explanations were good.
The other thing is that the workouts take place at the grass lot behind the Duck Samford football stadium. The field has patches of bald ground. My shoes were filthy when we were done. I am okay with getting dirty, but if I had known, I would not have worn my best and newest tennis shoes.
Since November, I have been struggling with being motivated to exercise. I have essentially decreased my exercise regiment from 5 or 6 days a week to 3 or 4 days a week. Interestingly, I have been able to not only to maintain my upper body strength but increase my strength. Though I am increasing the length that I jog, I am jogging less frequently. One difference is that I feel like I am not as toned and I can tell a difference in my abdomen.
I feel like I need to do something different, but I have not figured out what. I know for sure I need more motivation, and possibly a change in my routine.
When a friend invited me for a trial workout with Operation Boot Camp, I thought this would be great. Maybe I could get some motivation and direction in how I can change my workouts. The trial workout was fun--well as fun as a workout can be at 5:30 in the morning. There were lots of people there since it was bring a friend day. I knew several people including two of the instructors. They were friendly and encouraging, but not in the over-enthusiastic cheerleader kind of way. The beginning of the workout was tough--that may have been because it was so early in the morning.
We started out with a short jog to our first "station" where we did a few calisthenics and stretched. We jogged to each station. I cannot remember all of the exercises we did, but the hardest was the plank. We held this position for minutes at least twice. We also did one set of sit-ups, squats, tire kick-ups, and several side shuffles. I thought my legs, particularly my inner thighs would be sore, but it was my abs and obliques that were the sorest.
I got a great workout and I was able to do the entire workout without resting and it was very effective.
In this program, participation is expected – and monitored – for every single session. Instructors are with you the entire time. Although there were lots of people, the instructors were able to watch and gauge our abilities.
It seems that the program is a total fitness program that includes nutrition information and log book, as well as intense workouts. This may be the reason that it is so expensive--because of the individual attention.
I am going to participate in one of their workouts that is open to the public. But, I don't think I will be able to join this group anytime soon. Expensive is an issue. An even more important reason is that I will be traveling over the next few months that will prevent me from fully participating in the program. In each of the summer months, I would miss at least 8 days.
Overall, Operation Boot Camp is a good program, but someone would have to convince me why what I would get out of it that would warrant the expense. Of course, my travel schedule will be probably be an issue.
Thanks Dana for the invite! I really did enjoy it and wonder what the next workout would be like.
I started this morning's jog in a faster pace than I have done in a long time. I decided that I would try to jog 3 miles faster than normal. I would not worry about going longer.
I was doing well with the pace. About 2.1 miles, I was a the bottom of a hill, ready to tackle it when a car stopped. After giving a man directions to Pizza Hut, I started up the hill.
Oh, that was hard. I went very slow up that hill. By the time, I got to the plateau, I decided that with my adjusted speed, I would go ahead and try to make it home. With a slower pace, I finished close to 5 miles. It felt great!
Unfortunately, the jog made me more concerned about safety. When the car stopped and the man asked me for directions, I stood back from the car and described where Pizza Hut is. It struck me that it was weird someone would be asking how to get to Pizza Hut at 8:30 in the morning. Also, he did not go in the direction I told.
Then on my way home, I kept seeing police cars. The first and second police car did not worry me because I was jogging near the police station. One particular car circle me a couple of times. By the time, I was about 1 mile from my house, I decided to stop one of them and ask what they were looking for.
Giving me a description, he said they were looking for a man on a bicycle, I told him about the man in the car. I let it go and he did not seem concerned. These two incidents and last week's slaying of Lauren Burk has made my favorite jogging route less enjoyable.
Since Thanksgiving, my exercise regiment has slowed down. I have been very unmotivated to wake up in the mornings to jog and since being sick and having knee problems and eye surgery, I have not had much desired to go back to the regiment I was exercising in the early fall.
This week I have done better, not perfect but better.
My exercise this week:
If I jog on Saturday and Sunday, I will have exercised a consistent amount this week. Consistency is key for me. Although I am not suffering in a major way from cutting back on my exercise, I can tell a difference.
I also feel a difference in how my body feels and what I want to eat. It seems that when I exercise consistently and I push myself to lift heavier or go faster or longer when jogging, I eat better.
The weights give my body a tight feeling, while the cardio makes me feel good. Maybe those physical changes and feelings are what I need to remember when I start to lose motivation.
This week I was out of town for 3 days. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I did not exercise while I was gone.
Luckily, I tried to mix up my workout on Monday morning. Instead of driving to the gym, I jogged the 2 miles, then I bench pressed, then I jogged 2 miles home.
It took me longer than expected to get to the gym. I think it was because I started jogging only a few minutes after waking up.
My exercise partner was surprised, but the opportunity allowed me to work the jog into the workout period because the kids had the day off school for Veteran's Day.
I was surprised I lifted as well as I did. I thought the jog would have prevented me from lifting my regular amount. I lifted 5 sets, but by the 5th set I was getting very tired. The 5th set is reducing the weight, but extended my legs during the lift. This particular set exerts the abdomen as well as the shoulders, chest, and triceps.
I ran out time and was not able to finish my typical upper body workout. I did not do military dumbbell press, dumbbell kickbacks for triceps , and concentration dumbbell curls (biceps).
I jogged home a little faster than my jog to the gym.
I was totally wiped out by 9 am. I think, though, it was because I ate only a couple of bites before my jog and I did not eat again until 9. Peanut butter crackers seem to give me just enough energy to continue my day.
I want to try this regiment again, but I want to eat a little more and possibly not jog only a few minutes after waking. Jogging while groggy is very slow.
I did not work out again until Friday morning. I had an overall workout in the gym, I mixed up upper body and lower body work. Most of the upper body, I tried lots of repetitions and not such heavy weights.
I used mixed my leg workout with lots of repetitions sometimes and very heavy weights and few repetitions in other situations. I also was able to work in some ab work as well.
It is going to important for me to get in a good jog on Sunday.
Next week also prevents some challenges in trying to work in an exercise regiment because it is Thanksgiving week.
I miss not working out, despite that I have become tired of the early morning routine. I do know that I cannot find a good replacement time for my morning routine right now. However, mixing up the exercise routine even if it is the early morning can help me find a renewed interest.
