Week Three: Exercise Part 2
While working on my exercise goals from the last post, I discovered that I am more “time challenged” than I imagined. When I come home from work, I think I have the whole evening open in front of me to garden, bike, or lift weights. But the hours are eaten away quickly with fun events like attending my daughter’s concerts and track meets, and the more mundane chores like shopping, cooking, endless paperwork and laundry.
The good news is that I am meeting my goals by incorporating some of the activities throughout the day.
On Tuesday I needed a few groceries, so instead of going home and getting my car, I visited a small grocer that is near my train stop. I bought less, since I knew that I had to carry everything home, but it saved a trip out that evening, giving me more time to exercise.
Wednesday I attended a viewing of the AADE webinar on Gestational Diabetes at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The hospital is a mile away from my office, so instead of taking a taxi I walked there and back for a combination of exercise and stress reduction.
Weight training, which is something I’m trying to do three times a week, is an activity that I need to schedule for the evening hours. So far this week, I have been able to fit weights training in twice. I don’t belong to a health club, but I do have free weights at home. They may not be fancy but they are effective.
My routine includes exercises such as biceps curls, triceps curls, and lateral raises. My problem in the past with strength training was not my routine; I just didn’t execute it enough! What I have found works best for me is coming home from work, immediately going upstairs, changing clothes, and lifting weights even before I start making dinner.
Gardening is another activity that I count towards exercise and stress reduction .I try to get out to my backyard to pull weeds, trim, and compost for at least a few minutes each day. Most of the plants in my garden I took from my mom’s garden in North Carolina or my friend’s gardens. When I see the irises or coreopsis blooming I think of my family and friends who were kind enough to share. Right now I have Solomon’s seal, columbine and corydalis in bloom.
I have really enjoyed the past three weeks of self-improvement and feel like I am beginning to incorporate stress-reduction, good sleep habits, and exercise into my life in a way that I can maintain. As we move into the final week of the Routine Reboot I’m looking forward to making a positive attitude a larger part of my routine. That will be a great wrap-up for the challenge!
How you will finish up the routine reboot? Let me know!
Until next time,
Cathy