[KellyA]

Gooooood Morning!!!

My son made mention that he wanted to run track again this spring/summer (2010) and that he would like to start "training" for it now. Neither of us really know anything about training him for track, but he did make mention that he would like to use the fitness room however he is unable to because you have to be 13 to use the fitness room. I told him that I am sure he is allowed to be in there if I am with him. He was all excited about that. So, I devised a plan that would not interfere with my schedule or his schedule & that we could do at least 6 days a week -- at 5:20a we will go to the fitness center every morning until 5:55a.

Mind you, I am completely out of shape because I haven't *really* moved my body in at least 12 years so just about any movement is difficult for me. I don't particularly like exercising, but I do know I like how I feel after.

Soooooooo *evil grins* it occurred to me that now that I know that my son has a goal, *I* get to hold him accountable and if *I* am holding him accountable, it will hold myself accountable. See, I am REALLY good at making my son do what he needs to do in order to prepare him for adulthood. I want daily exercise to be a part of his life NOW so that when he is my age it is something he just does. He is naturally a very lean child who self-moderates his food intake; however, I still think fitness is very important & it is something he is very interested in.

It was so nice making him get up this morning and exercising. I made sure to move my body the entire time. I chose the recumbent bike because it was the easiest on my knees & I just set little goals for myself the whole time.

On the walk back to the apartment, my son said that he didn't think he could do this everyday because it is hard work. I told him that he has no choice. Just like he has to unload the dishwasher everyday, he now has to get up at 5:10am in order to be in the fitness center by 5:20a -- there is no option.

I love this!!! "Forcing" him to do it is going to force me to do it too!!! I'm just so glad that we moved out of our house & into this apartment due to the luxury of the fitness center. Yay!!!! I was also so happy to find that nobody was using the room at the time we arrived. I hope we get the place to ourselves EVERY morning. I am a wee bit concerned that come January 1 when everybody sets their goals we'll have to share the room.

I know that I am going to use that recumbent bike every morning until I can reach some goals on it & get a bit fitter. Once I master that, then I think I'll move to something else. I was disappointed that none of their machines have the devices to work out your upper body too, but that's ok. Better something than nothing. Who knows, maybe I will make time for my son & I to do the weight lifting portion of a good fitness program too (there's the weight machines AND free weights in the fitness room).

Well, this was one big ramble. I'm still a wee bit high from exercising *smiles*

[Kaylagal]

I am smiling big for you!!!

Good for you! Keep on truckin, you will get there! You can do weights (dumbbells) while you are biking and that will work your upper body at the same time! Restingtree gave us that idea. Thanks RT! Also, when you get good at the bike you can google an interval biking work-out and that helps get you off plateaus when your body gets used to the biking.

You are doing so good Kelly! We have to get our sedentery bodies off the chair/couch and that is a very hard thing for me to do! Good for you for having the mindset you are doing it for your son. (Whatever works is what I say!) Just do it! (preaching to myself here) LOL

Have a great week-end!

Rhonda

[KellyA]

The weights are a great idea! I stared at the free weights for my entire 30 minutes on the recumbent bike. I decided that once I can get through a bike routine without killing myself, I will be picking up the weights and adding that before I increase the intensity differently.

It's so funny because *I* have to keep my son motivated the entire 30 minutes we are in there. The kid is very self-motivated when I am not around, but goodness when I am around he is full of complains like an old man -- my hip hurts, oh man my knee is going to explode, I'm dizzy, etc. I have to laugh because he is healthier than I was at his age -- he is 12 years old, 5'5", 92 pounds, lots of lean muscle, & naturally eats a very healthy diet (fish and spinach are two of his favorite things & he doesn't care for processed food or soda pop). On the other hand, I am glad I have to push him to keep going in the morning because it makes me not stop at all. I keep telling him that if I can keep moving for 30 minutes then so can he. His biggest problem is he thinks he needs to be running at like 6 mph the entire time rather than slowing it down if he needs to. So he like runs full blast for five minutes or so and then walks around the weight room, runs again, walks around.

I am thinking of doing my Wii Active in the afternoons. Recumbent bike for 30 minutes in the morning, Wii Active in the afternoons, yoga DVD in the evenings. I just prefer to do the Wii Active & the yoga in privacy. My family loves me and they don't make fun of me, but I feel like a real dork not getting the poses and movements just right, ya know?!

Anyhoo!! I might add in the Wii Active today or tomorrow & then next week add in the yoga. I feel like that will give me a well rounded day activity wise.

I am a wee bit concerned because my local news did a segment on how women tend to stop losing weight or the weight loss slows down when they exercise because some hormone is secreted. This aligns with my experience with exercise. They said that you have to work out at a high intensity for it to make any difference. They went on to say that all these people that think that walking a lot is going to help them is wrong. I sort of have issues with that news segment because I believe that any sort of movement is better for the body than no movement at all. I also think that in the long run no matter the intensity of movement when paired with a healthy diet, the body cannot maintain the high weight forever. It just isn't possible. Of course, when I went looking for information on the news segment in print, I couldn't find it. I know I was not imagining things & that I heard them correctly so I wanted to read more about what they were saying.

Well, I need to make breakfast really quick for the hubs & push my son to move quicker so he doesn't miss the bus.

Hope you have a great day!!!

[restingtree]

Great series of posts. Kelly A are you open to adopting a 63-year old? Could use a bit of your inspiration. Keep up the excellent work. Thanks for being here.

[KellyA]

*smiles* I wouldn't mind adopting a 63 year old! My husband might be annoyed cause it would be another mouth to feed, but we'd work it out

[doug44]

Howdy Kelly, I am doing the treadmill for my Exercise. I did it once this morning and I will do it again later on tonight too. I have a tv in front of it so that makes it really nice. I like Putting on music Dvd's and doing my thing and rocking out on there. I did 32 mins this morning and I will do the same tonight. I lost 2 yesterday and 1 lb today. So pretty good so far. Doug in Calif Singing in the rain...

[BDGirl]

WTG Doug on the exercise, just remember consistency, and not get too burned out too quick! The scales sometimes take a while to catch up" For instance, mine said I gained 2 lbs this morning and I Know that is impossible. I will see a bigger than usual drop in a couple days to reflect that Ive been "good". Keep up the good work! BDGirl

[Kaylagal]

Way to go Doug for getting on the treadmil! I bounced, walked and jogged on my mini rebounder a while today. I put it right in front of the big screen and it makes it tolerable. My body REJECTS any exercise I do with aches and pains but I refuse to give in to them.

Restingtree I see you visited here briefly, hope all is well with you. Kelly where are you? I miss your perky posts. Hope all is well with you.

Good work everyone!

Rhonda

[KellyA]

Sorry Rhonda!! Leeney came and found me so I am back *smiles* I got sidetracked by financial difficulties & fell sort of back into old habits. After lots of number crunching & soul searching about right choices (including a talk with the hubs who said, "I want you to do what you need to do to be healthy no matter what."), I'm going to recommit myself starting tomorrow. Yay!!!

I need a rebounder cause I think I would love using that. I do have the Wii Fit so I'm gonna have to get with it and start using it ~

[Kaylagal]

Hi Kelly girl!

I just saw this and wanted to let you know that I am rebounding and up to an hour per day in 20 minute increments. It is mostly going OK but I am telling you it takes everything I can muster to have the perserverance to stick with it for 20 minutes! I just grin and bare it! Lol

My sister just heard today she has asthma and the DR told her to do a non strenuous workout to build her lungs back up because they were only functioning at 40 pct. I told her to get a rebounder and stick it in front of the TV and walk! Plus she has meds to take also. I thought of you when she told me she has asthma. Hope you are doing OK. Sorry about your foot! Stay off it until it is well. You want it to heal correctly. You could always pull out the weights if you have some. DR OZ says building muscle helps the muscle to receive the sugar and insulin into the muscles like it is supposed to and improves our insulin resistance issues which makes us fat and fluffy!

Have a great week-end Kelly!

Rhonda

[KellyA]

That's a good idea! I didn't think to grab some weights and do arm stuffs. Course, there's me always trying to get out of exercise I love watching Dr. Oz

[vrchards]

So why mornings Exercise?...

1. Over 90% of people who exercise *consistently* , exercise in the morning. If you want to exercise consistently, odds are in your favour if you exercise first thing in the morning.
2. When you exercise early in the morning, it "jump starts" your metabolism and keeps it elevated for hours, sometimes up to 24 hours! That means you're burning more calories all day long just because you exercised in the morning!
3. When you exercise in the morning you'll be *energized* for the day! Personally, I feel dramatically different on days when I have and haven't exercised in the morning.
4. Many people find that morning exercise "regulates" their appetite for the day - that they aren't as hungry and that they make better food choices. Several people have told me that it puts them in a "healthy mindset."
5. If you exercise at about the same time every morning, and ideally wake-up at about the same time on a regular basis, your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms adjust to that. Physiologically, some wonderful things begin to happen; A couple of hours *before* you awaken, your body begins to prepare for waking and exercise because it "knows" it's about to happen. Why?

Because it "knows" you do the same thing just about everyday. You benefit from that in several ways..
a) It's MUCH easier to wake-up. When you wake-up at different times everyday, it confuses your body and thus it's never really "prepared" to awaken.
Your metabolism and all the hormones involved in activity and exercise begin to elevate while you're sleeping. Thus, you feel more alert, energized, and ready to exercise when you do wake-up.

c) Hormones prepare your body for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, etc.
6. For many people, that appointed time every morning becomes something they look forward to. It's time they've set aside to do something good for themselves - to take care of their body, mind, and soul. Many find that it's a great time to think clearly, pray, plan their day, or just relax mentally.
7. Research has demonstrated that exercise increases mental acuity. On average it lasts four to ten hours after exercise! No sense in wasting that brain power while you're sleeping.
8. Exercise first thing in the morning is really the only way to assure that something else won't crowd exercise out of your schedule. When your days get hectic, exercise usually takes a back seat!
9. If finding time to exercise is difficult, anyone can get up 30 to 60 minutes earlier to exercise (if it's a priority in your life). If necessary, you can go to sleep a little earlier.
Also, research has demonstrated that people who exercise on a regular basis have a higher quality of sleep and thus require less sleep!
10. You'll feel GREAT! DO IT!

[Kaylagal]

Thanks Vr

Great post! Gonna set that alarm for an hour earlier!

Rhonda

[adriannagow]

Running is an excellent exercise routine and one of the earlier posts said it well..."take your time". I have been running for 6 years now and have had times where I left it and then came back to it. I had to set small goals for myself to work up to a full 3 - 4 miles again. Don't get discouraged. It simply takes time. After I had my daughter I started running with an extra 30 lbs and torpedo boobs that I had to tape with packing tape! But I took my time and slowly worked myself back.

Since then I am fighting that last 10 lbs so I picked up the Rice Diet book in the hopes shifting my eating habits will be enough to turn the scales on my metabolism and get it gone!

Good Luck!