Getting In Gear

The calendar still says February but the warm temperatures this weekend offered me hope that Spring is close to arriving in my area of the world.

I think my neighbors felt the same way because all weekend I saw them emerging from their homes of hibernation, waving hellos and walking around their yards picking up recently fallen branches and small sticks and checking out winter's damages.  It was also nice to see the baby brigade out and about with strollers and young toddlers in tow.  While doing my errands, everyone seemed to be energized by the warm and shining sun.  Coats disappeared and even some shorts and flip flops appeared on a few righteous teenagers.  

 

Stretching and breathing in fresh air was the order of the day and it just felt great all around.  Even though I felt the tug of the next episode of "House of Cards" mentally calling me to the computer, I ignored it's mesmerizing pull and instead went for a long walk for at least a mile or two.  It's definitely a good walk when I lose track of time and distance and it's also definitely amazing how a walk can reset your outlook and change your mood.

 

 

We've gotten a lot of snow this season so it's been harder to go outside and exercise but I try to remind myself that I always feel better when I get myself in gear and do some sort of exercise whether it's walking, bicycling, dancing or running.  I tell myself myself that exercising offsets the bad effects of sitting in front of the computer for hours a time but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be true according to some recent news stories. 

 

It's a fact of life that I spend a lot of time in front of the computer.  Hours and hours.  When I am at my full-time job five days a week, I try to periodically get up and walk around the office to squeeze in some exercise time and then I try to do the same when I am at home writing Cry Laugh Heal which is not work at all but truly a passion for me.

It's a constant battle and as I get older I can see that activity truly is the key to having and maintaining good health.  I like to sometimes follow these three simple suggestions from The American Diabetes Association on how to increase physical activity in your daily routine: 

 

--Take the stairs, not the elevator.
--Park further away from your destination, so you have to walk more.
--At home, make several trips upstairs to building extra cardio into such things as putting away laundry or other household chores.

Good luck with your personal fitness and here is the link to the National Public Radio story that made me think differently about sitting around and vegging out:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/02/19/279460759/sit-more-and-youre-more-likely-to-be-disabled-after-age-60?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20140223&utm_source=mostemailed

Joy Of Motion

Blogging plus my full-time job equals too much time in front of the computer.

When I am involved in a deadline project and super concentrated on what I am doing, it is very easy for me to lose track of time and forget to move from my chair.  Sitting at my desk for hours on end may help me get my work done, but researchers also say it increases my chances of getting diabetes, heart disease and shortening my life.  So as comfy as it feels to sit or hang out on the couch, I've got to get moving.

 

Because when I don't move, I feel as if my body is literally turning to Jello. 

And that's when I make myself get up and stretch and walk and move around to get everything going again because our bodies are designed to move, groove and if we take care of them, they will work like efficient, healthy machines.

Desk Exercising

The father of one of the guys I work with in my office is a doctor and he told his son that every day you should do some kind of activity that makes your heart beat faster.  The activity has to be aerobic enough so you feel your heart accelerate in its beating but not to the point of being out of breath. 

This guy definitely follows his father's advice because sometimes he takes the stairs from the lobby all the way up to our office on the 10th floor.  I know this because I have seen him come through the door from the stairwell and he is usually holding his fingers to his neck taking his pulse.

Now I don't feel the need to go running 10 flights up the stairwell but I do make sure to leave my desk every day and go for a 10 to 15 minute walk around the block or to the park to get my heart and circulation going.  I also have been known to do jumping jacks in front of the copying machine when I don't think anyone is around.  There is joy in motion for it's great for your body and mind.  It cleans out the brain of those swirling thoughts that are stuck and gets you to free thinking.

 

Motion can also promote healing for those navigating the loss of a loved one or dealing with lots of stresses. 

 

This is a time of patience with yourself and others.  That may be difficult when you have little energy or patience to spare but think of exercise as a way to transition.  Being around a lot of people  and exercising are probably at the bottom of your list of things you want to do right now but start slowly.  Take baby steps, breath deeply and walk around your neighborhood.  If you continue this for at least a week or two, you will have strengthened your mind/body connection and will see a change in your mood.

 

We can do it together.  There's no better time to start than today!

 

For more ideas about fitting exercise into our busy schedules, here's the link to a great WebMD story that reinforces the philosophy that standing is always better than sitting and walking is better than standing:

 

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/exercise-at-your-desk

Zumba Zumba

The guy who invented Zumba, Beto Perez, wears a black sleeveless T-shirt and says to me, "Feel the Music."

And I do!

I am watching Beto, along with 5 other Zumba dance instructors on a DVD and I am taking the 20 minute Zumba express lesson in my house.

What's so great about Zumba?

Well, for me Zumba feels more like fun rather than exercise and the workout burns mucho calories which I am always trying to do.  Having discovered Zumba this summer, I am finding it to be everything I heard.  First of all, the music is great!  It's not like an exercise class at all.  I am writing about Zumba because I genuinely like it, not because the company sent me materials and asked me to endorse anything.

Even though I am watching a DVD rather than being in a live class, it still feels similar to being in a party atmosphere.  I have watched a lot of exercise DVDs and enjoy all of them for different reasons but Zumba is different.  Don't get me wrong, you definitely do break a sweat will following the instructors! 

 

 

 

But the Zumba program, which involves dance and aerobic elements, doesn't feel robotic in terms of constantly counting where you are in the exercises and how many you have left to do to get to the end.  Also, if you fall out of step in one of the routines, it's more forgiving.  You can easily find your place again if you just keep moving.

 

We all need to move around a lot more than we do.  Our bodies were designed for movement.  We are built to be active. 

 

Over the winter I could tell that I was spending more time sitting and I knew this wasn't a good thing.  I could tell because I was started to gain a little weight and I felt sluggish.  Plus there are more and more studies coming out about how sitting all day may shorten your life.  As a person who works in an office and spends a good amount of the day in front of the computer, I find those studies to be scary.

 

So I was prepared to get off my butt but I needed to find something new to jumpstart me and keep me off my butt.  I had heard about Zumba for a while and had casually watched some infomercials and I thought it always looked more like dance than exercise.

 

Try it for yourself and see what you think.  Even if you don't follow the routines you can dance or move along with the music which is better than sitting in front of the television or the computer.  Any movement is better than no movement.

 

Here's a short introduction Zumba clip to watch so you can see what it's all about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG_YDGH7jhU