Movin' Right Along

As a college student I had the time and resources to hit the gym daily (in addition to weekly dance classes and rehearsals). Maintaining an active lifestyle was a no brainer. As a post-college adult, in the real world of maintaing a work/life balance, I have found that fitting exercise into my daily life can sometimes be quite difficult. In an ideal world I would have the time, energy, and motivation to:

• Get up at 5am and go to the gym for an hour--done with exercise before the day even begins
• Take an actual lunch break (instead of eating while I work) and go for a 30 minute walk
• Attend yoga class twice a week
• Go to dance class a few times per month

Sadly I do not live in an ideal world--I barely have the energy to get my butt out of bed after hitting the snooze button 3 times. And I have a sneaky suspicion that a lot of you do not live in an ideal world either.  Laziness, work, and life just get in the way. 

Sure, I have a handful of friends who are exercise fiends: cross-fit competitors, yoga-instructors-in-training, spin class enthusiasts, and hot yoga gurus. Hats off to you all for making exercise a non-negotiable part of your day. Seriously. And I know that my city friends pride themselves in the amount of time they spend walking every day. I am earnestly jealous that you all have jobs to which you can walk, rather than spending 45 minutes commuting (one way) to work (not that I'm complaining or anything...). However, I know that there are at least a few readers out there who struggle with the same exercise commitment issues that I face. It is for those people that I write this post.

I can think of 50 excuses as to why I cannot fit exercising into my daily routine, but I know that these excuses are null and void since exercise is such a key component to living a healthy lifestyle. So, over the course of the past few months I have made small adjustments to the way I go about my day, in order to be a bit more active and stay in-tune with my body. Here are some recommendations:  

• Trade your desk chair for a exercise ball. Caution: this is not for everyone! Though sitting on an exercise ball helps improve your posture and strengthen your core, you may find it uncomfortable to sit on a ball all day, while simultaneously trying to maintain your balance and work. Try keeping both a ball and chair by your desk. Sit on the ball for 30 minutes, then switch to a chair for an hour. Repeat. It took some time to get used to the feeling of always sitting with my back straight (and abs activated), but eventually I got used to it. Test it out and find an exercise ball routine that fits your body. 
• Stand while you work. At first it seemed odd to have my laptop on such a tall desk, but I immediately found that I am much more attentive and energetic when I stand and work on my computer. I wiggle around, sometimes stand in "tree pose", and even do a little dance as I type (my office mate finds this quite amusing). But beware: if you normally eat at your desk, you may find yourself eating while you stand (guilty). My next goal is to actually take a lunch break and sit while I eat. Baby steps...
• Take a 15 minute walk outside. Now that the weather is getting warmer I find myself frequently gazing into the sunshine and longing to be outside. My skin needs vitamin D! I've started taking a 10-15 minute break at least once a day, to get outside and be active. And I can walk about one mile during that time...not too shabby. Next step is to get into the habit of taking two daily breaks.
• Sign up for an event. There are organized walks and runs all over the country, especially in major cities. I'm not encouraging you to sign up for the Boston Marathon--an unrealistic goal yields poor results. You'll shortly flake out from doing the event at all. But signing up for something like a 5k (walk or run!) may be just the motivation you need to do a little bit of training. Bonus points if the event is for a charitable cause! This year my mom and I are going to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3Day walk--3 days, 20 miles per day, 60 miles total. You can be certain that I found some motivation to start training for that!
• Set a weekly goal. Training schedules are tough to stick to. With such a capricious work schedule, I cannot do the exact type of exercise on the specific day listed in a training schedule. Instead, I have weekly goals. In training for the 3Day Walk, I have a set number of miles walked and cross trainings completed for the week. I can work on the goals whenever my schedule permits. 
• Buy a yoga mat. Having a yoga mat means that even on cold, rainy days you have no excuse for sitting on your bum at home. Follow an online instructional yoga video (this is my favorite site). Do some self-taught yoga on your own. Spend 10-15 minutes stretching right when you wake up or right before you go to bed. Tone your abs.  A yoga mat makes exercise an easy at-home activity.
• Take a weekend bike ride. Okay, so I haven't actually done this yet. In truth I am scared sh!tless about riding in a city. However, there are some very nice bike trails nearby and Boston's Hubway program means I don't have to buy my own bike.  My goal for the summer is to find my inner child and go for an aimless bike ride with Brendan.
• Have a dance party at home. Who needs a club or a dance studio? Whether you're doing laundry, making dinner, or need to let off some steam from a bad day at work, turn on your 'party' playlist and shake it! Brendan and I have had numerous spontaneous dance parties while waiting for something to finish cooking in the oven. It may not be a typical "exercise", but dancing certainly gets your blood pumping and body moving.
  

Obviously if you are trying to lose weight or train for something like a marathon, then you'll need to hit the gym more regularly. But if you are looking for a way to add a bit more activity to your life, in addition to or as a supplement for the gym, then these few tips will keep you movin' right along!

Do you have any tips for adding some wiggle and jiggle to your life?

Walking In A Not-So-Winter Wonderland

Thus far my blog has not addressed the topic of exercise (aside from my brief Turkey Day advice). But doing some sort of daily physical activity is crucial to living a healthy and happy life, which is exactly what this blog is promoting! And though my forte is definitely cooking and nutrition, I was a member of my college's dance company, taught dance for a number of years, and occasionally teach Zumba classes...so I have a thing or two to say with regard to being active. The caveat: I am not a personal trainer. If you want advice on creating a weight-loss exercise plan or you're looking for a super intense workout to do, go to a gym and sign up for a session with an expert. I'm here to talk about exercise for the happy life and more specifically, walking. 


Many of you may already exercise - running on a treadmill, hittin' the elliptical, Zumba classes, yoga, kickboxing, etc. I admit, sweating a lot can be quite satisfying and finishing a difficult abdominal workout leaves me feeling great about my body. However, more often than not, I get home from work and I'm so exhausted from the day that the last thing I want to do is go for a run. It's incredibly important to get some sort of physical activity into your daily routine - I won't go into the specifics of how exercise benefits your body (disease prevention, cardiac strength, mental health, etc.) because you can look that stuff up online if you feel so inclined. You'll have to trust me for the moment when I say that exercise is imperative to a healthy and happy body. So how do you complete a daily exercise regime when you're tired and sore from work and life? Go for a walk. 


I know, it seems too simple, but walking is a great form of exercise - it gets your body moving, blood pumping, and gives your mind a chance to relax. Having a crappy day at work and frustrated about something going on in your personal life? Go for a long walk and let off some steam. Guaranteed you'll not only feel mentally better, but your body will be thankful for the exercise. Feeling tired in the morning or early afternoon? Go for a brisk walk. It won't wake your body up with the same WHAM! POW! IN YOUR FACE! that hittin' the gym at 5am will do, but walking will get your mind and body back on track for the day. Don't think you have enough energy to go to kickboxing? Take a walk and still get your exercise in for the day. Any exercise is better than no exercise; so when you feel like taking a nap and forgoing the gym (because the prospect of any exercise machine is making you anxious), opt for the middle road and take a walk, even if you walk for only 10 or 20 minutes. That is better than not doing anything at all. 


The great thing about walking is that you can do it whenever and for however long you want. You can take lots of short walks throughout the day (10 minutes when you first get up, 20 minutes during your lunch break, 20 minutes when you get home from work before you cook dinner, 10 minutes after you've eaten) or you can use the hour plus time that you would've spent at the gym to take one long walk. On days when the gym is not an option for me, I go for a 4+ mile walk instead. It usually takes about an hour, I'm sweating by the end, and my legs are usually sore the next day. On days when I'm feeling in the mood for a harder walking workout, I find places with stairs or go on uphill paths to spice things up. Sometimes I take my Ipod, sometimes I don't, and on special occasions I have a walking partner (which I'd highly recommend, as it's a great chance to catch up with someone, it makes the time go by in a flash, and you'll be more inclined to walk further distances if there's somebody to do it with you). 


A minor side note about exercising: in addition to walking, you should try to do some sort of strength training at least 2-3 times per week. If you like to hit the weights at the gym, great for you; but if not, there are plenty of strength training exercises you can do at home (in fact you probably do some of them already without knowing it). Take a few minutes to search online for some fun, non-body-builder, strength training exercises. 


Be active, exercise, and go to the gym when it suits you; but don't kill yourself trying to do so. The point of this post was to show that no matter how you're feeling, there is always an option to walk. Like I said, some exercise is better than no exercise. So say yes  to walking on the days when you want to say no to everything else. For those of you in warmer climates (such as California), there are no excuses for not walking. And though those of you living in naturally colder climates (such as New England) will eventually have to embrace winter (at which point, you can either walk in the snow, walk on a treadmill, or research some at-home workouts), thus far the weather has been gorgeous and perfect for taking long walks. There's no snow (yet), so take advantage of the sun and warmth, and go for a walk in a not-so-winter wonderland!