Category: Fitness

I’m picking up an old habit; early morning workouts! Shortly after 6:00 am, I hopped on the Peloton Tread and began my training. I decided that I wanted to try a scenic route. I chose the 30-minute run. I set my incline at its maximum, 12.5%, and the pace I dialed down to 2.5, and off I went. I will say that today was the first day I did not have a smooth run. The screen was freezing on the simulated walk, so I could not soak in the views of my virtual guide. I did not know how much I had already grown to enjoy those virtual walks/runs until the Peloton screen froze on me. I relied on Fairy Tale by Stephen King; I listened to it on Audible to get me through. A quick search of various forums shows that this is a simple fix that requires me to clear the cache, and I will do that later today.

Reduced Exercise; Increased Stress

Exercise has always been something that I’ve openly embraced in my daily lifestyle. The fact that it was restricted for almost a year did have an impact on my overall well-being. The exercises I was used to were something I had to abandon when I became the primary caregiver for my father. My mornings began taking care of him before my workday started. If I was moving, it took about 45 minutes to take care of him; changing soiled bed pads, giving him his daily bath, changing condom catheter if needed, bathing him, applying lotion to his skin, and feeding him. However, on most days, it quickly took over an hour. By the time I was finished, I had a short time frame to try to decompress before my work day started. It wasn’t always easy. Stepping into the role of a caregiver meant my intense workouts had to be placed on hold. The thing is, I thought that I felt fine. I still cared for my father, worked full-time, and spent time with my daughter; however, my body told me in various ways that my activities were stressful.

Weight Gain

The downside was that I wasn’t getting the workouts that I’m used to, and over eight months, I gained 20 pounds. It was a first for me, being overweight, and incredibly frustrating since I was exercising; however, I could not get adequate exercise, and the stress from dealing with two ailing parents was unpleasant. I must say that this past year has been the lowest point I’ve ever found myself in, and the ways I managed to cope were my faith, sheer determination, stubbornness, and family regularly checking in on me.

Weight Loss

The good news is that I’ve already knocked off five pounds, and since I’ve eaten healthy during the entire time that I was taking care of my father, that, combined with exercise and reduced stress, should get me back to my average weight (115 pounds) in no time.

10,000 Steps Daily

Getting at least 10,000 steps daily has been a goal of mine and is easy to maintain now that I have the Peloton Tread and Bike+ in our home. I will admit the past three days (read more about what else I missed below), I forgot that number by one or two thousand, and yesterday was my biggest miss of over three thousand steps. However, I did get a lot of work done around the house, and I consider that a big win.

 

Early morning workout struggles

The past three have been challenging getting my early morning workout. Don’t get me wrong; I HAVE exercised every day since the equipment entered our home; however, the past few days have also been hectic. So I did get my exercise, just not as much as I normally do with my Tread and Bike+. However, since I know that the treadmill has always been a great way to increase my bowel regularity, I’m making every effort to work that back into my early morning routine. Today, I walked for 20 minutes.

It’s official; I’m joining the Peloton group. Last week, I purchased two pieces of equipment; a treadmill and a bike. Initially, I was going to buy the treadmill; however, after additional contemplating a few days later, I purchased the Bike+. They both come with a hefty price tag, The treadmill was a little over $4,000, and the bike ran over $3,000. The treadmill has been on my list for a few years, so I figured it was the time just to take the plunge and get something I would enjoy. There won’t be an issue with my workout equipment collecting dust because that does not happen in this household. I’m consistent with my workouts. Granted, while being my parents’ caregiver, I could not exercise with the intensity that I’m used to; however, I never stopped working out. Now, I’ll be able to commit to the same level of workout intensity that I was used to before my parents became ill.

Why Peloton?

The classes! I reviewed them before finally making the purchase, and I’d also watched numerous Youtube videos about Peloton, most likely in the 100s. Yes, I’m serious. I was sold. That answer would be surprising to those who know me since I never took a gym class throughout my 25+ years of having a gym membership. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve always been a fan of classes; however, I did not want to be in a class with many other people. However, I’m sold since I can join a class from home! Furthermore, since I’d already reviewed the classes before making the purchases, I’d gravitated towards a few of the instructors and knew the class style that would appeal to me.

Gym Room: Work in Progress

My daughter and I are converting one of the rooms in our home to a gym/meditation room. Exercising entirely from home is not that much of a transition; two years ago, I let my 25+ year membership lapse. Like others, I had no choice because of the shutdown. However, unlike some, I was already working out at home since I have free weights and purchased an exercise bike during the pandemic. However, the last few years of my gym membership were mainly because of the sauna and the cardio equipment. Well, the cardio is now covered entirely, and I will have a sauna installed in our home at the end of this year or early next year. So there’s no reason for me to keep up the gym membership. Being in the gym was a means to continue to get the types of workouts that I enjoy; seeing others was not a source of motivation since I motivated myself.

 

 

This past May, I received my stationary exercise bike. Since that time, I’ve ridden over 1000 miles. I ride my bike daily for at least an hour. This purchase was because I was unable to go to the gym because of COVID. I’m enjoying the at-home workouts. I’ve always worked out at home, but now I do it exclusively. When my gym finally reopened, I did not return. I would have returned if the rules for being in the sauna weren’t so restrictive. At my gym, you can only be in there for ten minutes at a time. To truly receive the health benefits from the sauna, the time suggested is much higher.

Besides my stationary bike, I also purchased two Specialized mountain bikes in August, one for myself and my daughter. The stationary bike, combined with mountain bikes, exercise bands, and an exercise wheel, are more than enough ways to keep me physically fit.

When taking a shower at the gym, I wear slip on shoes aka flip flops.

My problem with that is that they aren’t washable. I want something that I can wash every time I use them. I started searching online for an appropriate shoe that could be washed after every use. Based on the reviews I’ve read, I do believe I’ve hit on a winner. It’s the Speedo Women’s ZipWalker Water Shoe! They should arrive today. I can’t test them out today, since I promised my daughter that we would have movie and dinner after I came home from work. However, I do plan to go to the gym tomorrow and will test them out in the sauna and the shower. I’ll be curious to see how they hold up over time. I’ll be sure to post my results after a few weeks of use.

The past few weeks, I’ve been incorporating jump rope exercises into my fitness routine. You really don’t need to go to the gym or use fancy equipment to stay in shape. You can use your own body to do that.

The above video gives you some great options of what you can do with a jump rope. I’ve found jump rope to be one of the best cardio workouts. It might look “Easy” but it’s definitely a lot more challenging than it looks. I jump rope for fifteen minutes daily. This morning, my calves are really feeling the burn and that’s great. It shows what I’m doing is working. Start at your own pace and keep moving.

Yesterday was my daughter’s first soccer game.

She was a bit nervous, as were many on her team. Her team didn’t win, but they didn’t give up either. I told her that’s all that matters. I went on to say that after a while of playing together, her team will improve, and they won’t be as nervous.

The team they played against plays throughout the year, and it showed with how they played. Our girls are only together for the soccer season but as they practice together they’ll improve. I see this happen every soccer season, first games they’re getting into the groove. Last year they did extremely well, and went all the way to the championship matches.

Yesterday, I was planning on bringing some knitting to the game, but decided to wait. However, I’ll have my knitting with me next Saturday, after all I don’t need to look at simple knitting patterns to knit.

I love sports. I don’t like sitting on the sidelines, so you won’t see me watching it on television or attending a sports event — unless it’s my daughter playing. I played sports throughout school. I would say I was an aggressive player, and extremely competitive. I was also a team player. My daughter is a lot more laid back than myself, and I’m fine with that. I let her go at her own speed. She’s asked me to help her… and I will. A few years ago, we enclosed an area in fence, and it’s her ‘soccer field‘. I’m looking forward to attending her soccer games, cheering and knitting, and occasionally nudging her along, when I think she needs inspiration.

 

I’m happy to report that exercising outside of the home is going very well. Exercise has always been a part of my life the only major change I’m seeing is getting back into the gym. I’ve been a gym member with the same exercise facility for the past ten years. The last year I have done the majority of my workouts at home. Thankfully I have a gym at home, complete with a treadmill, free weights, pilates machine, workout bench, so the exercises I am doing at the gym are similar. Of course, there is additional equipment available at the gym but the workout (and the intensity I always bring) is still the same.You don’t need gym equipment to work out at home. Sometimes I do simple exercises like pushups, sit-ups, scissor kicks, ab exercises. All you need is your body to complete those.

Cardiovascular activity

Although I’m a free-weights lover, I do realize the importance of cardiovascular activity and make an effort to include it in my daily lifestyle. It’s been part of my routine since I was a child. As a child, the cardio activity  involved some type of outdoor activities such as gardening, mowing the lawn, biking, running, hiking, and sports (team related and pick up groups started with my friends). As an adult I picked up additional activities; inline skating, cross trainer, and the elliptical trainer.

A nice bonus for staying physically active and following a healthy diet is I can eat whatever I want and not gain weight. I’m still the same size I was at 17 (size 4) and the benefits of staying fit is amazing. When I was pregnant, I added twenty-two pounds of weight, and dropped it within two months after my daughter was born. I worked out through pregnancy. When I work out at the gym, my cardiovascular activity is usually getting on the cross trainer or elliptical machine for 25 to 30 minutes. Around the fifteen to twenty-minute mark the amount of fat burned increases significantly, since cardio is part of my routine excessive fat does not have a chance to accumulate. The bodies metabolism decreases as we age, but I really haven’t noticed a difference.

Cardiovascular activity can still be done at home. Jumping jacks, jogging in place, squats, scissor kicks, are a few exercises I do at home. It keeps you active, your still burning calories, and you’re reaping the benefits of exercise.

Cardio exercises at home

 

Recommended Home Workouts:

1. Zumba

 

References:

1. MSN Health: Triggering Your Body to Burn Fat