It feels good to be back to exercise after a week off due to illness. Though I don’t think that my lung capacity is back quite yet.
I have never really been a runner. I always wanted to like running but I could never get into it. It seemed painful and sweaty and always too hard for me. So I pursued other kinds of exercise like ballet, modern dance, Pilates, yoga and my Wii Fit. Then I discovered Fit2B studios. Once I felt like I had accomplished the Fit2B Beginning workout path, I started Fit2B Advancing. But I wanted to incorporate something else. A few months I ago I instituted my own personal workout challenge. Basically my plan was to do some form of exercise everyday. Whether that meant a walk to the park with the kids, step aerobics and yoga on the Wii Fit or a pilates DVD (My favorite is the Gaiam Pilates Body Band workout with Ana Caban).
I knew that I would miss a day here and there so I tried to make sure that I just took it one day at a time. At one point I went 10 days without missing a day, it was kind of fun to see how far I could get. I even took a couple of walks at my parent’s house after Sunday dinner to avoid breaking the streak. But when we took our vacation to Williamsburg I took a hiatus from my exercise and never really got back into it again. Since then I’m struggled with getting regular exercise into my schedule. I would do Fit2B Studio workouts three times one week, and then nothing for another week, then two more days the week after that. I knew that some exercise was better than none, but I wanted a goal, something to shoot for.
So two weeks ago I started the Fit2B Advancing + Couch to 5 K warmup. I call it a couch to 5 K warmup because I am not currently running outside, but rather using the Free Run feature on my Wii Fit. This is not an ideal way to run, but I don’t have a treadmill (more room for one), or a jogging stroller (not that I think I could push my 23 lb 1 year old and 35 lb 4 year old anyway). So running outdoors will only work if I get up super early or run in the late evening, neither of which fits my lifestyle right now. I am planning or running outside eventually, but for now I’m trying to wait out some of the summer’s worst heat. I don’t really trust the Wii Fit’s calculations for how far I’ve run, but I find it useful for letting me know how quickly I’ve run. I chose a duration for my run on the Wii Fit (10, 20 or 30 minutes) and then gauge the intensity of my running based on how far it says I went (I am under no illusions that I really run 3 miles in 20 minutes).
Since the Fit2B Advancing path recommends 2 days of cardio exercise, in addition to the workouts I decided to combine both. I currently do my cardio/Wii Run days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My goal is to do the assigned Fit2B Studio workouts (or the equivalent tummy safe workout) 3 days a week and then take Sunday’s off. Do I always accomplish this? No. And I don’t allow myself to advance to the next week of the Fit2B Advancing path until I have. Or if I know I have a busy week coming up and won’t be able to fulfill all the requirements of my current week, I’ll repeat the previous week again.
So far I love it. I’m surprised how much I don’t really mind the Wii Free Run (it helps that I put on the 80’s Cardio station on Pandora while I run. Then I only have to survive from song to the next). I’m also really looking forward to running outside in the early mornings, once the weather cools off a bit and the days are a little shorter so my kids sleep in better.
What kind of personal fitness goals have you set? Do you find it easier to be consistent when you have a goal?
If you are interested in Fit2B Studios, don’t forget to take advantage of my coupon code laundryblog, offering you 30% off an annual membership. That’s less than $7 a month.
