Exercise

[rowyn]

It's a beautiful Saturday: t-shirt weather in January, which does happen now and again even in the Emerald City. The good weather and the day off combine to take away two of my main excuses for not exercising, namely that it's dark out and it's too cold to be anywhere but in the den, with a comforter, two cats, and my computer to keep me warm.

It's not that I've stopped exercising. I still walk to and from work, which means that my idea of "no exercise" involves about three hours a week of walking. But I've gone from exercising five-six times a week for more than an hour, to two or three times a week for twenty to thirty minutes.

Five to six times a week for more than an hour is more ambitious than I feel. Five times a week for twenty to thirty minutes seems reasonable, though.

So I pull on a pair of jeans tight enough to demonstrate my need for more exercise, and go for a jog.

The first time I jogged a mile without pause was when I was 16.

The next time I did it, I was 35.

I can still jog over a mile, at a pace so plodding that some of my friends walk faster than it normally. I don't make it much more than a mile; a mile and a quarter, or perhaps a mile and a half if one feels generous.

Still, it's a start.

Comments

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

The last time I jogged more than a mile was... um... never.

Seriously, I got an F in that module in gym class because I couldn't do it. o.o;

[rowyn]

Wow, I don't think my gym teachers failed anyone for anything except "did not show up".

I jogged the mile for gym class, when the teacher set it as a goal. She said that we didn't have to but should try, and for some reason, that particular day I was stubborn enough to do it. It took everything out of me, though.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

I had to take remedial gym in summer school because of it. And I failed it again there, too, but it was at a different school where 'didn't finish' was a 0.0 out of 4.0 instead of a 0% out of 100%, so it didn't drag my average down as much and I managed to pass the class as a whole.

[rowyn]

Yikes. Summer school for gym? O_o Our gym teachers were clearly wimps compared to yours.

[skyflame.livejournal.com]

I've been under doctor's orders to stay away from the gym since before Christmas due to some ugly back spasms. I'll be happy to start up again on Monday.

[rowyn]

Did you make it back? How'd it go?

[skyflame.livejournal.com]

I returned to the gym Monday and Tuesday and hit the treadmill. The back was reasonably good; however, my legs were jelly. I suspect that comes from a) not doing treadmill work for two weeks, and b) being a fat-ass. :P

I skipped Wed and Thurs, and will be going back to the gym later today. We shall see how everything feels this weekend.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

*nods* My conception of "not exercising" includes walking about four hours a week also. I don't count constant deadlifting of babies, either.

And yet here I am, feeling guilty about eating bread. I'll be happy when I feel well enough to use that gym membership I was so excited about buying. :P

[rowyn]

Part of my New Year goal on exercise is to start counting my walk to/from work. Because if I don't count it now, while I'm doing it, then I won't count it in the future when I stop doing it. But my body will still notice that I've stopped! >:)

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

Right on! It's so hard to get motivated to run in winter weather; I haven't been out in weeks. So good-on-ya for getting out there!

[rowyn]

The other hard part is the darkness. I don't like jogging at night, and by the time I get off work at this time of year, there's zero daylight left. Maybe by the end of February there'll be enough light to jog after work again.

[persephone-kore.livejournal.com]

So I pull on a pair of jeans tight enough to demonstrate my need for more exercise, and go for a jog.

Er... I realize this is coming out of nowhere, but did you change into something that allowed more freedom of movement first, or was fighting the tight jeans part of the workout?

[rowyn]

I don't actually own any sweatpants or other workout clothing, so I usually exercise in jeans, or underwear if I'm exercising at home. It's not specifically part of the workout, but I don't jog very fast or energetically so it's not that much more of a struggle. :)