Cooking Light: Healthy Habit 2: Exercise 3 Times a Week

I was in a good exercise routine - last summer. Then we left for vacation in September and I had a hard time getting back to that routine. I did a little here and there, then the busyness of the holidays happened and I quit. In January, I had planned to start again. Sometimes plans don't work out. This was entirely my fault, though. I just...didn't.

I had read earlier in my Cooking Light magazine (Jan/Feb double issue) what February's challenge was, and I think I subconsciously put off exercising until this month. Now the first week of February has gone by and I only exercised once. Yesterday. For about 5 minutes. The goal is 30 minutes, 3 times a week.

That really shouldn't be hard for me. Oh, I find all sorts of excuses:
* I prefer to exercise in the morning before the boys get up.
* It's too cold/hot/wet/windy outside.
* I just ate something.
* I have too many chores to do right now.
* I'm tired.
* I forgot.
And the list could go on and on...

But here's how I CAN work some exercise into my day without much "effort" on my part:
* I take lots of "breaks" throughout the day. Some are to jump on Facebook for a few minutes. Others are to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. Why not take two 15-minute breaks to do some punches, crunches, squats, arm raises, jogging in place, jumping jacks, etc.?
* Exercise while I watch Grey's Anatomy, or whatever else happens to be on. I find just plain exercise to be boring, but if I have something else to occupy my mind, the time should pass quickly.
* Once the weather starts to warm up - and in the meantime, on those rare warm days that come out of nowhere - I need to get outside with the boys and ride bikes with them, or at least walk while they ride. We haven't made our way around the lake in many months.

I miss the evening walks I started taking last spring. Even when I went by myself, I had a good time. I'd put on my iPod and pick up the pace. Most days, I'd walk for 25-30 minutes. And I'd almost always vary my route. When the temperature started creeping up, I'd walk a little later in the evenings. Once summer hit in its full force, I quit. It was too miserable out there, even when it was almost dark. I had intended to start back in the fall, but habits die and are hard to get going again. I walked once or twice.

I could tell a difference in my body when I was getting regular exercise, and it felt great! I can tell a difference in my body now. Not so great.

So, I'm accepting this challenge. I will exercise three times this week - because the five minutes of punches I did yesterday don't really count. Tonight I'll have my first opportunity, if I don't let my pride get in the way. Caleb's basketball coach is opening the last half of this last practice up for parents to play against the team. I'm horrible at basketball. I don't know the rules, and I know the parents who will be playing will be so much better than me. Still, if I don't worry about getting out there and looking like a fool in front of everyone, I'll get in about half an hour of good exercise that will seem like only minutes. And it'll probably be a lot of fun, too. I'm sure it'll be great fodder for another blog post!