Today I went for a walk at the park with a pack of 4/5/6 graders and swung as high as I could - for an hour.

Well I did a partial workout. I have a few more bicep curls and I'll be finished for the day.

My exercise today was going up and down the stairs repeatedly doing laundry...lol

Walking around all day- and funnily enough, to the gym by my apartment to see if i want to get a membership there.

I had my first pole dance exercise class today. It was surprisingly fun! And I bet I'm going to be a bit sore tomorrow. :)

Last time I was on a swing set I realized it was a heck of an ab workout. (The next day)

I walked.....from the bedroom to the living room....feels like miles today....tomorrow will be better....just wish I could have an iron infusion...lol

It was a Devine Movement class. Teaches Boudior and Pole. It really was wicked fun! (love the east coast slang!) Of course this morning, my upper arms and core ache and it was only the first beginners class. Ugh and lol.

I could SO use this! enjoy :)

does dancing in the kitchen while I did chores count?

Yesterday I took that walk again at lunch where I go alongside the Hudson to where it opens into New York Harbor. The paved path winds past restaurants, little harbors with boats, mazes of tulips and benches; you get the picture. The water was choppy and slapping at the pilings. I stopped this time to walk through the memorial to the Irish Famine, which is built around an excavated stone house. The weather was spectacular. There's nothing like New York on a clear day. When you can see forever.

I totally understand. I am also terrified by the time I reach full height! It's a mental workout too!

I met up with a friend/former colleague for a 4-mile hike round the reservoir basin at Mt. Tom. We chatted and laughed and caught up on the last couple of years and walked a 15-min/mile pace. The first substantial outdoor exercise I've had since the onset of winter. It was sunny but so windy and brisk. I was glad I was wearing layers. It was invigorating, I could have done another 4-mile loop. I might go again for a double loop tomorrow.

The Mind & The Body
 

Over the past few days, due learning about the health condition of my youngest brother who I guess is now diabetic, I began to rethink my position on certain items I have always told myself that I must have, daily. Like coffee. Sometimes I drink too much coffee. So anyway, I am making a change in my own thinking processes about why I think I need to have coffee with copious amounts of sweetness and I've come to the conclusion that I really need to change that part of my health behaviors.

So I am going to drink more water and less coffee and place stringent limits on my coffee consumption.

In exercise news (for my body): ;)

I decided that I need to walk differently; in that I need to do a bit of breathing exercises too - so that I can get my body metabolism to reach new heights - while walking on a daily basis.

I experimented with doing that, breathing differently while walking, and I found out that I felt better when I breathed deeply while walking. I guess I haven't been breathing too deeply, except when out of breath while trying to climb up hills or stairs. But I was thinking that I breathe deeply when I'm doing my jumping routines on the trampoline, which causes me to burn more calories and so, the scientist in me decided that I needed to do that when I'm walking, too. I get a bit sweaty when I'm doing that now, breathing deeper while walking, but I think it's making a difference. Especially since I made changes with drinking more water.

In short: Drinking more water and getting sweaty while walking now makes me more aware of the fact that I need better shoes for walking and if I keep doing what I'm doing, at least I will feel better and hopefully by summer, look a bit better too. For certain, since I changed what I am doing this week, I definately feel better on a day to day basis.

:bouquet:

Now that we aare haveing such nice warm weather,I cn be outside more,yesterday I played with my fur kids a while then shot hoops till I felt a pinch in my right shoulder when I shot a right hand hook shot so I quit for the day( I played for a soild half Hour).Today (sunbday) I will do more of the same but will go nordic walking for a bit to get started in ernest about exersiseing.I didn't really put out much effort dureing the winter cause of the bad arthritis prob I had,I could have done it I just chickened out.I only gained 7 pounds dureing that time so even with that is o.k. not 20 or more like I usely do.

I was planning to go to the gym for a run on the treadmill today but when I took the dog out for his walk I realized it was actually quite mild, despite being grey and windy.

I decided to hop on the bike path and walk 2-miles down the hill to the market for a few groceries I needed and back again, as my exercise for today.

Seen: 1 black bear, 1 ginormous skunk.

I see black bears every spring and every autumn, just a block from my house in a densely wooded section of land that the bike path cuts through. For a couple of weeks, twice a year, it's like a bear super highway out there. I've become quite accustomed to them. And so long as they're a fair distance away, I think it's pretty amazing to share the space with them.

The skunk, however, gave me pause... :| I considered re-routing and going a mile or so out of my way (skunks can move really quickly and you don't need to be terribly close to get sprayed) but it had scurried up the embankment about 15-ft away, I stuck to the far outer edge of the path and picked up my pace to pass it.

I guess everyone is up from their long winters' nap.

(Me included.)

My daughter has gotten into competitive swimming. She will be swimming for a local team this summer, then for her high school next fall. In order to actually teach her to swim correctly (she's never had a formal lesson), I hired a trainer. I see a lot of difference just in two sessions. You never know, Michael Phelps had to start somewhere!

Anyway, we meet at UALR's pool, and after the lesson, she got permission to hang around and dive, just fool around. And so did I! It felt so great to swim laps again, much like meeting an old friend. I like to imagine my problems and challenges written on cement blocks that fall off of me as I go, making me lighter and faster. I picture them small and manageable down at the bottom of the pool. When I'm done, not only have I exhausted myself in a good way, worked out my body, but at the least I can feel a little better about what I'm struggling with.

I know I've been dealing with depression for most of the winter. To get out of this, I've tried to remember what I was doing when I felt my happiest and most joyful. One thing was that I was extremely active. At one point, I was a runner, dancer and a swimmer, though not on a competitive level. I was just always going. When I retired from dance, and thus from all the rest of that, I lost myself. I told my counselor that I wanted to find myself again, and I suspect that in the pool is one way to do it.

For me, it's not even about getting in shape or losing weight. If I think like that, I'll quit. I call those laps (or dance, or running-if I can run again) a kind of meditation.