Weekly: exercise in my target heart rate zone (HRtarget) 4x (Happiness Manifesto Declaration #1)

I watched The Biggest Loser again last night. Should be called the biggest inspiration because, after watching Bob the Trainer excoriate Joelle, there was no way I was not going to get up this morning and do a good workout. Now, it may only have been 20 minutes but it was 20 minutes of serious effort with one of the iTrain Elliptical programs. And the whole time, I imagined Bob having his meltdown over my lack of effort – quite motivating.

20 minutes on the elliptical this a.m. The goal is to get to 30 minutes in the a.m. and then another 20 minutes in the evening before strength training.

17 minutes on the elliptical this morning. Not bad. Plan is for every day. Must. Getting older – need to take better care.

Okay, so I decided in all of my infinite wisdom that hubby and I should go for an easy hike on Labor Day. We both love hiking, it gets us outdoors and goes towards fulfilling this goal, right? So, yeah. In theory, it was a great idea. In practice, well, I haven’t been back on the exercise thing long enough to have a great hike just yet. Add to that the fact that I somehow failed to eat breakfast before we left (no yelling, please, I know it was dumb) and what you have is a disastrous hike that did not make me feel good about my fitness level at all. What it did do was re-convict me that the time has come to address my fitness issues. So today, at lunch time, I took a walk around the complex and, while it wasn’t the fastest I’ve walked and it wasn’t the farthest I’ve walked, it was the best I could do today. And I will do it again every day that I am able. And I will do at least 20 minutes on the elliptical and I will get fit. I was ashamed and scared yesterday and I don’t want to feel that way again.

So, I have kept this up for nearly a week now! Up in the gym room 4 times, giving 25-30 minutes on the elliptical. This goal is going to be an integral part of my success on the Challenge Goal I have set for myself. As cooler weather comes upon us, I plan to add a lunchtime walk to my routine which will actually help in two ways: I will be getting more exercise in AND I won’t be eating lunch out so much as I have been.

Inspired by the quiet commitment SD#1 has demonstrated this summer, working her way to a great level of fitness by consistently working out and watching what she is eating without obsessing about it, I have decided to try a similar approach. So, while on our little camping trip, my husband and I did about a 2 mile “gentle” hike each day and tonight we went upstairs and swept the cobwebs from the equipment in the gym room and I did a good 25 minutes on the elliptical. I really want to do this. I don’t like the way I felt on those esy hikes – I love hiking and I want to be fit enough to enjoy it. I don’t want to whine my way through, stopping for breath every 10 minutes or so. I will be 50 in just 7 1/2 months. I want to be a much fitter 50.

With the winter doldrums just about over here, it’s time to recommit to exercising. I don’t have much of a plan yet, but I am going out for a run this morning and then, at some point this weekend, I’ll get the bike out and get it ready for using it to commute to work. (It’s 20 miles round-trip.)

Well, 25 with my cooldown. I feel good about my workouts. I am not pushing too hard but pushing hard enough. When I get to a good 45 minutes of cardio, I will add in the weights, but for now, this feels like a good place to be with this goal again.

I did 20 minutes last night and again tonight! Not bad for my first week back at it – five workouts, albeit fairly low-key ones. I am thrilled to be back at this and looking forward to the times when I feel great doing it!

I have now completed three easy (but in my Target Heart Rate Zone) workouts this week. 18 minutes on the elliptical last night. Didn’t do a workout tonight because a road trip to Charlottesville and back left me weary. Tomorrow morning, I will be back in the gym room and feeling good about it!