April Exercise: Spring into a Habit!!
 

Welcome!

...To the April exercise thread! We're trying to make exercise a habit and give ourselves some accountability!

In this thread, we're setting the number of MINUTES we want to exercise for the month -- whether it's walking or swimming or housework!

We're also tracking how many minutes we have exercised as a group!

Please first post your goals and then add your minutes (for yourself and the group) and get some support and accountability!

If you want to join us during the month -- GREAT! Just let us know how many minutes you want to exercise in what's left of the month!

Okay, I've thought about this, and my first thought was to stick to 800 minutes (my March goal), as it has been tough to keep to that goal and I know April will be busy... but I think that I am going to up it to 900 minutes this month -- 30 minutes/day! I have been inspired by some of my fellow exercisers!!

To reach my goal, I plan to do weight training 2 to 3 times/week for 20 min each, and at least 3 30+ min treadmill sessions (or other walking), as well as back exercises about 3x/week (10 min each). I would also like to add a few dog walks/week and maybe some bicycle riding!!

If I do some really heavy gardening , I might count some part of that time (esp lifting and raking mulch), but I'm not counting the additional movement I'm doing in other areas ... I am SO much more mobile than I was 70 some-odd pounds ago! I really want to commit to getting in an average of 30 min/day of exercise!

I'm finding that the only way for me to lose weight now is to exercise. I have slacked off and on, but I'm starting to get into a groove so I am going to up my exercise goal to 600 minutes. Here's hoping!

Woo-Hoo! Wyllenn, I knew you wouldn't let me down! Thanks for starting the thread. 70 pounds down - That is SO terrific! When I hit that mark I'll actually weigh what I did when I got married. I can hardly wait!

BrandNewMe - That 29 inches lost is SOOOO great!

O.K. I'm REeeeeeally stretching myself here, but hey, stretching is good. I'm going for 1001 minutes this month. If I get to spend any time at home going to those classes I know I'll make it. At least I'm armed now with more things I can do right in the truck - Look out abs & glutes!

Brandnewme -- You got there this month, 600 is a great new goal!

And Valerie -- Exercises for the truck! AWESOME! 1001 minutes! You know we will all be rooting for you! When will you be back from this trip??

Back? April. If he keeps me out til May I'll eat him alive, despite my best efforts at being sweet and understanding. I don't fake it well.

Well, although this month is not done yet I'm pretty sure that I will meet my goal. If I do, I would have met it with missing 12 days of exercise. So one of my main goals for April is to exercise every day that I'm supposed to which is Monday-Saturday. I'm also going to increase my goal from 900 to 1100 minutes and I think that is definitely feasible.

Count me in. I am going to go for 600 minutes in April (5 days/week, 30 minutes each session).

Thanks for doing this thread!

This is rather ambitious, but I want to keep pushing on with the exercise, so I am setting my goal at 1200 minutes for April. That is basically 40 minutes a day, and I am pretty sure I am going to get there for March, but it is still a bit scary. Nothing I can remember has made me feel as good as getting exercise has this last few months. I am definitely hooked!

Gotta get movin
 

I'm with the 600 min fc's. And I'll really have to push for that but you gotta start somewhere. I guess it will mean less time sittin in front of the computer! Is this going to be a special thread for April! That may help.
For me it will be walking either outside or on the treadmill and using my ball dvd, it helps to tone. Qvc has a cute little stepper thats around $40. I am thinking about getting it. Does anyone have it?

Hi Littlegg (That's cute BTW), I'll check out that stepper. I met one other lady trucker that had a little stepper in her truck and had done great with weight loss by using it religiously, and she could even do it when her partner was driving.

I don't know if I'll make goal this month or crash & burn like I did in Dec & Jan, but I'll shoot for it at least!

qvc
 

just go to qvc dot com and do a search for steppers, I think theres 1 under 40 and 1 under 50, see what you think, and let me know.

littlegg -- We do a new thread for every month. Many of us have really built on the exercise we were doing. I started off around 430 minutes each last Sept and October, and now my goal is 900 minutes for April!! Also, it seems to be kind of contagious and we kind of spur each other on!

My total cardio goal for April: 1440 minutes broken down as follows:

Recumbent Bike
(270 min./wk)
x (4 weeks)
Bike min: 1080

PLUS

Walking/Elliptical
60 - wk 1
80 - wk 2
100 - wk 3
+ 120 - wk 4
Wlk/Ellp min: 360

The bike minutes are going to be challenge enough…but the walking/elliptical is sure to kick my butt. Here’s a toast to a CHALLENGE for April!

Yeah!

I haven't posted my March totals in a while but I will post my Goal for April will be..... 800 minutes again. I know I didn't meet it in March but hopefully April I will
Dogpal

Well, I've been tossing this back and forth since I saw the thread had opened. I truly can't decide whether to stay with the same goal or extend myself a little. I don't want to make myself sick again, but I think I could easily up the goal at least by 100 minutes. At the moment it seems as though I will get around 2000 minutes in for this month, so I think I will set my new goal for April at 1800. That still gives me some breathing/resting room, but looks very 'doable'. That is only 60 mins a day, which is what I should be doing anyway I think.

Great to see so many people increasing their goals. Some of the amounts you guys are doing each day put me to shame! One hour on the treadmill! I am happy with my two sets of half hour in general though, so I'll keep plodding along with that.

Take care all,

Zelma

I think the tricky part here is to remember we aren't in competition with each other, but want to use each other to spur ourselves along... a real balancing act!

BTW, I posted the previous GROUP totals in the March thread -- we get better each month!
December: 5661 minutes
January: 9418 minutes
February: 11,129 minutes
March: over 12K so far!!!

WOOHOO!

Well I'm going to set my goals at 1200 for the month of April. I know, I know, I didn't even come close to it this month, but I'm going to the gym at 8 in the morning now instead of later in the day and I'm actually going and NOT making excuses so I know it's doable. That's only 60 minutes for 5 days of the week and I'm usually at the gym for longer than that so I'll have some breathing room. :D Good luck in April everyone.

I'm going to try 60 minutes of walking (or aerobics if it's snowing out!) a day for 6 days a week. Total of 1,500 minutes for the month of April.

Getting back into it...one day at a time.

Sarah

Wow! tons of great goals here! you ladies rock!

Hi chicks! My goal for March was 400 and i'm at 300 so by saturday i'm pushing for over 400:yes: i can do it. Since i will have the whole month of April instead of half i'm going for 800!!!!!i can do it.
I am healthier than i was 2 weeks ago and at the end of april i will be even healthier! I have faith.

Keep up the GREAT work Chick![/B]
~~~MaryAnne

ok girls... I'm back. I WILL make my 1000 minutes this month. I am about 200 mins short for March but I gave up for a while. So I am hereby committing myself for 1000 minutes!!!

Brenda :wave:

I'm in the process of setting up a structured workout schedule, so hopefully that will not mess up my meeting my goal for April. I am setting my goal for April at 1200 mins. That's a slight increase over this month, and it also meets the goal of 1 hour of exercise a day for at least five days a week. I think I am going to schedule 90-120 mins two days a week, but it will be on the weekends and sometimes it is a free for all here on the weekends, so that may or may not actually occur LOL. I am also going to schedule workouts for the two days a week that I am considering "taking off" but those workouts as well may or may not happen. That's a lot of "may or may not's" hence the goal of 1200.

WELL IT LOOKS LIKE I'M THE FIRST TO START US OFF!!! Add 40 mins for me=
:carrot: :carrot: :carrot: :carrot:
APRIL'S GROUP TOTAL 40
xxxsharon

Hi Ladies..ok setting my goal..I didnt make it in March..BUT I started this wonderful group in late March soo I know I will do good in April. Now that I am in my nutrition class it forces me to make concious ( I know I spelt that wrong lol ) decisions.

April Goal is 500

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar-pi...0/140/329/.png

First day of April and I got 40 minutes of exercise in walking my little pooch. :)

GROUP TOTAL 40 +40 = 80

Ooh--do you know that I just realized I never tell you all what I do when I go to the gym? :o I used to do 30 minutes on the treadmill and then I do the nautilus machines. One day I do an upper body workout--which includes an abdominal crunch machine, the fly, the shoulder press, the rower, the bicep and triceps and one more that I can't remember the name of. The next day I do the treadmill and then a lower body workout--which includes the "hip" machines, better known as the abducter and the adducter, one for the hamstrings, one for the quadriceps, and one that does them all but also includes the gluteous maximus--(which I really don't want to be as "maximus" is it is ;) ). I've discovered that if I squeeze my butt cheeks tight while doing the last machine that my butt gets a better workout.

My friend and I have recently increased our treadmill time to 45 minutes :woops: so we've actually increased our average time at the gym from 75 minutes to 90. Honestly--I think that increasing the time on the treadmill is why I'm losing weight like a maniac this week. :carrot: I woke up this morning and the scale was simply WONDERFUL to me again :cheer: and told me that I was 242.6 lbs. I am ecstatic ladies. I hope it keeps up and that I'm in the 230's by next week. You of course don't know this, but that would mean that I weigh what my boyfriend weighs :D And of course shortly after that I would weigh less than him. I so cannot wait until that day. I'm so excited about being able to say that to him. :cb:

Well, I don't go to the gym on the weekends because I work on Saturday's and Sunday's. I work in a restaurant either cooking for 8 hours straight or managing the dining room so I don't go to the gym because I figure that's A LOT of exercise for those days. I don't count my work hours into my monthly goals, by the way. :) I just don't think that's fair because I have to go to work, you know? So that's what I do and when I say I'm doing an upper or lower body workout in addition to the treadmill you'll know what I'm talking about now.

Okay--enough talking for now. You all have a great weekend and I'll be by to post my workout hours on Monday.

Vicki

Wow Vicki! That sounds like a great workout!

I biked for 90 minutes today (Saturday is my 90-minute day). That brings the group to total to:

Group Total = 80+90 = 170 minutes

What a great way to start April!

Yesterday was one of my "3-in-1" days, where I do three exercise sessions in one day. So... 30 mins on the treadmill, 20 mins of strength training and 30 mins on the bike. Hubby and I did a bit of walking around malls and the city too, but it was really only 'strolling', so I don't count that.

Personal Goal... 1800 - 80 = 1720 mins to go for March

Group Total... 170 + 80 = 250

:carrot: Great to see some new bodies in here, as that will help us to improve on March's amazing total.:carrot:

Take care,:hug:

Zelma

Hello, April! I am counting my 43 minutes on the treadmill, but I did a bunch of other walking today too!

Great start!

Group total ~ 250+ 43 = 293 minutes!

Well, I didn't mean to, but I went for a walk today with a friend. It was such a sunny afternoon and after all the RAIN we've been having here, I had to get outside! So, we walked 36 minutes and had a lovely conversation. After my 1.5 hour bike ride this morning, I must admit my legs were burning during the walk. But, as she pointed out, I was walking faster than I usually walk (she said she was surprised at my progress as we haven't walked together since mid-Feb!) and my knee didn't hurt one bit! OH, those 1,000 minutes in March have really made a difference.

So, group total: 293+ 36 = 329 minutes

I am glad tomorrow is my rest day - my legs will sure thank me! OK, I'm off to stretch some more.

Sparkles and giggles,

Ok, ok, ok--I'm in. My goal is substantially less than all of yours but, like wyllenn said, its not a competition:) . My April goal is...drumroll, please:

450 minutes.

Ha, pretty low! I'll explain. I started Curves wanting to go 5x/wk. My sister suggested that I start at the suggested minimum of 3x/wk and work up, and I think she is right. In addition to having started this journey at almost 350 lbs and completely out of shape, I also have a benign heart arythmia. Granted, it is benign--but I always think about it and when I start palpitating, frankly it scares me. "Benign" could just mean they dont know what causes it. Anyway, its uncomfortable and scary, so I am working my way up to more excercise instead of jumping in head first. I wanted to start going 4x/wk April 1st, but I missed an entire week of working out in March due to being sick, so I am going to do 3x/wk for the first week of April and then 4x/wk after that. 450 minutes works out to:

30 min 3x/wk for the 1st week=90
30 min 4x/wk for the next 3 weeks=360

Ok. GO!

Amy - it is definitely not a competition! My first goal in January was 350 minutes, and I am glad I set it a bit low because I really like the feeling of making goal.

Today I took it a bit easy, but did something I haven't done in forever, and actually walked to dinner instead of driving. That was about 20 minutes of walking - on a beautiful night too!

The group total is now 329 + 20 = 349

Howdy all..I am counting the walking that I did at the mall today when I took the kids shoppin..It was a total of 45 min..lol hope thats ok it was walking...cyn

My total min walked = 45

Group Total 170 + 45 = 215

ok I was posting at same time as others lol

Group total 349 + 45 = 394

Pretty good day today. Same as yesterday (30 mins treadmill, 20 mins on home gym and 30 mins on bike) with a 30 min walk along the river with hubby added in for good measure.

Personal Goal... 1720 - 110 = 1610 mins left of March goal of 1800

Group Total... 394 + 110 = 504

:carrot: Hope you are all having an active and fun weekend.:carrot:

Take care,:hug:

Zelma

504 + 100 = 604

40 min workout with Denise Austin + 1hour at gym that evening.

not setting a goal just adding up my minutes this time. I dont seem to do well with goals.

Amy - heart palpatations would scare me too...not matter WHAT the cause. I think your goal is just fine and it is wise to start slow and work your way up. I used to be much thinner and a workout goddess so it has been difficult for me to think of a 30 walk with my dog as exercise, BUT I have gotten so incredibly out of shape that it really is exercise for me now. Anyhoo....point being we all have to start somewhere.

garnetfairy and zelma - WOWZA...you guys are workout machines!!!! :)

I did my balance ball DVD for the first time today. 50 minutes. That poor ball. :o :lol:


GROUP TOTAL 604+50 = 654