With the ridiculous amount of shananigans going on right now, i've decided I need to refocus on my me, getting off of that track makes me a basket case, seriously. I over think, over analyze, take the glass is half empty route and just shut down. It's not pretty.
SO . . Im challenging myself to doing at least 30 minutes of exercise in the am. Partially to get my day started right, get back into a routine, get my head straight for the day and of course . . . start seeing that scale move down instead of staying put.
Im not a morning person . . . I am of the firm belief that mornings are for going to sleep, not waking up
Does any one have some ideas? Keeping in mind that early AM"s have to be indoor friendly as it's winter, brrr, and it's just me and my little guy so I need to stay in the apartment.
I was toying with Zumba, but dont know if it's something I want to spend that kind of money on for DVD's if I don't like it. I have turbo Jam, Tae Bo, Biggest looser Bootcamp, just looking for something that's going to give you that "YAYYYYY LETS GET UP AND ROCK IT!!!" feel right from the get go . . . at 5 am ha ha.
How about checking with your library for workout dvds? I check out pilates and yoga dvds from mine and I get to keep them for three weeks - free and plenty to choose from. You might have a few good finds there??
I'm trying to get back in the morning workout routine, and am now just getting up earlier in the morning to get USED to it I feel i need much more sleep in the winter than I do in the summer, so it's a challenge.
If you already have DVDs,, use those. Close your eyes and pick one each morning. Netflix has DVD rentals, too. Or you could do a swap with a friend if you are getting sick of what you have.
Do you have winter clothes? Can you bundle your son up in the stroller and go for a quick 30 minute walk in the morning?
When I went to the library the librarian that just happened to help me said she lost all her weight (200 pounds!!!) by doing "Balance Ball - Beginners workout" and Dr Oz has a dvd with an exercise section on it that she said was amazing. Of course neither were in and my library but she ordered them for me. I am excited to get them!!
We are coming up on primo-season for used exercise equipment, as a certain type of person loves to sell the old off to buy new for their new year's resolution. I have lost most of my weight on a 20 year old (at least) exercise bike I bought off of Craigslist for $35. Sure, the meter display doesn't work, but the ride is smooth as silk--probably because it wasn't used much in all those years. Much used equipment has basically been a coat rack.
Anyway, a stationary bike is really mindless. You can, honestly, drink your coffee on the dang thing while you watch TV. You can also push yourself really hard if you want a more intense workout.
I have big puffy hearts for my stationary bike. And yes, used or rented exercise DVD's is a great idea if you don't want to outlay any money for something you may not love. But honestly, even marching briskly in place, Walk Away The Pounds style, while watching morning news is a great exercise to get yore heartrate up. No money, no equipment, but a good start to your day with lots of blood flow
I third, the stationary exercise bike. I love my bike that I can push it as hard as I want, or just do a long endurance bike ride.
Best of luck on the am exercise. I workout in the morning (not 5am though) because I work in the afternoon/evening. I workout from 10:30-12:30pm and I find that it does give me energy through the day.
I, too, have had craziness in the last couple months. I'm hoping the new year will bring big changes in my life. Getting the day started out right with exercise sounds like a great idea. I'm not much of a morning person...but I'm willing to give it a try. Hope your life settles down and you fall into a great new routine.
You guys are awesome, i think i'll look into a stationary bike, we don't have a lot of room in the apartment, but I think i can squeeze one in.
Right now i can bundle up jack and go for walks, but soon it will be -30 and sometimes as low as -50 with the windchill . . . so I figure if i can get into a habit now, those mornings will be easier.
I am such a morning person it's ridiculous. As soon as my feet hit the floor I am up, away and chipper. LOL! But don't cross me after 9:00 PM. LOL!
I suggest some form of cardio which could could walking, the stationary bike, "jump roping" in place, jogging in place, jumping jacks, jogging/walking around the apartment, run up and down stairs, a combination of all of the above...whatever. I love a nice warm up of a good 10-20 minutes of these activities. Then you could do some strength training, little equipment necessary.
I suggest an exercise ball and dumbbells of 5, 8, 10 and 12 pounds. There are so many strength training exercises you could do with these items. I belong to a gym, but this is the pretty much the equipment I use. I love to run up and down the stairs, do wall sits for increasing amounts of time, squats with weights, squat pulses lunges with weights, calf raises, push ups (various types), planks (various types), bicep curls, tricep work, ab work etc.
The cardio warm up makes me feel energized for lifting. I love lifting, but when I lift without cardio it's somehow more boring. I thrive off the endorphin rush and I get that when I do cardio first and keep my heart rate up during lifting. Sometimes between sets I'll throw in jumping jacks to keep the heart rate up. The difference feels amazing. Feeling amazing is my key to facing it every morning.
good job on challenging yourself with something specific first thing in the morning...I like it!
in ref. to you saying:
just looking for something that's going to give you that "YAYYYYY LETS GET UP AND ROCK IT!!!" feel right from the get go . . . at 5 am ha ha.
...I've got a little ninja mental trick or two that should help out and get you jacked and ready to rock
if you haven't already...
get a picture or get a bunch of pictures of the figure you want – whether it’s a supermodel, or your own figure in the past or even...
just imagery you create of yourself and your ideal figure in your mind...
take that imagery and visualize/imagine yourself having already achieved what you want most...imagine how good that'll feel...
how much energy will you have?
how has it impacted your relationships?
how has it impacted your health and vitality?
how much more confident and happy do you feel?
while visualizing...what things do you now feel like you can do that you didn't feel like you could do before b/c your weight was holding you back??
just imagine yourself with your ideal figure and health and all that comes with it...
Also...
there are a couple other little tricks you can use to get more in control when it comes to creating motivation on command…
I’ll give you another simple trick right now...
take the way you’re representing exercise...for example, right now – or whatever the thing you feel unmotivated to do -------- notice the facets of that picture – is the picture dark…is the picture distant…is it blurry…………..??
do this…
just make that picture much more bright and bring it close to you……….make it clearer……….and notice how you instantly feel differently…………
when you do this – give me your feedback on what shifts were made just by doing this…and then I can give you something else that can be used to take it to the next level...
(now make sure the representation of the picture your visualizing and associating to start out....isn’t you puking or something at the thought of exercise!! make sure it’s not something like that --- if you made it bigger and brighter and clearer – you might puke right now
cool - talk soon...best of luck - whoop some butt!
What about something that takes very little space, is free and we all learned to do in grade school PE class. Good old fashioned calisthenics.
Try a session of 20 sit ups, 20 left leg lifts, 20 right leg lifts, 20 push ups, 20 jumping jacks and 20 arm lifts, (You can use a couple water bottles for weights). Every day increase by 5 or 10. This is great excercise and can be done in front of the TV or listening to music. Oh, and did I mention it's FREE
Need some suggestions
