Actually, my problem was that I had gotten into the habit of ONLY using the treadmill at the gym. AND that the cost had gone up to $60 or $65 per month. So - for the cost of the membership I could BUY a treadmill. I knew full well that a treadmill wouldn't solve my resistance training issues. Which is why I met with the trainer before I quit to get a resistance exercise routine. I promtly ran into problems with that. The exercise ball I have is too small... I can't figure out how to get it to blow up bigger - that bugs me. I HAVE NO WALL SPACE! Check out my house. There is NO where in my house where I can lean my back against the wall and have space to work my legs and stuff. The closest thing I come is my hall way - but I run into the opposing wall when I try to do those exercises. I have free weights. However, they are pretty limited - many of them require a bench of SOME sort - which I don't have room for - also - home gym? Maybe when Katie moves out - but the treadmill takes up the WHOLE sewing room. There is no room to work out there... and in the living room there is room for one person to work out -as long as it is front to back and not side to side movements.
When I am in a routine of working out, I am pretty good at sticking to it. Currently I AM in a routine - and I am really enjoying it. Bricks is ONE MILE from my house - perfect for walking to and from. So, aerobics, check! Then I can spend my time on the weights and stuff. I like belonging to a gym. I have off and on ever since I worked at Antrim. It is true that I will waste months and months worth of membership when I don't go at all... But when I want to exercise, I want a gym. If I sign up for another 12 sessions with Tony that added to what I already spent for him is MORE than the cost of a year at the gym. This one DOES have a pool - and with my increasingly painful joints, I would like to try old lady water aerobics or something... Or just swimming laps. Of course, I am not sure I actually KNOW how to swim anymore... I can get some use out of my 18 bathing suits I own, but never wear.
I scheduled to meet with Tony tomorrow at 6:30pm. He annoys me. I emailed him saying that I could meet tonight anytime, tomorrow late morning or evening, Thursday night anytime but not on Saturday (he only works until 11am on Saturday). He didn't email me back, and when I called him today he said "So basically you can't meet until next week." I said - No... I just need to work out different times." He said it in such a tone as to imply I was making up excuses to NOT work out. That annoyed me. When I put my foot down about using his As Seen On TV equipment the other day he ALSO acted like I was being lazy - when THAT resulted in me barely being able to lift my arms for a week! That wasn't good... and I am not stupid.
So - here is my question for all of you. Aside from parking as far away as possible, and walking the long way around to the bathroom - which I already do - how can I increase my daily steps? I keep hearing on the radio that the average person walks 8-10,000 steps a day. I can't get my pedometer to go above 7000 - even with a longer than 2 miles walk. I guess "average" in this case really is Katie divided by me - which IS about 4000 per day - but seriously... Where do you all walk to get it up to 10000!!!????!
2 comments:
Where do you hear that the average is 8 to 10,000? I thought that was the goal they were encouraging people to achieve? In "Supersize Me" he reported that the average person walks about 4,000 steps a day.
When I was wearing my pedometer I didn't have to do anything out of the ordinary to reach 10,000 steps. The parking lot was a quarter mile from my office, and on days that I didn't go to the gym I would run errands at lunch so right there was one mile, plus the walking I'd do in stores. On days I did go to the gym I had three miles right there (plus the walk to the gym, another quarter mile), so that was easy. Then I'd come home from work and immediately take Davey for a walk, which was about another mile. A few days a week I'd take him for his longer walk at night, another two or three miles. On days with no gym and no long Davey walk, I'd still usually hit 10,000 steps with evening activities--grocery shopping, cooking dinner (and running from the dining room to the kitchen while everyone eats), vacuuming, laundry, and of course endless trips up and down the stairs at the beck and call of both kids. Except for when I'm bathing a kid I pretty much don't sit down at night. Occasionally I'd be "short" at bedtime, so I'd walk in circles around the house until I hit 10,000.
But I don't think you have to have a dog or kids to do 10,000 steps. Parking a quarter mile away is good since that gives you an automatic half mile (or full mile if you go out during the day), then always do three miles on the treadmill or go for a three mile walk outside, then you should be able to get the rest--another mile and a half at most--by just staying active at night or taking breaks at work and walking around the building (I figure if smokers can take regular breaks, everyone should be able to).
I keep hearing it on WYPR. It is a tag for the sponsor before the Morning Economics Report with Aniban Basoo. I thought it was high too, but it is EVERY DAY! Sadly - the far end of the parking lot at work is no where NEAR a quarter of a mile away - more like 1/10th - about 200 steps, but businesses in Hunt Valley are very protective of their parking lots. We used to be allowed to park in the lot across from the lightrail tracks diagonal from TESSCO - it is empty for the most part. TESSCO had rented it from them or something. But then we started getting grief from the owners of the lot. They wanted to rent it to someone else (we had stopped after the flood) so we were told to ABSOLUTELY NOT park there anymore. Other than that there is no where to park. We double park all over each other here.
I don't go to lunch - or VERY rarely. If I don't go to lunch I never run errands. So - the only reason I leave here is to go down the road to meetings... and that is too far to walk - 3.5 miles. So, my walking consists of what I do around my house, to and from my car and office (usually only twice a day) and walking I do in the building. As I have said - the bathroom is 80 steps from my desk, and that is pretty much the only place I go. When I smoked I used to go outside once a day... but that was only about 100 steps away.
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