Staying Fit on the Fly

 

That's me laying sod in 90+ degree weather!

It's hard to believe it's been 12 weeks since I set out to participate in the Go Green Get Fit Challenge with a bunch of other green and health focused bloggers. Summer always flys by but this time I swear someone stole away some of the days...where did they go?

My fitness challenge didn't quite go as planned but I did get exercise in some unusual ways - like lifting 100 pound blocks of stone and heavy rolls of sod! Here's how it all played out...

The Goals

My goals for the Go Green Get Fit Challenge were fairly simple:

• Push my running farther than usual
• Return to the fitness yoga class I love
• Start up strength training again

The Reality

At the beginning, summer seemed like a glorious long stretch of open days with oodles of extra time and opportunities for exercise. The reality was that most of those days were filled with kid-focused activities, family outings and lots and lots of yard work. That's not a bad thing but it meant that most of my exercise was grabbed on the fly instead of scheduled or planned.

Running - I ran my first ever 5K this summer at BlogHer in New York City! Well OK, it was an unofficial 5K because no one was tracking, we didn't have a route and I got completely lost in Central Park! But it was an experience I'll never forget and the fact that I woke up at 5:30 AM and ran without coffee was my biggest accomplishment of all! Win!

Yoga - Finally - I'm back on track with my favorite fitness yoga class. Sure, it took the kids going back to school to find time to do it but now that I've started, I'm hooked all over again! Win!

Weight Training - I've been hesitant to get started again because of my shoulder injury but I made it to the gym and pumped some iron just last week! I still need to contact my fitness trainer to schedule another session and a new training routine. Partial win!

Aside from those goals, here are some other things that made me sweat this summer:

• building a stone wall in front of our house
• laying sod in both the front and back yards
• moving plants and planting new flowers
• power-washing the deck
• fixing the deck (sawing, drilling etc...)
• cleaning out the garage
• playing ball and frisbee with the kids
• walking on the beach
• body surfing in the ocean
• hiking in Colorado
• mindful walks in the woods
• biking on city bike paths
• rollerblading around the lake
• walking around the neighborhood with my husband

Lessons Learned

Goals are great but it is important to be flexible. There may be more opportunities for exercise in the summer but between vacations and family time, regular exercise is harder to come by.

Don't discount alternative forms of exercise. Entire weeks went by where I didn't get any "traditional" exercise but I worked my butt off in the yard and played hard with my kids. 

Injuries happen. My hips, my knees, my back, my shoulder and now my foot...it seems my body does not want to cooperate with this exercise stuff. I am trying hard to be mindful of my injuries but dedicated to working to improve them. 

How did your summer fitness plan go? Did you exercise regularly or on the fly?

Comments

[Christy]

Yay! Sounds like a great summer fitness plan! It always surprises me how sweaty I get when gardening.

I struggled with a fitness plan this summer (3 kids + summer = no alone time) so I added my kids into it all. Bike rides to playgrounds, swimming lessons and beaches, walking and trying more public transit when I could, gardening and being outside with my kids.

I'm trying a new green fitness goal: using my bike for more commuting when I can so that I'm not fitting it into my schedule, it is my schedule. When the west coast rain kicks in I don't know how motivated I'll stay, though.
http://ecojourneyintheburbs.blogspot.ca/2012/09/a-love-of-bikes.html

[Emily]

Cool, I will have to check out the Green exercize challenge. I am coming a bit late to the party but it looks like fun.

[Micaela]

Christy - I'm impressed! I love your goal of doing more errands by bicycle. Good luck with it!

[Micaela]

Hi Emily - it's never too late to get started on a fitness plan! :)

[Lori Popkewitz Alper]

You are amazing! I was so impressed that you ran the 5k at BlogHer - and without coffee! You really had an active summer! I agree that it's so important to be flexible with fitness goals.

[Laura]

Whoo! You got a LOT of physical activity in your summer! High five for running with out coffee, too :)

[Micaela]

Thanks Laura! I never would have guessed I could run without coffee but it goes to show - we can usually do more than we think! :)