Balance Exercises

In my month of 5x/wk of exercise, I have come to realize I need to adjust my toning workouts to address my personal needs better. My core needs more toning, and my legs and shoulders need less bulk. I still need to keep them toned, but I’ll focus less on them and more on my core.

I’ve recently had my Personal Training clients do a balance exercise every session because as we age, falling can result in more serious injuries. As they balance, I tell them to keep their knees soft to absorb and adjust to the wobbly surface they are standing on and keep their abs tight to keep their bodies upright.

So I decided to do balance exercises myself. I’ve cut out leg-focused exercises and instead balance every time I do upper body exercises, engaging my legs and core while working my upper body. I’ve also cut out shoulder-specific exercises, and I do exercises where my shoulders are used as secondary muscles instead. I do lots of abs, using balance and focusing on all the different ab muscles, and then stretching to keep my muscles long and lean. The next day, I could feel it in my legs and upper body! The day after that, I could feel it in my abs!

Meanwhile, Nick noticed the amount of balance that could be used on BART. He calls it “BART surfing.” If you stand without holding on, you use a lot of balance to keep from falling over! It’s a great challenge and keeps you awake! But stand near something in case you need to hold on!

Mission Accomplished!

My one-month goal, set August 18, was to exercise 5 days/week, which I’m happy to say I have done for the past 4 weeks! Lately, I’ve been doing double workouts, so it’s better to say that I want to do 2 toning workouts/week and at least 3 cardio workouts/week, rather than counting the “days” I work out.

The results of my workout efforts are many: Some shirts fit better in the belly, which was a big goal. I can see that I’m getting more of a waist and less of a log-shaped torso. That’s really important because, besides it being unhealthy to carry excess fat in the abdomen, I think a round belly makes me look older.

Unfortunately, though, my shoulders have gotten too big for some of my shirts, and my jeans are tight in the lower thighs, which means my shoulders and legs are getting too muscular. I need to cut down on the shoulder & quad exercises and keep stretching a lot to keep them toned but lean.

My goal date is Sept. 18, but I might just draw this one out through the end of the month and start fresh next month. That would allow me to tweak my workouts to focus less on shoulders and quads and continue focusing on abs and cardio. I’d like to slim down, stay toned but lose bulk, which means eating less. Unfortunately, that’s really hard for me, so it’s easier for me to add cardio instead.

In the next couple weeks I’ll think of the next one-month goal.

Living the SWEET Life Saves the Day (or Month)!

Sleep
I slept well last night. It's nice not to have to set an alarm on the weekends. However, a couple other nights this week, I didn't sleep well. Once because I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, and another night because I woke up extra early to get some stuff done while the house was quiet.

Water
I need to pay more attention to drinking enough. I don't think I did, yesterday. Well, I guess that depends on whether you count the 2 cups of coffee and the 3 alcoholic drinks I had yesterday. I don't usually count alcohol and caffeine because they are dehydrating.

Eating
I've been trying to pay closer attention to my eating, to make sure I get the variety of nutrients I need.

Exercise
I'm a bit behind on exercise this week, only having exercised 3 times so far. I need two more times to make my goal of 5 times/week. Strangely, I feel like I've been getting out of shape, even though I've continued to exercise!? I've been doing some exercises from a fitness magazine, but I think some of them are too easy for me, so I'm not getting as much of a workout from them. Also, I've been using an AMT cardio machine at the gym, which I don't think gives me as much of a workout as running does. It also seems to hurt my lower back, so this week I switched to the treadmill instead. I feel like I'm hunched over, my belly is pooching out, and my lower back hurts. Also, my pants seem to be getting tighter in the waist. So what do I need to do?

• For my hunched shoulders, I need to strengthen my upper/mid-back to pull my shoulders back in place.
• For my belly I need to strengthen my abs to hold them IN place.
• For my lower back, I need to strengthen and stretch it to relieve the pain. Stronger abs will also help my lower back feel better.
• For the tight waistbands, I need to cut out unhealthy calories (i.e., Valentine's chocolates) and make sure my workouts are burning calories and building muscle. All of those will increase my ratio of calories out vs. in.
  

I think another problem I have that could be contributing to all of these problems is that I need a new computer chair. Poor sitting posture, especially if it's for extended periods of time, can definitely make all of these problems worse.

Tranquility
I had one of the few massages I've ever had in my life yesterday. It was wonderful! I told the guy my aches, and he spent most of his time working on those parts of my body. Unfortunately, I felt like I rushed around all morning before the massage, and my girls didn't nap after my massage, so I didn't get to spend some time relaxing myself before it (i.e., in the sauna or hot but), or afterwards. I had to jump full speed back into mommy mode. But it was definitely a special, tranquil treat.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Yesterday, I had a S_EET Life.
Honestly, because I've been so busy with other things, I have been paying increasingly less attention to living the SWEET Life, and the result is that I feel like I'm getting out of shape, despite having the habit of exercising. I know that it's a simple matter of paying more attention to living the SWEET Life, which doesn't necessarily take more time. I just need an awareness of how I'm living the SWEET Life.

At the same time, I know that I would be in much worse shape, and probably sick, if my SWEET Life habits weren't already in place. Without the SWEET Life, in the past month I probably would have gained weight from poor eating and lack of exercise, which I haven't. I'd feel exhausted from dehydration and lack of sleep, which I'm not, and I'd feel stressed out from lack of tranquility, which I don't. So I thank living the SWEET Life for keeping me pretty healthy during the past month of an overly busy life.

Feeling Under Par

Sleep
After a few nights of very poor sleep at the beginning of the week, I've slept better the past few nights. I even slept in Friday, instead of going running, and ran, instead, this morning (Sat.) after sleeping in again. Well, it's not quite "sleeping in;" it's more like waking without an alarm, but it's still within the six o'clock hour. However, even after sleeping well, I've felt tired all week.

Water
I've been filling my 2 qt. pitcher and focusing on drinking a lot of water because I haven't been feeling well the past few days, and I don't want dehydration to be a contributing factor.

Eating
Because I had planned out my dinners and shopped last weekend, we've eaten good dinners this week. I've also been trying to eat nutritiously because I haven't been feeling well the past few days.

Exercise
I've been doing my usual exercise this week: running down the beach and back (4 mi.) Monday, Wednesday and today, and toning exercises Tuesday and Thursday. I'm concerned about my shoulders getting too muscular; my shirts are feeling too tight in the shoulders. Everyone in my family is very broad-shouldered, so it's in my genes. Because of that, I've decided to cut out the weights in my shoulder exercises. I'm still doing the motions to stay toned, but without weight.

Tranquility
I've gotten a lot of tranquility the past few days in the form of catching up on TV shows I like, online. ABC.com allows you to watch full episodes of their shows online, which is great because I always miss the shows I like. I hope, someday, that they will allow users to follow one character's story-line, rather than watching the episode as edited.

How do I feel?
I haven't been feeling well this week, which is part of why I haven't blogged for a few days. I've had low energy, felt nauseous, and had headaches. I don't know why I'm not feeling well, but it's led me to be rather unproductive the past few days. When I start to feel under the weather, I focus more on the SWEET Life in the hopes of nipping any illness in the bud. I really don't want to be sick just before Thanksgiving! I'm hoping a restful weekend will help me feel better.