Each week I have been logging my exercise. Mostly this is an exercise for myself; it has, on occasion, prompted me to get up and move (“for the blog”).
It is also meant for encouragement, in case a busy reader wants to know how other people get their recommended exercise; I don’t think it’s easy to get enough exercise these days, and I think it does people a disservice to imply that it is. Our lives are busy, and yet, you have to take care of your health.
My first goal is to make sure that I get my 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise (or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise, which probably won’t happen).
I was doing well enough that in February I added a second goal of 60 minutes of strength training a week; after 4 months of not doing well on this goal, I decided to replace it with a different challenge.
For the next month, I will try to do a few minutes of yoga every day; this is mostly to help with stiffness, and partly to make sure I get some exercise in daily. I will count a week as a win if I do this 5 days in the week (no bonus points if I do it 7 days a week, except that I might feel better).
As I have noted in the past, I am motivated by continuing streaks, so we’ll see if I can win this challenge, and if I will decide to to keep it going.
- Saturday: Walked part-way home from work, 25 minutes. Started feeling like I was coming down with a cold. Yoga? Yes.
- Sunday: I was just pooped, no exercise after work. My job was to drink tea, rest, and not get sicker. Yoga? Yes.
- Monday: Walked in the hospital, getting treats for the brand new interns. Walked 15 minutes. Yoga? Yes
- Tuesday: That whole resting-don’t-get-sick thing on Sunday didn’t work, no walking. Yoga? Yes.
- Wednesday: Walked after dinner, 19 minutes. Yoga? No.
- Thursday: A short walk after dinner, 13 minutes. Yoga? No.
- Friday: Walked in the hospital, getting treats for my last day with the hospital team. 12 minutes. Yoga? Heck no.
Total: 1 summer cold, 2 new interns, 84 minutes walking, 4/7 days doing some yoga. Verdict: I did not meet my exercise goals for the week. But I survived!