Just because I am a doctor, and encourage patients every day to exercise, doesn’t mean that I don’t have my own issues with getting sufficient exercise. Long hours, tiring days, family obligations, illness: they are all stumbling blocks, no matter what your occupation.
I have been recording my exercise weekly, mostly to keep myself accountable for reaching my goal (sometimes this works, sometimes I miss). If anyone reads this, I hope they will take this as encouragement to keep going, acknowledgement that it isn’t always easy.
As a reminder, my 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 have been trying to incorporate strength training, with many set backs. At the start of 2020, I plan to start working (again) with a trainer, which has so far been the best way for me to do the work. My ultimate goal is to spend 60 minutes a week on this, though starting at 30 minutes a week is perfectly fine.
- Saturday: Walked to the shopping area to pick up some wine, before going to a party. 28 minutes.
- Sunday: Social engagements + inclement weather meant no exercise outdoors.
- Monday: Walked part-way home from work, 26 minutes. Felt pretty bad about not exercising yesterday, so I got a ride to the library to return books, and then walked back. 27 minutes, for a total of 53 minutes walking today.
- Tuesday: Ran up and down stairs trying to clean up before having guests on Wednesday. Nothing registered on the Fitbit though, so I will count this as a no exercise day.
- Wednesday: Attended one party, then hosted another. Very busy but no exercise.
- Thursday: Did not feel well after all the partying. No exercise.
- Friday: Definitely not feeling well. Based on what I am seeing at work, there is something going around town. No exercise today either.
Total: 81 minutes walking. Verdict: Failure, despite my best intentions. However, I think I could have met my goal (or at least gotten much closer) had I not succumbed to whatever viral illness is going around. I start working again with my trainer next week, so I should make some progress on the strength training front.