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Letter to ExerciseTV

Dear ExerciseTV,

Please don’t go!

I went to your site yesterday and saw this:

I am in complete denial that this is true, so please tell me that I am seeing things. Is there a petition I can sign or something? This is the biggest travesty to the fitness community that I could ever imagine. Such a shame.
Yours truly,
Avid ExerciseTV user
P.S. to my readers, you can buy a few of their workouts for download for only $1.00. It’s like the Dollar Store of workout videos, only the quality of the product is much more savory. Best buck ever spent. And I’m really excited to do this workout tonight. At least there are still some free workout videos out there. If you know of any others out there, please let me know.

From A Recovering Couch Potato

I was just thinking the other day about how being the Valedictorian–or even the Salutatorian–was as close as one gym class away for me. I hated gym class. Like so many others, I have stories about wheezing through the one-mile run, being picked last for every sport despite real skill in some, and dreading the mandatory swimming semester. OMG, I have to wear my swimming suit in front of those mean kids?

But as I thought about it, I realized gym class was the very reason that I didn’t quite make it to the head of my class. I did graduate #7 out of a class of 366, but #1-4 were the valedictorians and #5-6 were the salutatorians. Yep, I was that close. And gym class (and one *ahem* B in science) was the reason. To guarantee an A for the semester, we had to swim 10 full laps. It took me almost the entire class period, but you can sure as heck bet I eked out those 10 laps. I was retching and dying, but I did it. And somehow I ended up with a B anyway. It was one of those instances where I kick myself for not confronting the teacher about it. But alas, I took my B with my tail between my legs.

Funny thing is, now you would never guess I was that girl. Gym class can “bite me” now. I run at least three days a week, usually around 3 miles each. That one-miler has nothing on my now! I’ve completed a handful of 5ks and a Half Marathon. Take that mean gym teachers! I get a huge thrill from exercise, I have a huge crush on workout videos, I have a “gym” membership, I inhale every exercise magazine I can lay my hands on, and I secretly sometimes think about being a gym instructor. Take that, gym class!

It’s ironic how your body can turn around and do the complete opposite of what you ever thought it could do and that your reason for non-valedictorian-ism is now coughing up the dust you left in your running path.

A Magical 3-Mile Run

I have been dreaming again about the most amazing run I had over the summer as the weather is getting colder. The in-laws were up from Florida for a visit, and they took our family to the Milwaukee Zoo. We stayed overnight nearby so my MIL could spend some time with her closest friend that lives close by. I, of course, packed my runnin’ shoes.

Just across the street from the motel was the mouth of a nature path. Around dusk, I laced up and left my two boys to unwind in the room with strict instructions that if I didn’t return in 45 minutes to send a search party. I didn’t feel like running. True confession: most of the time I don’t feel like running. But I know exactly how I’ll feel if I do run, so I always do anyway.

The air was perfect for a run. The visual relief of nature was delightful. The departure from the norm was fantastic. Just running in a new place has a way of reviving the spirit of fitness inside me. But it got soooo much better.

I rounded a bend about halfway through my run when I heard some rustling that made my hair stand up. I saw something moving in the brush. Then, a brown neck popped up and I realized I was within feet of a beautiful doe. Right then, I noticed the second one. Those huge eyes, those beautiful bodies standing dead-still waiting to determine if I was a threat. I just smiled at them knowingly as I padded by, trying to send signals with my eyes that I would never hurt them.

Not too far up the path, I reached my halfway point and turned around. Those pretty girls were still there. Those city gals let me get pretty close, so I could snap a shot with my phone as proof. Then, I left them alone again and carried on. Near the end of the run, I saw another flash in the brush. Thinking I’d spied the eyes of a rodent or other little animal, I ran a little faster. But I noticed another flash and another and another until I realized I was completely surrounded by lightning bugs. It was so magical, almost mystical.

I had not seen lightning bugs since I was a kid on a family camping trip. I rode my bike through a small patch of trees and there was a tiny swarm of them. That was another magical moment from another time. I went a little slower for the rest of the run, taking it all in. In fact, I even ran back through one stretch, just so I could run through it again. It was amazing!

Back at the motel, I insisted that the boys retrieve their shoes and follow me back down the path. I got to experience my son’s first encounter with lightning bugs and it was so surreal and beautiful.

Nothing beats a run like that.

Vintage Running Clothes

I love this little article over at The Sew Weekly about vintage running clothes. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately too. All the new moisture wicking running clothes, which really is an emerging field of apparel, looks very contemporary. A few coworkers and I were discussing the amount of “pink” we all have in our running wardrobes, because that color seems to be pretty prevalent in the workout clothes department. Along with pink, gray, black and aqua blue seem to hold the highest rank. The cuts and styles are all very similar as well. Curating a personal athletic style is almost impossible because the apparel choices for the everyday female runner are slim.

And vintage running clothes? Forget about it! Not that we’d want to wear vintage running clothes, because of their outdated/non-existent athletic technology. The shoes especially were quite inept by today’s standards. But I’d sure love for someone–or even myself–to design some cute vintage-inspired, moisture-wicking, sun-blocking, anti-static garments with cute little flower prints on them. Is that asking too much? Maybe for now it is. But I can see it coming. Tell them you saw it here first.

Ok, maybe Nike already thought of it. Of course they did! This little pamphlet is a hoot. Check it out.

Well, at least we’re not required by a phallocentric bureaucracy to wear dresses! Am I right?

Catching My Breath After Skipped Workouts

I’ve noticed another side effect of skipping runs during the week. I can’t breathe! I run Monday, Wednesday and Friday like clockwork. Sometimes Sundays with a friend too. Last week, after helping a desperate husband work through his homework two nights in a row, rescuing a sister with a dead car and fully enjoying a “date night” said husband planned out completely for us, there was little time or energy left for a 3-mile run. And I never use the “no time” excuse, because I don’t believe in it. But staying up so late was taking a toll and my body needed rest. I did sneak in a relaxing 30-minute yoga workout and my husband and I got a little sweaty playing darts on our date, so it wasn’t like I completely abandoned my active lifestyle.

But by Thursday and Friday, I felt like I wasn’t breathing right, like my lungs weren’t getting enough air. The shallow breaths and idleness of my body were screaming for cardio. I had to stop and do some deep breathing just to feel OK. Don’t get me wrong though, because I’m not complaining. These reactions are all the more motivation to keep running. Me and running, we’ve got a good thing going. We don’t like to be apart for long.

A Shocking Treadmill Experience

Anyone else have a problem with static shock when running on the treadmill? At the new gym I’m going to, the treadmill zaps me every time I touch the handles. I remember this happening at previous gyms too. And it happens on all different treadmills, not just one in particular. It doesn’t let up after I’m damp with sweat either. Maybe I’m just more electrifying than most people. Yeah, that must be it! Ha!

From the solutions I scrounged, I didn’t come up with any that really fit my particular situation. I have no control over the humidity levels in the gym nor do I have any control over grounding the treadmills (which I have confidence are already properly installed).

A few other suggestions were to wear those wristbands attached to the treadmill, but I don’t think these treadmills have any (plus they’re pretty dorky-looking). You can also go out and get new running shoes that prevent shock, but my budget doesn’t really comply as I just recently bought brand-new running shoes.

Now I don’t know if this is scientifically sound or not, but it seemed like when I rubbed my fingers on my cotton shirt (which holds a neutral charge) before touching the bars, I wouldn’t get shocked. I must somehow be dispelling the charge. Or maybe I’m just crazy. Either way, it’s worth experimenting with since this is the easiest fix I could fathom. And this article indicates that polyester and nylon clothes–typical in performance-wear–are good conductors of electricity. Cotton is not.

The most comprehensive solutions I found were in this Runner’s World forum.

None of this will stop me from running of course. It’s my drug of choice. I’ve been a runner for over 10 years now, and I don’t plan on letting a tiny thing like this prevent me from my chosen exercise. However, I do think it could be enough to deter a beginner or exercise-averse type, so it’s worth looking into.

Embracing My Plate

I did a post awhile ago about Bento Boxes (laptop lunches). The timeliness of these pre-portioned containers is impeccable! Of course you know that the USDA is no longer using the Pyramid to indicate how many servings of each different type of food is recommended. They’re using a sectioned plate! My Plate is being embraced by Starbucks with their new Bistro Boxes. The system also translates well to the Bento Box or those standard paper picnic plates with different sections. Some businesses are even designing plates exactly as the USDA advises. It will be fun to watch how different businesses align their brands with this simplified system and embrace this new take on nutrition.

It’s so much easier to visualize a meal this way. Just knowing that half my plate should be fruits and vegetables–in other words, the main part of the meal should be produce–makes it so much easier to plan menus and go grocery shopping. Even just eyeballing a throw-together lunch is much less daunting than attempting to count all the items in the pyramid for each day.

MMEJR59VEAGH

My Champion Breakfasts

When it comes to breakfast, cereal just doesn’t cut it for me. At all. I will be ravishingly hungry by about 9:30 with cereal, even if I go waaaaay over the standard 3/4 to 1 cup serving. A good bowl of Kashi might cut it on a relatively sedentary day. But, I’ve found a handful of healthy breakfasts I thought I’d share that do keep me very satisfied until lunchtime. And by that I mean around 12:30, not at almost-11:00. Not only are they diet-friendly, but they’re also super-fast and simple to prepare and very inexpensive. My kind of meal!

1. Waffles: Two whole grain toaster waffles, 1/4 c sugar-free syrup, 1/4 c cottage cheese on the side and sometimes a sprinkling of blueberries over the top. A sweet applesauce/syrup mixture is also a great way to sneak in fruit.

2. Oatmeal: 1/2 c quick oats, 1/2 c milk, 1/4 c sugar-free syrup and 1 mini box of raisins all heated in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes. I use milk instead of water for my oatmeal to make it richer. Then, I have another cup to drink.

3. PB&Honey Toast: Two slices whole wheat toast spread with 1 T peanut butter each and a drizzle of honey over the top. Side of canned pears.

4. Eggs: Scrambled Egg Beaters with two slices of buttered toast. Side of fruit. I like to mix whatever I have on-hand into the scrambled eggs if possible: mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, deli meat, green pepper, shredded cheese, etc.

Job Perks

It’s official! I am now a brand-new member of the gym again, thanks to my employer. Can you believe this place? Offering gym memberships to all of its employees, among all the other things they do for us? I went last night and, although I had never been inside that particular gym before, I felt like I was right at home. I even walked confidently over to the weight lifting area where all the sinewy dudes were grunting and claimed a bench for my own 20-minute strength routine. (PS, I know it’s not fair to judge other people at the gym, but some of those sinewy dudes had terrible form. I just thought I’d inject that lest you be intimidated by joining the gym because of the likes of these dudes. They are, in fact, imperfect, just like the rest of us.)

I remember walking into a first gym for the first time. It was like walking into a foreign country and not knowing the language, the etiquette, or the popular fashion. But once you start going regularly, taking the gym up on their offer for a free personal training session, attending group classes, and reading the trade magazines (for me, these are Self and Shape), you get to know the territory. If you start watching what other people are doing, you begin to notice habits and patterns. Maybe no one told you that you’re supposed to wipe down the equipment, but you notice several people grab the spray bottle while you’re on the treadmill. Ah-ha, take a note to self… Please, try not to be intimidated (though you will be), try to get into the habit, and just take a look around. We’re all glad you’re here. And you’ll be a gym rat in no time!

Will Work Out for Mental Health

I’ve been officially active for about 10 years now. I came back from a semester at college noticeably-to-others more overweight than I left, complete with comments from people who usually don’t notice. Obviously, I had to do something about it. A friend was redeeming a free weeks’ pass at a local gym, and she was given a free pass for a guest. After a week, I signed up and the rest is … well, you know.

Obviously, dramatic changes happened right from the get-go. I lost the Freshmen, ahem, 15. I felt more energetic and I even got sick less. I’d get one cold every few weeks in the winter pre-fitness and maybe one per year in my post-sedentary life.

However, other changes happened that were less noticeable at the beginning. Most recently, I experienced a few days’ sabbatical from working out. While some might roll their eyes at this, it is a big deal for me. More so than I thought. For instance, last week, due to a business trip in the middle of the week, I went from Monday clear through to Saturday without breaking an exercise-induced sweat. Let me tell you, my mental health did not benefit. By Friday, I was noticeably moody. Saturday morning I worked out, and the difference was profound. Same kind of thing happened the week before. I fell into a funk that only running for at least 30 minutes straight could remedy.

It’s official, I’m addicted to endorphins. My husband rolled his eyes at me when I insisted that I needed to get on the treadmill, stat. I told him, “Honey, this is not for my looks. This is for my mental and emotional health.” He did not stop me or say anything more after that. Probably because he was the primary victim of the exercise-deprived villain within me. Someone I hadn’t known myself until fitness became my way of life.