Years ago I discovered Lee Holden’s exercise DVD: “7 Minutes of Magic” when I had the challenge of coming back from a series of injuries. This DVD has been the one I return to again and again because it is perfect for fitting into a busy day. It includes three different types of routines and that range from 7-16 minutes long. They are great for pushing past resistance when tired or stressed. I say to myself – Pamela, you have time for 7 minutes!
I like to exercise outside and enjoy the sights along the way. When I ride with my husband he shouts out practical warnings – like glass in the road – while I shout out “squirrel!” He manages to bike with me for a short distance and then heads on down the road for his “real” time on the bike. We both love riding a bike, but come from different cycling universes. He is a competitive road cyclist and I’m a commuter/recreational cyclist. I bike to get places and for the joy of it. He gets down to the serious business of training for competition. I have no desire to compete, but I do enjoy cheering him on – and my women friends who race!
One of the benefits of getting older is realizing that you’ve been trying to live up to someone else’s standards and that you prefer your own. I used to have a different picture of what fitness looked like. Competitive sports or intense bouts of suffering at a gym have been the primary images coming to my mind when thinking about exercise. We see them all the time and equate them with “doing the right thing” for our health.
I have always loved riding my bike. When I was a kid I even went to a summer camp that spent the second week on a bike trip. When I was a transportation planning intern at the SoCal Assoc. of Governments, I rode my bike to the Long Beach Bikestation and then hopped on the train to Los Angeles. Since we moved to Greenville I’ve been itching to get back to commuting by bike so it was part of the plan in our recent decision to downsize to having one car.
The neighborhood around us is so hilly, I decided the best commuting machine for me is an electric-assist bike from Pedego (Pedego Step-Through Cruiser Black with Black Rims).
Recently I’ve FINALLY made big progress with my ankle injury. I started walking with a local group and have been doing some private fitness training with an emphasis on core strength. I went from not being able to walk more than 30 minutes without my ankle swelling and becoming painful to being able to do an hour more of intense exercising. Yay!
However, I noticed that at the same time I started new exercise activities, my small walking and stretching routines disappeared. I thought, this isn’t good. I want to have added to my exercise not replaced it. Then there’s the article I read at Lifehacker.com on how bad sitting all day (which my work requires) is for you. I basically knew that sitting is bad for your body and have tried to make sure I get daily exercise. And more recently I read that “sedentary time is closely associated with health risk regardless of how much physical activity you perform on a daily basis. Further, it is entirely possible to meet current physical activity guidelines while still being incredibly sedentary.”
You may have noticed that I love trees. One of my favorite things is walking down a winding path through the woods. Add a lovely babbling brook and I’m in heaven. I naturally enjoyed being in the outdoors as a child, but as an adult I’ve become convinced about the importance of spending time in … Read more
Photo: Love this web of roots along my downtown walk route
Getting back on track with good wellness habits has been on my mind for a while. I kept shifting it down my mental to-do list as more pressing items seemed to take priority. Of course in the long run, I would only become less efficient and less able to deal with the high stress levels. Inadequate diet and exercise leads to worse sleep quality, which is especially important when you have chronic pain and injuries. Each day you wake up in more pain, less effective and more prone to throwing planning out the window.