So today has been a little rough for me. I hate the taste of our local water here and, since I'm usually in a rush to head to work in the mornings, I grab something cold from the refrigerator to drink until my lunch break. In the past, this has been Pepsi. It's my poison, I tell ya. Well, since I've been trying to get in shape, I've brought bottled water. Well, well, wouldn't you know--I'm out of bottled water! So, regretfully and shamefully, I grabbed a Pepsi and headed out the door. So, I took a step back on this thing. But hey, it happens, right? It's all give and take, but we just have to learn from our mistakes and move forward.
Okay, I am a HUGE fan of Better Homes and Gardens lately. I look at their website all of the time, and I think I'm becoming pretty crafty thanks to their creative articles. Well, today I ran across an article in a section that I've always overlooked--health & fitness. This article was about an easy 12-week walking program that allows you to ease into it and you eventually become comfortable with it. I think I'm going to give it a try. You can find the article here.
Basically, it breaks it down into weeks:
Weeks 1 & 2: Savor the outdoors and become a natural walker. It also says that you should be at a comfort level of about 5--you should be able to talk while walking, with a little breathlessness. (This happens to me in Walmart when I'm in a rush, so I think I've got that part down!) In the first week, walk in 10 minute increments for three or four times a week. In the second, bump it up to twelve minutes.
Weeks 3 & 4: Up your walking time to 20-30 minutes per outing, and pick up the pace a bit. Focus on standing up straight, and use your arms to increase your pulse rate and the intensity. And, try to add one day of walking per week by the end of the month.
Weeks 5 & 6: Keep it interesting: change your routes and music (if you listen to it), and increase and decrease your speed at intervals. Keep a steady pace for 5 minutes, increase your speed for 90 seconds, and then recover for the next 90 seconds at a leisurely pace. Repeat this cycle four times, and end with 5 minutes of a steady pace.
Weeks 7 & 8: Keep up the pace, but remember to reward and treat yourself!
Weeks 9-12: Keep up the hard work. By this point, the article says that you will most likely be accustomed to walking and will crave your outdoor adventures. Continue to set new goals for yourself, change up the routine, and bring a friend or pet along.
I'm definitely going to try this walking program, and maybe in time, I will be able to add jogging and then, ultimately, running into the mix. For now, I'm starting with the small goal of putting away those dang Pepsis and taking a ten minute walk before heading to bed!
Have a happy and healthy day :)
-Katie
actually if you walk before bed it will (most likely) be harder for you to fall asleep because of getting your heart rate up. if you can drag yourself out of bed a little earlier it can really help jump start your day, plus it would be cooler outside and (hopefully) fewer mosquitoes.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely a good point. My problem, though, is that I even have a hard time waking up in the mornings to get ready and get to work. So I'd have to work on changing my schedule up over the weekend. I might do that starting tomorrow! If that proves too hard, I'll just have to walk between dinner (which is usually by 5:30) and bed (which is about 10:00-10:30).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip!