Sunday, May 17, 2015

Do You or Don't You?

Just wonderin'.  

Do any of you exercise on a regular basis?

Maybe I should rephrase that.  

Do any of you have a set routine of exercising?  You know, something you do exclusively to keep your body toned, flexible and in good shape . . . a schedule of working out at the gym regularly?  Or swimming, karate classes, biking, running/jogging, weight training, walking, yoga, calisthenics at home with an old Jane Fonda workout video, attendance at a zumba class, etc.?

In other words, do you have some kind of structured exercise built into your daily routine?

I must say (hanging my shamey-shamey head a bit), I do not.  Although I feel I live a fairly active lifestyle which affords me a certain amount of exercise on a daily basis, I know my body and probably my mental state of being would improve if I did do more to insure my total body got a workout regularly.

So why don't I?  I could easily use the (fairly lame) excuse that my days are jam-packed already, and I don't have time to fit in a regular exercise program.  But we all know that's a bit of a cop-out, right?  After all, what do I spend my time doing that is more important than insuring my physical body stays in good shape so I can continue living the lifestyle I want to live?

It's a conundrum, and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject. 

21 comments:

DFW said...

Not right now. But God willing, when I retire my plan is to get up w/hubby at 6:00a & do 20-30 min. of Yoga daily before I start my day. We'll see how that pans out. I really do feel better if I start my early mornings with some sort of exercise. I just can't keep it up with a full time job, or that is my excuse these days.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Well, a few years ago, Hubby and I hit the gym 5am to 6am, like clockwork. I loved it. I was fired up for the day after that. We have since then not gotten back to that routine. I do try to walk 2-3 miles every day, even when I've had long days in the garden/yard. Some days, however, I have no time at all for it.

Mama Pea said...

DFW - You see that I have no excuse when compared with you good people who are still having the majority of your hours taken up by a full-time job away from home. How much longer until retirement time for you?

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - For your 2-3 miles a day do you just go out to your road to walk? Several years back, my daughter and I ran/walked/jogged together and I simply loved that. But then her life changed and mine did, too, but I sure would like to get back to that somehow. Her situation doesn't allow her much of any time at all right now, but maybe in the future.

Mark said...

I don't now, but in the winter when I'm less active around here I do. I will say, though it's not a rigorous thing. It usually amounts to a 1/2 hour a day of brisk walking during lunch at work. Not so brisk I get smelly, but enough to elevate my heart rate a bit. During the spring, summer and fall when I get that level of exercise around the homestead, I'm far more likely to work through lunch at the day job and try to get away a little early to get home to work.

Tossing Dirt said...

I started p90x3 last year, finishing up early this year. I currently do body beast. I'm up at 4:30 in the morning to walk the dogs then work out. They are about 30 to 45 minutes long which is great for my time schedule. I work an hour from the house and work 9 hour days on top of that. So basically I'm gone 1/2 of the day. Working around the house on the weekends wears me out to. I definitely feel better now that I'm exercising every day.

Unknown said...

Not right now, but losing weight first :) I'm down 12 lbs. and almost 2 sizes. More on my blog coming! Will get n my bike soon after my flu bug is 100% gone...

Mama Pea said...

Mark - That 1/2 hour brisk walk at mid-day is something that is recommended highly. The thing that kinda bothers me is although I think I'm very active around the homestead nearly year 'round, when I do something out of the ordinary, like moving heavy objects, I can really feel muscles that simply don't get used enough on a regular basis. Hard to cover all bases, I guess!

Mama Pea said...

Tossing Dirt - Wow, you are doing some heavy-duty work outs! Kudos to you for making the time for it considering the hours each week day you spend away from home.

Mama Pea said...

Nancy po - Congrats on your weight loss! Look forward to reading more about it all on your blog. We've been eager to get out on our bikes . . . if this blasted rain ever stops and it warms up a bit.

Susan said...

No, because the only habits I hang onto are bad ones. However, I invested in the simple model fit bit and it seems to be working because it taps into my guilt genes. I'm try to ignore the fact that a certain someone (cough - Kristina - cough) outdoes me on a daily basis by 30,000 steps.... Seriously, I would love to find a yoga class that is on a weekend. I miss yoga.

Sue said...

Hubby and I either have a 3 mile walk or a 10 mile bike ride every day except the two days a week we run errands. In the winter we ski an hour or walk, if there isn't enough snow. And---I might add-despite that PLUS all the gardening/housework/etc I STILL struggle with my weight. My problem--a love of ice cream (summer) and pie (winter). But I'm probably the FITTEST FATTIE there is-LOL!!

Lisa said...

Great question because I used to exercise on a regular basis before moving to the country 15 years ago... and since then have struggled to maintain a consistent exercise routine. When one works so physically outdoors with all the various things one needs to do on a piece of land.... it's hard to think about 'exercise'. What I've found is that my body needs the specific exercise to specific areas of my body as I age. I had to do physical therapy a few years ago for a locked up shoulder... and it was the best thing for me. My therapist taught me specific exercises for not only my shoulder, but for my hip and knee that were constantly killing me too. I keep up with those enough to be able to 'move' without too much pain... but realize my exercise deficiency more and more and am trying to incorporate a routine into my daily life now. My husband walks 4 miles a day, that has helped him not only lose weight, but combat pre-diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol. Go figure. Wish the manual labor of country living was what our bodies 'really' needs.... but seems it's more the basics. At least that's the case for my husband and I.

DFW said...

Mama Pea, That is a loaded question these days. Right now it's April 2016 but there may be an opportunity for me to leave earlier than that. Just waiting to see if that comes through.

Sandy Livesay said...

Mama Pea,

Hubby and I try to get our bodies moving daily. We will walk or workout with equipment in town at our local gym.

The main word is "TRY" to workout......unless of course something else distracts us like fishing, working in the garden, cutting the grass, or even eating (just teasing on the eating). As we get older we find we feel so much better when were moving. Besides, the arthritis doesn't hurt as bad if we keep moving.

Hubby and I keep a pedometer attached to our clothing to monitor how many steps we do daily. We try to get more than 10,000 steps a day on the pedometer.....it's like a competition between hubby and I.

Marie said...

oh now that's a loaded question!!! Between working, the political gig, gardening and sewing -- there isn't a whole lot of spare time. From November thru March I sign up and attempt to attend water aerobics twice a week ... it's more for the mind than the body .... Once at the office -- my rule is to walk -- and I did score a deal on the basic fitbit ...as amazing as the steps are the sleep tracker is awesome --

Just move is my new motto!
M

Erin said...

I wish. Last year (when I wasn't blogging) I was on a regular program of working out at our community rec center every day while my kids were there for swim team practice… I actually lost 30 lbs and got back to my recommended weight and surprised my husband quite a bit when he came home from deployment. Here, not so much. We don't have anything like the community rec center so I'm mostly hoping that daily walks and gardening will kick start things again.

Carolyn said...

I'm a sloth, and really, REALLY hate exercising just to exercise. I want to slit my wrists when I'm on the treadmill or the schwoopie (elliptical), and I can't really go too fast or my overly-endowed topside takes a beating. I used to go riding and it was good exercise (who would have thought that RIDING a horse would be good for you??) or in my earlier years kickboxing, but alas, there is nothing around like that now. But for two weeks now I've been walking to work every day (except for rain, of course) and it's just over 2 miles R/T. I know it's not enough, but at least it's a start.

Good luck!

Cr said...

I'm finally getting back to yoga classes this summer. I had thought that hiking/snowshoeing with the dog every day (we go for about an hour in the morning and at least a half hour each afternoon) would be enough, but I'm finding that I'm just so stiff each morning. Add the summer garden and build work and I realized that if I don't do some focused stretching I'm going to end up truly hurt. So back to yoga I go. I find I do better getting off-property as it keeps me committed. An at-home exercise program just seems to fade away but that's what I'd like to work toward.

Leigh said...

I did aerobics for years, but since we've been living here we're so busy that I run out of day before I do a little exercise. Overall I'm happy withe my activity level, but I want to keep muscle tone and strength and think a regular routine is best for that. I keep trying to get a little in everyday, but I don't more days than I do.

Unknown said...

I also have a farm and a full time job. I walk nearly 5k just going to and from work and a walk at lunch. Then I come home and patter around here doing this and that. I walk about 10k a day right now. This has been good for the last year and I've lost 25 lbs but I felt like I needed to step it up a bit so I joined a bootcamp. Then spring hit and I was busy again here with the gardens, weeding, planting, hanging laundry outside, mowing, kids soccer etc. etc etc so the bootcamp had to stop. I plan to just do my squats, push ups, planks and burpees at home now, in the evenings when there is time.