Motivational Giveaway!

Need a little motivation to get you through the last few weeks of the challenge? I was approached by Dana who has an Etsy shop, Words to Sweat By, devoted to motivational towels. Dana has offered up two towels to a lucky winner--one towel to keep and one towel to pass on to someone else who might need a little extra motivation.

How to Win:

*Head over to Dana's Etsy shop and report back here in the comments which towel strikes your motivation (or exercise funny bone)

*Tell us in the comments what motivates your exercising and how you can help motivate others. If you'd like to write up a short post on your own blog, I'd love that too--just leave us the link.

I'll draw a winner at random on March 17th so you have until then to complete your mission.

You must be an active participant in the challenge in order to contend for the drawing--I want to support you guys who have taken the time to report your miles throughout the challenge.

(I'll need a way of getting ahold of you if you're the winner, so if you don't have an email listed on your blog or profile, please leave your email below).

Getting out of your Exercise Rut (Mini-Challenge)

I don't know about you but if my exercise isn't varied I get bored, then burned out, then find every excuse in the book not to get in my workout. Sure it's easy to just hop on the treadmill and crank out two or three miles (kudos to those of you who can stay focused enough to do more than that!) or plop on the bike with a good book and pump those legs, but varying your workout can be important for multiple reasons.

Varying your workout can help you stay fresh and interested, it can help you reach numerous goals, and it can also help your fitness levels. I don't pretend to be a fitness guru but it seems that everyone will tell you that your body can quickly get used to certain exercises which cause you to have to work harder in order to see the same results.

Although this is the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge and we track our progress in miles, I'm going to challenge you to switch things up this week or during the following weeks. I suspect that there are lots of walkers in this group, which is great, but there are so many physical activities one can do to stay fit. Belong to a gym? Check out an exercise class--yoga, spin, step, kickboxing, strength training. Don't belong to a gym? Play basketball or tennis or even just grab those dusty set of handweights and do basic squats, lunges, bicep curls, etc.

So go out and shake things up a bit. If you write a weekly progress report, tell us in your progress report how you're switching things up a bit. If you don't blog about your exercising, tell us in the next Friday progress report.

How do you switch things up when you're regular exercise routine gets old and tired? Leave us some suggestions in the comments below. I know I love hearing how people keep their workout regimen fresh and hopefully you can gain some pointers, too.

It's not always easy, but neither are chores...

To workout or not to workout, that is the question.

Of course the obvious answer, as we are all participating in a challenge based around exercise and fitness, is to workout. Get moving, be active, etc, etc, etc…

For some of us, it’s just not that easy. For me, at least, exercise is that part of the day I dread. I think about it for awhile, and groan in frustration, wondering why no one has created a way for you to hire some crazy fitness fanatic to exercise for you where they can burn calories for you and love life as they create more and more endorphins.

I know what some of you are thinking. You think I haven’t gotten into the groove or found the perfect fit, but I’m highly suspect of such notions.  No matter how many times a trainer or Bob Harper on the Biggest Loser or some random person on the street tells me, “Once you get started, you’ll totally love it,” I do not find exercise enjoyable. I try new things, I attempt to add in adventure (if you can call a trail in your local park adventurous), and I continue to find that exercise is grueling and evil.  Obviously created to remind humans that we are bad and deserve to be punished.

So why do it?  I do it because I have to. I mean, no one is holding me down to the exercise mat and forcing my legs to kick against my will, but I realize that the key to my goals involves being active. It’s one of those necessities in life like working, paying taxes, and laundry.  Unavoidable unless you want to become a blubbering mess.

Yeah, I make it sound really appealing. I’m like that blind date who starts out with things like “I keep heads in my freezer.”

All of that said, I wouldn’t change the fact that I workout for anything. As much I complain and fret about the hour or two of hell that awaits me with a bootcamp workout or a run in less-than-stellar weather, I do like the positive effects it has on my body and my life. I'm happier overall.  It’s made me more confident in myself. It makes me feel stronger and healthier.  And the best part, I can make it up more flights of stairs without getting winded than my super-skinny friend.

How do I do it, considering how much I hate it?  I have a few small post-it notes with the all the positives that exercise does add to my life, a reminder for those days when I’m really ready to give up or especially cursing my trainer when he says, “Just one more rep.” I suggest you do the same. Prepare one or two reasons why you workout and on those days when your mind is plotting against you, take a look at it.

In the end, feel free to remember me, and know that if I can get up at 6am on a Saturday and get exercise in, anyone can.

Mare
http://destinyisdeafening.blogspot.com/

Elliptical Machine

Hi y'all! This is my first post to this blog, and hopefully it's okay, Trish! I just had a really exciting day in exercise and I thought I'd share my experience. :)

I have struggled with my health for years, and in the last two years it's been particularly bad. I've been lethargic and unable to exercise for any long period of time. Even just walking for longer than, say, 15 minutes makes my lower back and hips hurt. I've tried stretching, all sorts of warm-ups, different shoes, different places to walk, and even monthly chiropractic visits, but for the last two years, I've been unable to keep up with exercise.

Two years ago, I bought a treadmill. I really tried using it. I liked the idea of being able to walk or jog in my house, because 3 months of the year I'm too allergic to mountain cedar to go outside, and another 3+ months of the year, the temperature hovers around 100 most of the day (not fun!). Unfortunately, the treadmill never worked for me. It hurt my knees and feet, in addition to my lower back and hips. Argh!

This is really frustrating to me. I used to be an athlete, a competitive swimmer, for years. It frustrates me to no end that just the tiniest bit of exercise now is near-crippling. In the last few weeks, I've hit an even worse block on this 100-mile fitness challenge: one of my feet was injured, so that the tendons can't have a lot of pressure placed on them. I honestly thought I was going to have to drop out of this challenge. Already I am woefully behind. But I thought I'd give it one more shot - my husband suggested we go out and get an exercise bike.

Today, we went out. But instead of an exercise bike, we wandered over to the elliptical machines. I've never used an elliptical, so I thought I should try some out. I got on several, and was surprised how easy they were to use, and how easy on all my joints and my feet. The really expensive ones didn't feel like I was moving at all! Of course, we couldn't afford one of the really expensive ones (I did not get the model pictured above...), but we did decide to invest in an elliptical. We got it home and Jason put it together for me.

Oh my. It's such a strange feeling. I just spent half an hour on there, and I feel good. I feel like I used to feel when I got out of the water as a swimmer. My whole body feels exercised, not just my legs, but at the same time, other than a bit of muscle soreness, I don't hurt. More than that, I feel energized! I feel like later tonight, I might get back on for another half an hour.

Of course, I'm not going too fast or using any resistance for now. I'm just beginning, so I'm trying to build up my strength. But I'm excited. I think this is going to work for me! After years of trying to find something that works for me, I really think this is going to work. Plus, despite being a lower-end model, my elliptical still lets me plug in my iPod and listen to music or an audiobook while exercising. I love it!

Okay, I'll go now, but I just wanted to say if you have access to one of these machines, at a gym or something, and you haven't tried it, you should. It's amazing. Though I have a lot of catching up to do, I hope to see all of you at the 100-mile finish line!

Exercising Blues

You know those days when you just don't wanna? It's raining or snowing outside? You had a long day at work? The kids have xyz that you need to take them to? There's something great on the tube?

I'm having one of those days right now. Even as I type this post I'm sitting in my workout clothes half talking myself out of putting in the yoga DVD. I know that when I'm done I'll feel GREAT, but right now...I've got every excuse in the book.

What do you do to kick those exercising blues? How do you push through to get the minutes done and move on with your day?

I know I'm not the only one with exercise blues--or having a tough time getting those first few miles in. Share your motivation with us!




I'm putting out a call for guest posters. If you've got an idea of something you'd like to post, please let me know in the comments or via email.

Because I would walk one hundred miles...

Because every challenge needs a cheesy motivational song, here's a catchy tune to get you walking (or running...far from this post):

100 Miles (to the tune of 500 Miles, by The Proclaimers)

When I wake up yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who hops on her treadmill
When I go out yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who’s not standing still

If I fall down yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who hops right up anew
And if I falter yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who stopped to tie her shoe

‘Cause I would walk 100 miles
And I would walk 100 more
Just to be the girl who walked 100 miles
So you’ll say I’m hard core

When I'm working yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who's walking on her break
And when the others go out for sushi and tea
I'll walk until every muscle starts to ache

When I come home yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who walks back home to you
And if my feet smell I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who stepped in doggy doo

‘Cause I would walk 100 miles
And I would walk 100 more
Just to be the girl who walked 100 miles
So you’ll say I’m hard core

When I'm walking yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the girl who’s walking ‘til I’m through
When I'm dreaming yes I know I'm gonna dream
Dream about the time I walked - woo-hoo!

‘Cause I would walk 100 miles
And I would walk 100 more
Just to be the girl who walked 100 miles
So you’ll say I’m hard core