Not living up to those New Year’s resolutions?
February has just arrived and with that most people have already realized that the New Year’s resolution to become more active can once again burst into flames of guilt and self-deprecating insults.
Not so fast. So you haven’t joined that gym or running club down the street. You know you’ve watched what you’re eating even though the trip to Starbucks resulted in indulging in the honey-glazed golden donut. Yes, I know, you have a mint tea instead of the Caramel Macchiato to make up for it.
The truth is that I hate the gym. And running is what we were made to do when we were chasing food or being chased to be food. If you’re like me, your wallet remains bitterly depleted after Christmas and so joining any spending class or buying all the up-and-coming fitness equipment is simply not in your budget.
Now what? Get started with the free climber!
I live in an apartment building on the 17th floor. A friend of mine suggested that I take the stairs every day, to which I didn’t even have the energy to protest. Come on, 17 flights of stairs, carrying the briefcase and heavy purchases (all vegetables and fish, of course)! One night, after changing into some gym pants and a T-shirt, almost ready to sit on the couch, an idea occurred to me. “How about I take the elevator to the 10th floor and go up from there?”
It was ridiculous how easy and fast it was. Yes, he was a little out of breath, but it wasn’t as bad as he thought. Since then, I have been going floor by floor and my thighs and butt thank me.
free bouncy ball
About two years ago, I purchased a Pilates exercise ball that has spent the last year and a half in its packaging. A few months ago I needed an extra seat and inflated it (that alone must have burned a lot of calories). Since then I have had a great time trying to increase the time I can balance on the ball. For starters, kneeling on all fours works best and it’s amazing how it feels on your abdomen and back of your stockings after 10 minutes. Not only is it fun, but concentrating on that task helps me relax after a long day at work.
If you don’t have to worry about noise and have some bare wall, try kicking the ball against that wall. After about 10 kicks you’ll feel it and it’s time to switch legs.
free fun
My roommates have jobs and after work they usually end up sitting in a chair studying or writing. One night, he needed a quick mental break and threw me a stress ball. Of course I had to retaliate and before we knew it, we were in a chase battle that spread throughout the apartment.
Now, you may think this is pretty childish and I’ll agree. What we did notice though was how exhausted we were after 10 minutes of that, our abdominal muscles aching from violent laughter and our hearts pounding from running. “Hey, this qualifies as exercise,” he joked, and I had to agree.
Since then we have come up with many little games like that, for example Pilates Volleyball, dumpster, basketball, etc.
Results?
I’ve done something small like this every day, as well as making small changes like walking to the grocery store when I don’t need much, skating on the nearby pond, etc. Do I look like someone who belongs on the catwalk? No, but my scale let me know that I have lost 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks! And I barely felt it. Combined with the fact that now I’m really inspired to do more.
