Procrastination Station

I had to work out at a hotel gym this week, and as you probably know, hotel gyms are a mixed bag.  In this case, the website described the fitness center as "state of the art."  After visiting it for a workout, I am pretty sure they were referring to preschool art. 

But, I made it work. Warmed up on the elliptical for a while, then moved over to the treadmill for my HIIT workout.  But as I started to jog, my legs weren't into it.

Please don't make us do this again, they begged. 

The treadmill did seem a little rickety and I doubted its ability to handle the pounding of some of the longer sprint intervals.  So I went back to the elliptical.  But then that treadmill totally turned the tables on me.  It began to mock me!  Taunt me!  Act all tough like it had gotten the best of me! You know I wasn't about to let that fly, so I stepped back on.  My legs did one of those heavy sighs that women do when they want you to ask what's wrong so they can tell you it's nothing.

But after a minute or two I went back to the elliptical. This was getting ridiculous.  I knew I wanted that calorie burn but man, that workout is tough!  But, time ticking, I finally sucked it up, stopped procrastinating, and did the damn thing.  The treadmill held up, I finished the intervals, and then walked up 12 flights of stairs back to my room.  Done.  Fine.  Happy now?

When I plugged in my GoWearFit and saw that I had burned 800 calories in the last hour, I was glad I did those intervals!  My workout done, I was free to start procrastinating on other things instead.  :)

Sometimes you just have to suck it up and do it. 

So go do it!

Good day!

Your Elliptical is Lying to You

Hey, pssst! Come here.  I gotta tell you something.  You know that little screen on your elliptical machine, the one that tells you how many calories you burned?  It's a lie.  It's all a lie! 

I've always known that those little calories-burned estimators on treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, etc. were inaccurate.  Even if you type in your weight and your age and whatnot, it's just an estimate based on a lot of assumptions.  But still, it feels really good to see  "YOU BURNED 450 CALORIES!" on the little screen at the end of a sweaty workout, doesn't it?  Yeah, I like it too. 

It's kind of like getting a sympathy compliment on a really bad haircut.  You know it's not true, but it still feels nice to hear it.

That's why I was kinda bummed out to learn when I plugged in my handy little GoWearFit after a workout that I was only burning half of what I estimated.  I knew I wasn't exactly a furnace, but it was a numbing reality check to see that for the time I put in, the burn was less than thrilling.

So - what I've learned about myself from my GoWearFit this week:  it really does take an hour of hard cardio a day to burn enough calories to maintain my weight.  Sorry folks.

I guess an hour a day keeps the pounds away!  So....what are you doing still reading this?  Get moving! :)

Good day!

Pen to Paper! This week's workout.

Ack! My head is swimming with deadlines this week and I need to get a workout schedule on paper - so here's what's on tap for me this week. How bout you?

Today - 45 mins elliptical intervals (while studying ACE Personal Cert stuff - multitasking at 4am!), then 25 mins bike intervals, some bicep/chest/hamstring stuff, and then I had to leave, sadly. I HAVE to start getting to work on time, yall. And I had to stop and pick up some greek yogurt for my afternoon snack. So...that means some sprint intervals at lunch before - you guessed it - Pilates. And that is Monday.

The rest of the week:

Tuesday: Spartacus circuit, 5-mile run, upper body class with Pomeroy (bring it), and...*maybe* some elliptical intervals if I need to study. And I need to study.

Wednesday: More elliptical/study (six weeks to test day!), cycling the hills, back/triceps/quads, and...that whole getting-to-work-on-time thingy. Bah. At lunch - Pilates. Ahhhh.....

Thursday: rest day! And a lower body class, cause you know I can't really rest.

Friday: long day! Spartacus, elliptical intervals, bike intervals, shoulders/calves/hip flexors, the dreaded plyometrics, and at lunch - sprint intervals and Pilates. Maybe an outside bike ride that afternoon if the weather is nice.

And soon I need to start swimming! Hmmmm, I can smell the chlorine already.

So... whaddya doing this week to be well?

Regina Benjamin Sweats Off Her Makeup and You Should Too

You may recall a few months ago when President Obama announced the appointment of Regina Benjamin as Surgeon General and her charge of tackling our nation's obesity problem, and the subsequent questioning of her ability to lead an overweight nation into a healthier place when she, herself, was not exactly channeling Denise Austin in her stage presence. Nope, she was a regular old American - overweight, over-scheduled, and just as vulnerable to the siren song of a Grande Java Chip Frappuccino (460 calories and 19 grams of fat, justsoyouknow) as a soccer mom on her last pick-up of the day.

But I guess the nation eventually realized that they didn't really have much room to be judgemental. In a nation where one in three U.S. children and 67 percent of adults are considered overweight or obese, finding someone to tackle the job who didn't have a weight issue would be a challenge. And, her credentials are solid.

But more than that, she's a straight-talker who has a pretty sane perspective on where we've gone wrong and what needs to change in our country to reverse the statistic that estimate that by 2015, nearly 75 percent of the U.S. population will be overweight or obese. In a press conference this week, she described some of her plans for making sure "Wall-E," with its blimp-like mush-people happy to sit in recliners and eat cupcakes in a cup for the rest of their lives, remains a work of fiction.

In this msnbc.com interview, Surgeon General Benjamin focuses on practicality, some tough love, a few reality checks, and her reasonable expectation for Americans to take personal responsibility for their health and realize that when it comes to getting (and staying) fit and functional, there isn't an app for that. You have to do it yourself.

Some highlights that made me a fan:

1. She calls out the food manufacturers on their aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods, and the practice of offering healthier options as an alternative, not a first choice. Educating people about the value of eating healthier food only goes so far; more communities need access to fresh produce at an economical scale that can compete with the dollar menu so people can act on the knowledge they have gained, not just know it.

2. She debunks the role of genetics in our obesity problem. It's true that some people suffer from genetic disorders that make maintaining a healthy weight more difficult than others. But by and large, obesity is more related to lack of activity and chronically poor nutritional choices due to a over-indulged sense of entitlement in our country. We work hard, and we deserve a 650-calorie Blizzard, God-dammit. No. No, we don't.

3. She calls for the reinstatement of recess and physical education in our schools. Not only does research show unquestionable links between regular physical activity and the reduction of stress, take a look around at kids today. Enough said.

4. She talks like a normal person without a personal agenda. I love that she references going dancing and "sweating off her makeup," her personal elliptical workouts, and her admitance that if she didn't pay attention to her nutrition and exercise she would be a "big blimp." To see and hear a national leader be frank about what they are personally doing to be part of the solution, without placing blame or promoting an agenda, is refreshing and inspiring, and I applaud it.

I'm a fan of Regina Benjamin. I'm encouraged by her perspective and am on board to help her achieve her goal of creating a healthier nation. Read her Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation for more information on what you can do to join in and yeah, blah blah blah, make a difference.

And then go sweat off your makeup. :)