Day 18

Hi Friends,

I let yesterday get away before I had a chance to sit down and write my thoughts.  Did ya miss me? ;-) Well, I'm back, and here's today's little nugget of joy!

On your next "walk" day, try taking a walk with your kids.  It was fun to discover that their version of what to do on a leisurely walk is much different from mine, and I quite enjoyed that!

For example, my 6-year-old was very reluctant to go on the walk with me and showed it by huffing and sighing quite a bit early on, but, being the nature girl that she is, she started finding "treasures" along the way that she could add to her nature collection.  She also had a lot of fun looking at the clouds!  It made the 30 minutes go by quickly (for her and for me!) ;-)

And as for the 2-year-old, well, he just likes to be wherever I am.  Usually, he is very quiet on walks and just soaks up the scenery, but today, he wanted to sing (or, rather, have someone sing to him)!  So, my walk time went by even faster because I was busy trying to come up with all of his favorite songs.

It was very fun and very joyful, and you could tell it had a positive impact on the evening's activities.

Until next time,
Missi

Day 16

Today, I would like to talk about two completely unrelated things, but both are worth mentioning.

The first of these is the fact that I cannot count! 

What I mean is, if you are taking note, you will notice that I have numbered my entries like this:  Day (followed by a number).  Now, that number, up until today, has been a bit incongruous with the actual number of days that I have been on this program.  You see; every day, starting with March 14th, I have had a post, but I have only put the "Day and number" combo on the posts that contain my personal musings, NOT on the "schedule" or "guest blog" posts!  Had I numbered those other posts, yesterday's post would have been Day 15, instead of Day 13.

I am happy to inform you that today is Day 16 of my quest to find a joyful and sustainable exercise program, and the title of my post reflects that!  Whew, glad we cleared that up! ;-)

The second thing I would like to mention is the fact the today was a walk day, which, normally, I would be totally jazzed about.  However, today, during my walk, I felt more like running than walking.  I found myself looking forward to tomorrow's run, and I have NEVER felt that way about exercise in my entire life.  There's hope!

Until next time,
Missi

Day 13

Let's talk underwear!!

Normally, when I run, I use that time for prayer or just time alone with God, but today was different, very different.  I just let my mind wander.  It was fun, a little bit silly and just the distraction I needed.  One of the random things that kept "creeping up" in my thoughts was "underwear!"

Now, the following comments are meant for the ladies, so I apologize to my male readers for this candid talk about my "unmentionables," so read on at your own risk. ;-)

Here goes:  On March 14th, when I started this exercise program, I weighed myself so that I could record my baseline; I did not want to gauge my success by the scale.  I wanted to be able to feel a difference in the comfort of my clothes.  Well, I am happy to report that I have just started the third week and can definitely feel a difference. . .primarily in my underwear.  Can I get an Amen! 

Ladies, you know what I am talking about.  When you're a little bit "fluffier" than you want to be, you might buy bigger pants and shirts, but you rarely alter your underwear/bra size; therefore, you wear that same old skinny underwear that bites into your hip flesh or rolls down the flabby spot that used to be your waistline!  It's uncomfortable, to say the least!  And don't even get me started on the "bra flab!"

Well, I am here to tell you that, as of today, my underwear fits, and I have not had to readjust my bra even once (except to secure my heart rate monitor!)  I have clearly lost some inches, and I believe that this is just the beginning!

Many blessings,
Missi

Week 3 Schedule

Week 3

Monday        Tuesday      Wednesday      Thursday         Friday          Saturday        Sunday
Run 5 min.    Walk easy   Run 5 min.        Walk easy    Run 6 min.     Run 6 min.       REST
Walk 1 min.   30 min.       Walk 1 min.       30 min.         Walk 1 min.    Walk 1 min.
Repeat 5X                       Repeat 5X                             Repeat 4X      Repeat 4X
                                                                                      Run 2 min.      Run 2 min.

Guest Blogger: Tracy Turner -- Heart Rate Zones and the Heart Rate Monitor

“I would have written a shorter letter if I had more time” - B. Pascal

Missi has been asking me to guest blog for quite some time.  So from time to time, I will be blogging here, primarily about equipment, physiological considerations, or both.  Although I am well read, I don’t purport to be an expert, so please consider these entries as just my two cents!

Today, I’d like to talk a bit about heart rate and what I consider to be the most important piece of equipment in any aerobic exercise program: the heart rate monitor.

THEORY:

Heart rate is the single best indicator of exercise intensity.  If your heart rate is too low during exercise, you will rarely see the results that you want to see.  If it is too high, you will likely become exhausted prematurely and ultimately probably give up on your exercise program because it is just too taxing.  The happy medium is called your Target Heart Rate. It is based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate.  To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.

Maximum Heart Rate = 220 - Your Age

There are differing opinions about where to go from here.  Most people concur that the Target Heart Rate zone is 50 to 75% of your maximum heart rate (MHR).  I would submit, however, that there are multiple “target” zones based on your overall fitness goals.  Elsewhere, they may be called by different names, but let’s call them Active Zone, Aerobic Zone, Training Zone, and Above Zone.

Active Zone (50 – 60% MHR):  This isn’t much!  This is very light intensity activity/exercise.  Depending on your beginning fitness level, 50% MHR may be near your resting heart rate.  About the only thing that will drop your heart rate below 50% is sitting or lying down.  The encouraging thing is that most of the calories burned at this level of activity are fat calories.  Imagine spending an entire day above 50%.

Aerobic Zone (60 – 70% MHR):  Do the math…this is still pretty low, but at this level of exertion, your body has the ideal level of oxygen coming in to properly combust maximum calories and fat.

Training Zone (70 – 85% MHR):  This is where cardiovascular and endurance gains are made.  This level of intensity is frankly taxing, but not exhausting.

Above Zone (>85% MHR):  Believe it or not, we should avoid this category.  This is the “pain” in the “no pain-no gain” nonsense slogan, and I believe it is the single-most contributing factor in the failure of most exercise programs.  At this level of activity, we have exceeded our aerobic threshold and have moved into an anaerobic state.  This simply means that we are not getting enough oxygen to efficiently burn calories, and we will be left with the byproducts of inefficient combustion, namely, lactic acid.  Don’t get me wrong; anaerobic training is great in the weight room or if you’re training to beat Michael Johnson’s world record in the 400m, but I am not; Are you?

What does this all mean?  Once you figure your zones, what should you do with the information? 

Train by them! 

I whole-heartedly believe that the most valuable piece of equipment you can own is a heart rate monitor.  And I prefer one with a chest strap, as it gives you immediate and ongoing information.  They are not that expensive (around $80 depending on features), and they help you train smarter not necessarily harder.  While features like programmable intervals (which we use with the beginner run schedule (ie. 4 min run/ 1 min walk cycle)) and programmable HR zones are great, having a real-time heart rate readout will change the way you train.  It will allow you to adjust your workout during your workout.  The point is to push yourself into your preferred zone but not to overtax yourself.

PRACTICE:

Almost all of your workouts on this beginner running program should be in the Training Zone.  I am forty, so my Training Zone is 126-153 bpm.  During a run, if my heart rate gets up to 160, I slow down or stop early, but if it drops to 120, I need to increase my intensity.  Those are easy to understand, but I also use my heart rate as an indication of recovery. 

If my heart rate is not recovering adequately during one of the walk phases during the workout, I pause the clock and wait for it to drop below 130 before beginning the next run phase.  That may mean walking for three minutes instead of the scheduled one. Even though I may be veering from the scheduled exercise, I am ultimately listening to my body and making adjustments accordingly.

I can tell you from experience that constantly pushing yourself Above Zone will not make more rapid gains; it will only lead you to DREAD your workouts!  That is not Joyful.

Listen to your body, or better yet, let a heart rate monitor do the listening for you!

Day 12

"An excuse is something nobody believes but you!"

My wise and wonderful Bible study mentor and friend, Janet, said this the other day, and I just can't stop thinking about it.  It's so true and so raw that it left me speechless, and believe me; that's hard to do!!!

We have a million reasons why we can't get something done or get something started, and although these reasons might be good, they're still excuses if we're no farther along today than we were yesterday!

That's why I am so, so excited about this new exercise program and new attitude!  Every day, I wake up with something to do that is good for my head and my heart!  It sure beats spinning my wheels and feeling guilty, powerless and behind!  That's not for me; I'm free!

Thank you, Janet and thank you, Jesus!

;-) Missi

Day 11

Today, I woke up and felt very light.  It's kind of hard to explain, but I felt a sort of peace and joy that I don't normally have, like today was going to be special, and it was!

I thought, at the time, that the "specialness" of the day was when I completed the 4-minute run/1-minute walk (x6) schedule, which, when you break it down, is running for 24 of the 30 minutes!  It was fun, exhilarating, challenging and JOYFUL!  I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!

That was special enough, I thought, until I witnessed my first baby, my 6-year-old daughter, ride a bike for the first time!  Now, the training wheels were still on, but they were up so high that she had to lean over quite a ways to use them as a crutch!  She rode like a champ, with her daddy along side her, up and down hills, learning how to coast, stop and start!  It was so precious that I am tearing up as I type this.

Thank you, God, for "the daily specials."  You are amazing!

Missi