I struggle a bit when this time of year rolls around, because of the cold and the dark. When the 7am sky is yearning for light, and it feels like we eat dinner in the middle of the night, I basically want to play grizzly bear and hibernate for the season.
Our home is older and is light-fixture challenged, but purchasing some extra lamps has helped. Getting enough sleep most days, along with any amount of exercise, keeps me going.
So... it's time to get started on another monthly fitness challenge! "Another one?" you may wonder. Yes. I know. I've only posted once before. I've had a difficult time getting back on the exercise wagon, but it's been a full year now so I'm long overdue to start taking good care of myself physically again!
I've learned that what works best for me is changing my programming every 4-6 weeks, and giving myself a lot of flexibility and grace.
I have to make up challenges for myself,
or I just won't do a damn thing!
Since the busy holidays are all but here, and I'm feeling desparate to do something, I'm just going to get in 30 days of exercise in the next 60 days. I'll be the first to say that reading that sounds totally lame to me. But the only thing I care about is that it's going to be 30 days more exercise than I would otherwise get!
I'll revisit this in mid-January, but until then I'm going to do 3 quick bodyweight workouts a week, and get in some treadmill time on the weekends.
Bodyweight workouts are some of my favorite things to do because you don't need any equipment at all, and they make you stronger! Also, I think they are fun. (If you're familiar with Crossfit, you may recognize these approaches.)
There are two main methods I'm going to use. One is completing as many rounds of a circuit that you can in a specific timeframe. For example...
keep repeating:
5 pushups
10 situps
15 lunges
for
10 minutes.
Another technique is repeating a list of exercises for a specific number of rounds, but with less repetition (reps) each time you go through. (You could also increase reps, but I'm more motivated to do less work each time!) This example is 5 rounds long:
50-40-30-20-10
Jumping Jacks
Squats
So you would do 50 Jumping Jacks and 50 Squats. Then you do 40 Jumping Jacks and 40 squats, etc. until you're done. You can always do fewer rounds or reps! I also do push ups on my knees and when my legs get tired with lunges and squats I just don't go down as far. Having less range of motion is okay as long as your form is good. (ask me or Google it if you're not sure.)
Want to join me? Let me know if you want some different routines to try! You can also find me on Facebook or Twitter to get updates & share what you're doing to keep your energy up this winter!
