Resorting to Strange Exercise Patterns
Day 19 of the 100 Reps Challenge
20 deadlifts
20 knee lifts (that’s 20 for each side)
Do this set 5 times for a total of 100 deadlifts and 100 knee lifts!
Fitness Tip: There are two ways to perform knee lifts: do them all in a slow and controlled movement to work the abs a little more by doing all the reps on one leg first before switching to the other leg, or alternate back and forth between each leg quickly to get the heart rate up for a cardio burst. Your choice!
Please someone somewhere make the cold go away
I’m a wimp. And I’m open about being a wimp, too; I don’t mind admitting it. But even if you aren’t a wimp, -40 is really really cold weather. A few days ago I was outside for 10 minutes, and when I came up to my apartment and saw my reflection in the door my first thought was, “I don’t remember putting on white mascara this morning. Wait a minute, I don’t even own white mascara. Holy crap that’s frost on my eyelashes.”
I hate the cold, like just about every other sane person. But what I hate even more about these freezing temperatures is that they are really obstructing my ability to go outside! I’m used to walking a couple hours each day; some days, even one hour of walking isn’t enough. I get restless. Walking is my passion, my therapy, my favorite form of exercise.
As bundled up as I can get with scarves and hats and gloves and mittens and long underwear and boots and tons of layers, the cold is just too much for me right now (see note above: I am a wimp). This is how I found myself at 11pm on Monday night popping the 30 Day Shred dvd into the dvd player and giving that workout my all.
I never exercise late at night. I imagine it would mess up my schedule among a host of other problems that could potentially occur. But I’m going crazy here. I couldn’t imagine going to bed with so much energy in me struggling to get out! That’s also why, on the days when its too cold for me to walk the hour it takes me to get to work, I’m now doing 1,000 jumping jacks to somewhat compensate. I’ve got to move my body somehow to release the tension and be able to relax. I could start going to the gym again, but unless I can drag someone off there with me, I have a feeling I’d get on a treadmill, run for a few minutes and then get bored of the machine. 100-200 jumping jacks here and there throughout the day prevents me from getting bored.
Another very unusual thing I’ve noticed is that I have begun waking up in the middle of the night, around 4am, being incredibly hungry. This makes absolutely no sense, because I am certainly eating plenty and not getting enough exercise. And my roommate/sister has said the same thing is happening to her! (We figure it means our bodies are telling us we need more fat on us to ward off the cold. Bring on the cookies).
All I want for Christmas this year is some reasonable weather! Is that so much to ask for?
What are your exercising patterns like? Have you found yourself exercising at unusual times because you’re getting restless (or have you experimented with late-night exercising like this blogger)? This is also your opportunity to join in on complaining about the weather:)
I work out in the evenings (during the week) because that is when I have time to do it. I try not to do it too late, but even when I am finishing up between 9:30 – 10:00, I find I can have a quick shower, get to bed by 11 and have no problem sleeping. I would say that I sleep better when I do exercise, probably for reasons you mentioned – needing to burn off some energy/stress before going to sleep.
I can’t see myself exercising at midnight or 2 am, but that’s because I’m usually in bed asleep by then. Some people are naturally night owls, so as long as they are getting enough sleep, late night exercise may work out just fine. But if they have to get up and go to work first thing in the morning, I can imagine how they do it!
Hey Sagan! You got that reasonable weather you asked for, it was just delivered by mistake to my neighborhood! 80 degrees and sunny today again! You know how messed up the post office is 🙂
I’ll forward it to you, should be there by June!
Sorry you are not feeing well 🙁
Oh, I’m so with you on loving to walk and hating the cold. Ditto and ditto! Unfortnuately I don’t have any great and wonderful alternatives to get through this time of year…except to whine loudly to others how much I hate the cold, and that’s not very “healthy”!
Do you like the 30 Day Shred? I was doing it consistently around Thanksgiving and now I haven’t done it for awhile – maybe today:)
I’ve exercises really late at night before- i didnt really notice a difference- but i usually work out at night anyway.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I’ve exercises really late at night before- i didnt really notice a difference- but i usually work out at night anyway.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I’ve exercises really late at night before- i didnt really notice a difference- but i usually work out at night anyway.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I’ve exercises really late at night before- i didnt really notice a difference- but i usually work out at night anyway.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I’ve exercises really late at night before- i didnt really notice a difference- but i usually work out at night anyway.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I’ve exercises really late at night before- i didnt really notice a difference- but i usually work out at night anyway.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I’ve exercises really late at night before- i didnt really notice a difference- but i usually work out at night anyway.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I’ve exercises really late at night before- i didnt really notice a difference- but i usually work out at night anyway.
Kelly Turner
http://www.everygymsnightmare.com
I’ll do yoga at night, but other than that, I tend to stick to working out during the daytime and early evening.
JavaChick- Being in bed by 11 is pretty good, and that you can get in a workout before that! I’m amazed at people who can stay up really late and then wake up early for work- losing out on too much sleep turns me into a zombie.
Dr. J- think you can FedEx it? Maybe it’ll come a little quicker:)
Jolene- oh a good whine can do us all good occasionally! Hehe. Love the 30 day shred. I haven’t done too many workout dvds but its easily my favorite. And its so FAST.
Kelly- I guess the body adapts once you’re used to doing it.
Tricia- yoga is a nice way to unwind at the end of the day! Very relaxing.
Jumping Jacks may get the job done, but a 1000 of them is pretty boring (not to mention the repetitive stress on the body). A FUN alternative is a bodyweight routine called FlowFit. It is a DVD program for purchase, but if your interest is piqued, drop me a line and I’ll let you know how you can try it out for free.
adamsteer@cstcoach.com
Cheers,
Adam
hahahah! I totally feel you here! We’ve had -25 for several days now and I want to die. I’m a huge cold wuss too!! And yet I still see people running outdoors here… sheesh.
I workout in the morning, but I don’t have to deal with the cold like most of the country. Working out indoors, though it might not be your preference, is still a workout (and probably the best thing until the weather warms up). Good luck! 🙂
Adam- because its just 100-200 at a time, I don’t have enough time to get bored. That’s the good thing about jumping jacks:)
Charlotte- what really impresses me is the winter cyclists. It is FREEZING to bike in cold weather- I have no idea how they do it!
Running Knitter- sigh. You’re right. I should stop being so picky and deal with the indoor exercising:)
Ummm… did you say NEGATIVE 40??? Why in the name of all things sacred do you live somewhere where the temperature drops that low? I literally could not handle it. When it gets down to 30 here I whine about it…
I may be popping the Turbo Jam in the DVD player tonight. We just got 5 more in in 1 hour. Hopefully the Hubby makes it home.
I workout in the mornings and I am a walking nut. I go insane when I can’t get outside. Hope things warm up for you soon!
I totally understand the need to walk for at least an hour a day. My dad came to visit me a month or 2 ago and we ended up accidentally running/walking over 12 miles in a day. Maybe it’s hereditary?
Happy weekend!
So get your ass over to Malaysia then 😉 Sun all year round, baby (annoying as hell sometimes!).
Sagan, panettone is an Italian christmas cake/bread. It comes in tall (almost like a top hat) loaves. In Malaysia, it is packaged in red boxes.
The texture is melt-in-your-mouth light, and the loaf is dotted with mixed fruit and peel. If you want to try regular bread in your pudding, I have a recipe that uses Nutella.
p/s
I exercise at night after an early dinner. Nothing too strenuous though.
Sassy- I know! It’s awful. I was not made for this climate.
Fitness Surfer- is Turbo Jam good? I don’t have that one. It sounds interesting though!
Magpie- walking is life, or life is walking, something like that:) That’s so sweet about you and your dad.
Dee- most of the domestic flights are being canceled because of the weather- I’ll see if I can’t get a flight that will stop over in the States or something rather than somewhere else in Canada before heading to Malaysia. I’ll be there by tomorrow;) Thanks for the information on panettone! Now I really want to give it a try.
oh my i’m right w/ you about the cold weather!!! i workout immediately at work simply b/c my gym isn’t really near my route to get to work and i have to be at work early enough (630-645) so working out am would be pretty impossible for me :/