Earlier this month, I greatly enjoyed the FitCity Indy Fit Chat on Twitter. Did you attend?
This first one was on fitness, particularly on staying motivated in the winter months. And something from that hour-long Twitter chat actually stayed with me. Crazier still – 2 things stayed with me!
First Thing: The trainer – Matt from the Indianapolis YMCA – said that we should be getting 60 minutes of activity each day. I balked. How on earth am I supposed to find an entire HOUR to dedicate to EXERCISE every single DAY? Was he nuts?
My day starts at 5:30… we are out the door before 7. One child goes to school, the other to daycare. Off on a 30+ minute commute to work. I work fulltime in an office in a pretty demanding position. Then it’s the mad dash home in rush hour traffic to get the kids from those different locations on opposite ends of Fishers, get everyone home, get dinner on the table, bath time, bedtime, hopefully squeezing in some time with each kid. Then I collapse on the couch after the kids finally stop fighting and go to sleep.
And that’s on a normal night. Don’t get me started on days that include activities or commitments! Where on earth would I find a solid 60 minutes to dedicate to being active?
Worse… he said this: BTW…You can’t count regular physical activity as “exercise” – aim for 60 mins. above daily activity.
Ack! See my heart palpitation? Right there… 60 minutes a day for exercise? I’m lucky to hit the gym 3 days a week on my lunch hour!
Thankfully, there was a bit more to the story!
I said: 60 mins above daily activity. That frustrates me. My day ends and I am so exhausted. Finding another hour in my day? WALL!
Response: You can break it up in 10-15 min chunks throughout day.
Now that feels manageable! That is something I can work with.
Now I am on a mission. Finding things I can do in 10-15 minutes chunks. One day at work, I stood up and did lunges and marching in place and squats at my desk while on a conference call (with my office door shut). We had a lunch hour where we stayed in but took 20 minutes to go and walk up and down a hallway, back and forth, back and forth.
Days that I hit the gym make it easier. I get 30 minutes of pretty intense activity on those days. What I need now is to stay motivated to find 3-4 chunks of time during the day where I can get up and walk or stretch or do crunches…
Second Thing: I work for 3M here in Indianapolis and we have a fitness challenge starting up. I’ve joined a team and we each set goals; some might go for weight loss, some for physical activity. We get pedometers and some other things to motivate us. I’m really impressed with my company’s dedication to encouraging employees to be healthy. This is a corporate initiative and there are lots of resources and programs available to help employees get healthy and stay healthy. I’m really impressed with my company’s dedication to encouraging employees to be healthy.
Now, I haven’t worn a pedometer in about a year but I think I’m going to get back into the mode of aiming for 10,000 steps every day. I know I’m well below that mark right now. The really cool thing? Accountability and partnership. That was something else we talked about on the Indy Fit Chat. I have found that having a team, a workout buddy, friends who check in and help me stay motivated really makes a huge difference. There was a user on the chat- Flourish Girl - and I’m hoping she was sincere in wanting to work together to be accountable to each other!
From the chat:
FitCity/Matt: Another tip is to stay accountable to someone else. Find your FitCity Friend to keep you motivated.
FitCity/Matt: Especially during cold months, there are many others feeling same frustrations. Make connections=fighting fatigue
Flourish_Girl: How does one get connected w/ an accountability fitness friend w/ FitCity?
Me: Use the bloggers! I’d love to hook up for some accountability with other FC Friends!
Would you share your ideas with me? I want to know how you work extra activity into your day. I want your ideas on ways to get those 60 minutes of additional activity in every day. I want to hear about your partnerships and how that helps you stay motivated! And let’s use these blog entries as a way to share ideas, be accountable, get connected and keep moving!
Participate in the next Indy Fit Chat on Feb. 23. Starting at 6:30 p.m. EST, FitCity’s guest Annessa Chumbley (@Flourish_Girl) will give her Grocery Survival Strategies. Find out how you can get the healthiest trip through your local grocery and ask questions about portion control, food labels and more. Search #indyfitchat on Twitter or follow @fitcityindy to be a part of the conversation on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
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