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healthy
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| HEALTH, DIET & FITNESS EMPORIUM |
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Fitness |
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Motivation From Other's Exercise By Greg Landry, M.S.
Several years ago I
published in one of my email newsletters some messages I had received
from subscribers. These messages described their outdoor exercise
sessions: What they did, what they saw, what they thought about, etc.
The response was
overwhelming. I received hundreds of messages from subscribers stating
how much they loved the exercise stories and how motivating they were
for them. Reading about other people's exercise can be very
motivating! So, I periodically publish some of the letters from my
subscribers. Here's the latest installment..
Hi all, Last fall a
health screening at work said I was 33% fat. Well at 135 Pounds
I never thought that was possible. I decided it was time to get
on the ball and do something about it. I started walking and
weight lifting.
I started walking to the
railroad tracks and back and that took me 30 minutes. Then I
discovered I could walk a loop 2.7 miles and did that. Since I
live out of town a mile only a short portion is in town. I live
in Mt and the view of the mountains is ever changing.
Some days the sky goes
on forever and is sooooo blue. I get to watch the snow line move
down the mountains in the fall to the valley floor where we are and
move back up in the spring.
It depends on the day as
to what I do and think of. I work in a nursing home and some
days I need to blow off steam and I see nothing. Some days the view
amazes me. Some of the best walking times I've have my mind is
just on the smell and sounds of nature and I'm home before I start
walking.
I also can do a longer
walk about 1 and a half hour by going to a resort near by and walking
the loop there through the golf course. This is more hilly and gives
me a real work out.
In the early spring I go
to Glacier Park and snowshoe what fun and sights. Never the same
and the people are great to meet. We talk about trails and kinds of
shoes etc. The summer offers hiking in the park too. So
many trails and places to go. I love it.
I do get lazy in the
winter and don't get out as much as I should. But I froze my face a
few years ago and have trouble with the cold now. I want to try
cross country skiing but made a real fool of myself last winter.
I must have been playing twister in skis. I will try it again
some day. I did but cross country skis a few weeks ago.
There are a lot of
outdoor things to do here and it is fun and that makes the difference
in sticking with it. If it was all work I'd now do it.
Keep up the good work and have fun.
_____
Let me first say how
much I have enjoyed reading your newsletter. It is extremely
encouraging to read about the successes of others in their weight-loss
endeavors.
About a year ago, I
picked up the sport of running, due to a co-worker's sharing of her
interest. I had already lost about 40 pounds through walking and
sensible eating, but decided that I needed to challenge myself.
I started working towards the goal of completing my first 5K in May of
last year. After that, I decided to continue training for races.
Although I knew I would never win anything, I was doing it totally for
myself, and I loved it!!
Well, in January, my
husband and I found out that we are
expecting our first child after nearly six years of marriage. Willingly, I curtailed my running and now only incorporate it in little spurts with my 2 miles per day of walking.
My husband has started
walking with me around our hilly neighborhood and it gives us time to
talk about this
soon-to-be addition to our family, names for the baby, etc. Since my husband works a very busy schedule, this is usually the only time of the day that we really get to take a break and just spend some time talking about things that are going on in our lives, both individually and separately.
He has now expressed an
interest in running and I am helping him get started by encouraging
him and giving him some pointers. Although there are not any
races in my immediate future, it is exciting to see him get as
"pumped up" as I used to get for those big events.
_____
Hi Greg, my name is
Cindy. My outdoor exercise is walking. I call it my
"sanity walk." I started walking several years ago as
part of my weight loss program (I've lost 130 lbs.!!!) and it is the
one exercise that's so easy to keep doing, that's why I love walking.
I walk the stairs (4 stories) at work, I park far away at stores and
walk across the parking lot.
I walk on my lunch hour
- it's the perfect head clearer. I live in a small town so
walking anytime of the day or night is still pretty safe. My normal
distance is about 2 miles a day but I don't have a set distance -
depending, my walks last 30 to 60 minutes. When I walk I think,
I pray, I look for something beautiful -- a flower, snow covered
trees, cloud formations, children, another smiling face.
I've walked every street
in this small town many times and each time I see something I didn't
notice before. When I'm angry - I walk. You might be
surprised at how fast your anger disappears when you start enjoying
the beauty of God's creation -- and there is always beauty out there
no matter how many times we walk that same old route.
_____
Greg, When I started
reading your newsletter over two years ago, I believed that I could
never be fit. I'm 46 and had been at least 50 pounds over weight for
all of my adult life.
Your newsletter inspired
me to start walking everyday. Then I started weight training (gasssspppp!),
something I thought I would never do. I also started eating healthier
and only when I was actually hungry.
Fast forward to today..
I've lost 78 pounds and I'm strong, lean, and healthy. I actually have
muscle definition! People I haven't seen in a while don't even
recognize me. Thank you for the inspiration!"
_____
Hi Greg, I love to be
outside. I prefer outdoor workouts to going to the gym. Now that
Winter's over, i can get back out there. The morning's are
brighter earlier so I really like going on my jog/walk.
It's about 5 miles total
in a development with many streets that eventually all meet back at
each other. A few good hills helps with the heart rate. I
really love it this time of year because every morning you see
something different; a new flower blooming or beautiful landscaping
jobs in the works for spring, the smell of fresh cut grass with dew on
it, the bunnies come out-- they're all over the place.
I leave before total
sunrise so the sun waking up is great to see, too. It is so
refreshing. We have a puppy now too so i'll be taking her with me.
She likes to run, thank goodness.
Sometimes i just listen
to the birds but in general i put on some really good music in my
walkman , usually rock-old and new. As long as it's fast.
It keeps up my pace. I save the slow, soft music for when i'm
relaxing, not working out.
I also like
rollerblading and so do my kids. There's a great trail in town which
used to be a very old train track that the county paved over. It
goes for miles through several towns. It's is only for walkers,
runners, bicycles and rollerbladers. Some parts of it are
enclosed with woods on all sides, there are bridges to cross, and some
parts are adjacent to major roads and people's backyards. It's
just awesome.
Then Summer comes and
going to the pool daily with the kids is added to all of this.(Gee,
maybe i should suspend my gym membership till next Winter) I like
washing my car, usually
volunteer to mow the lawn(we don't have a riding mower), and i choose to walk to town to get my bread and milk instead of drive. I hate cleaning my house and there's another sign that I love the outdoors. Thank goodness Winter is over!!!! _____
I just got home after
doing business in four states in five days. I always take a pair
of walking shoes and try to walk to meetings if at all possible Since
I travel primarily by plane, I also walk the terminals during
layovers.
First thing in the
morning, or after work in the evenings, I walk 15 minutes to eat my
meal so that I get two miles in at least. Finally, I take a pair
of tights and t-shirt which double as PJs and are available if
lightning strikes and I actually get a block of time to exercise at
the hotel.
I really make an effort
to cob together 400 calories of exercise by hook or by crook every
day. I find it helps me sleep better in hotels and keeps my body
and spirits feeling better.
_____
Dear Greg,
Thanks for all your efforts to help us get fit. You have a great newsletter, and I really enjoyed your on-line articles. My outdoor exercise consists of a daily walk with my black labrador, Princess. I start out as early as possible, trying to walk 30-40 minutes, but some days, I only have time for 15. But I still go everyday anyway.
That morning walk is a
great way to start the day. My dog is also used to it; she is
ready to go from the moment I wake up. I take different routes,
and when I am feeling particularly adventurous, take a route with some
incredibly steep hills.
To round out my fitness
routine, I am beginning to include some weight lifting and muscle
strengthening exercises, especially for my abs., 3 times a week.
_____
Greg, I started my
outdoor "rolling" after I wasn't able to afford to buy
prosthetics legs about 13 years ago. It was difficult to come up
with ideas for a legless person to do exercise. I go on walks in
my wheelchair for about a mile here in Wichita. I used to go
about 6 or more when I lived in Va., but here there are dirt roads
that I live on.
I enjoy the quietness,
the animals that I see and I usually spend this time praying or
thinking about what I have to do for that day. Wheelchairs don't
go through snow or ice very well, so there were days when I couldn't
go out and about.
When my three children
are out of school, we play tennis, baseball, basketball and things of
that nature and convert it to where I can play with them. During
the summer, I usually mow my own yard using a regular push mower.
Hard to tell ya how I do it. Just got to see it to believe it.
I try to stay as active as I can be to watch the old weight problem.
_____
My daughter is on the
cross country team and track team at
school. Well I am a mother of 8 children, 34 years old and to keep fit I jog with her. Check this out!! We live in a big city, and we go across the river 3 miles one way and 3 miles back home. It is so fun and the sites are great. People beep at us and think we are nuts, but we love to jog!
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