Tag: working out

Exercisin', Fitness, Me

On Fitness: The Quarantine Edition

by MsSquarePeg3 Comments on On Fitness: The Quarantine Edition

Like I said in my previous post, I’ve been in no race to work out during this quarantine. *shrug* Anxiety, inertia, and just wrapping my brain around we’re actually in a lockdown/quarantine while in the midst of a global pandemic tends to remove thefitnessBrad desire to do anything but sit there and drink it all in. (While washing my hands.) Short of some light strength training because I was bored and wanted to film myself doing it (been making a lot of videos during this thing; perhaps I’ll share), I hadn’t committed to an actual routine.

Then, just the other evening, as I laid in bed and looked at old pictures of myself, especially during my fitness/health journey that I began in 2015, I reflected on all the good work I did. Five years later, I continue to maintain that weight loss and happily can say most of it remains still gone, but let’s be real, lockdown style: I’ve been eating like a man released from jail only to get back in again. And not really being active, either. So I decided, pretty informally, to re-start making better decisions and to make sure that each day has good habits involved. Because weight loss is great, but just being healthier is the true pay-off for me.

Yesterday was the start. I decided to take advantage of the beautiful, warm day and Workouttake a walk around my aesthetically pleasing neighborhood and then follow up with some cardio. Here are my thoughts/remarks about the experience:

  1. Girl, if you haven’t worked out in a while, it ain’t gonna be easy. Whew.
  2. I committed to 3 miles and I got my 3 miles. Yay.
  3. My favorite forms of exercise are walking and dance cardio. I did both yesterday, so this is a plus.
  4. I had my mask with me, just in case. My mom sewed me some Ankara masks and shipped them to me, because she’s amazing.

(Oh, and take a look at that photo and join me in saying: come all the way through, skinnnnn. I see that the regimen is working. *stretches to pat her back and realizes that she is not flexible at all*)

Anyway, we will see how it all plays out. In the meantime, tell me how you’ve been trying to stay active during this quarantine. (Emphasis on trying to; do what you can.)

Exercisin', Health, Me

Pictorials.

by MsSquarePegLeave a Comment on Pictorials.

Or shall we say Fit-torials? Anyway, fantastic workout last night, folks. Let’s walk through it, shall we?

Fitness5

First: the requisite sweaty, social media shot. (Done for Snapchat, in case you’re wondering. And no, I have no idea how it works.)

Fitness1

A bit of a smug smirk, no? And yet that’s the face you make when you’re murdering a treadmill, folks.

Fitness2

“This hurts. And you’re not smiling or smirking anymore, are you?”

Fitness3

Tiny guns growing in them arms. Also, since you see my trusty earbuds, the following artists are great for a workout:

  • Justin Bieber (I’m serious. He’s annoying, but the little boy is talented. We’ll discuss further in another post. Kindly withhold the hurling of tomatoes in this direction.)
  • Anything from the 90s. Last night, I rocked Ini Kamoze and Born Jamericans, great blasts from my past, and they had me literally running in rhythm on the treadmill.
  • Whatever floats your fitness boat, really. I’ve also rocked Carly Simon and Anita Baker in my ears while exercising, so to me, it’s whatever you prefer.

Fitness4

Closeup of the facial sheen. (I love to see myself sweating.)

 

That’s it for the pictorials. As far as last night’s regimen:

-30 minutes of cardio on the ‘mill

-30 minutes of the following: squats, Russian twists, bicycle crunches, weight lifting (again, trying to birth some guns), and my very favorite, planks. I tried to do multiple reps of each.

-At least several minutes of stretching

You read about my winter struggle to find motivation. Since then, I’ve been really pleased with the turnaround and getting back to my routine, so I wanted to share.

Tell me: if you’re a gym rat or just enjoy exercising/being active, what are some of your favorite things to do?

Exercisin', Life, Me

The Unholy Hour. (Or, the Gym Diaries)

by MsSquarePeg2 Comments on The Unholy Hour. (Or, the Gym Diaries)

Hi. And ouch. But a good ouch. So for the past few days, I’ve been waking up at 5AM to go to the gym before reporting to the OK Corral.

Truth. But it's getting better.
Truth. But it’s getting better.

Yep, you read that right.

Since you’re getting to know me here on TSP, let me educate you on a few things about me:

1. I generally feel that 5AM is reserved for murders, crime, and anything unsavory. That explains the whole unholy hour thing.
2. Like a newborn, my eyes don’t function…before 7AM. In other words, I have no ability to open them and/or use them prior to that time.
3. I am a night owl, so waking up that early is usually very painful and accompanied by a primal scream here and there.

In short, I don’t like waking up early. I loathe it.  But I’m also committed to new this healthy lifestyle I’m aiming for, and I fully recognize that this includes a regular exercising schedule. Most of the time, I prefer to work out in the evenings–there’s a dance aerobics class that I enjoy going to in the evening, I tend to be more cognizant and lucid at sundown, etc. But this also means coming home with the endorphins all wild and crazy and having a difficult time winding down and finally getting to sleep. A friend of mine suggested that I exercise before work. No, I didn’t push her down a flight of stairs for suggesting that I rise at the unholy hour and exercise. (By the way, it has to be 5AM, being that I commute to work and need time to both exercise and head back home and prepare to arrive at the OK Corral a reasonable time.) I was just convinced that it wouldn’t work, being that when I tried it in the past, it petered out in a week or so. So initially, I thanked her for her suggestion, didn’t push her down a flight of stairs, and kind of moved on.

Then last Sunday, I woke up and went to the gym in the morning. Like I just woke up and did it. And I enjoyed it immensely.

Yeah, man.

It gave me energy throughout the day. Check.
It felt great. Check.
I got it out of the way. Check.
The gym was virtually empty, which is my absolute favorite thing in the world.
Check, check, check. run

Essentially: hook, line, sinker. So far, I’ve been enjoying it. And the belief that waking up so early would tire me out for the day? Hasn’t happened. Why? Because this night owl has been going to bed at 9PM! Whaaaaat? Could This Square Peg be letting go of her nighttime-is-the-right-time ways? I’ll say this: it feels good to get a good night’s rest. Just call me Captain Obvious, why don’t you.

Lest I throw all my exercise eggs in one basket, however, I won’t be doing it every morning. Thursdays are still reserved for my aerobics class in the evening (7:30PM), which still gives me time to get home and force myself to shut these newborn eyes at a good time. Anyway, onwards and upwards, rig

ht?

Tell Me: What time of day do you prefer to work out and why?