The Gym and Me

I can't believe this semester is nearly over, feels like time has really flown by. I will admit upfront that I have not met the goal every week, but I have been better at following up with the reasons I do not meet the goal and have exercised more over the course of this semester than I have ever before. I have also thought about and acted on ways to really incorporate exercise into my life than I have before. If friends want to hang out I'm quick to suggest hiking, or swimming in the beach during the weekend.

I've also really found the therapeutic effects of exercise really amazing. During times of high stress it provides me with an amazing outlet to channel stress, and frustration into something positive. I feel so much better about things after I exercise. I've also found the support from my peers to be amazing during this semester, I think since so many of us in this class have similar exercise goals we've really come to understand how to motivate each other and understand our challenges. Having people to go hiking or to the gym with really helps me to move forward with my goals. Yesterday when I walked out of my room to go to the gym my roommates started clapping, although this move was meant to be sarcastic it's social support nonetheless :) Overall, it's been a good run this semester to try to meet this goal, and I am motivated to follow through with it even more. Thank you so much Dr. A your class has helped me through so much this semester!

A Challenging Situation

Well I have to say things have been pretty busy for me this week. I have finals coming up, am working on a research project for work, and am getting ready to travel to Spain for an international practicum in a couple of weeks. So there is a lot to do in a very short amount of time. This is one situation where it is really challenging to keep going to the gym and making sure I exercise.

The past couple days have been particularly busy. I have really made it a point to study for finals early this semester, as I really hate feeling super stressed before an exam. So on the days I don't have class a huge chunk of my time is devoted to studying at the library. Then once I get home I'm usually working on my research project. By the time I get done with it all I'm really really tired. Going to the gym is pretty hard, however I've really made it a point to push myself to go ahead and go. I read in one article that many people don't exercise because it's an immediate cost to them and the benefits take a long time to see. However I have found one immediate benefit of exercise that has helped me to overcome my challenging situation.

Particularly tonight, as I've blogged about similar situations in the past, the feeling I get after I exercise is worth spending the time to go to the gym. I feel more accomplished, less stressed, and better able to handle everything I have going on. Morale of the story, even though it takes time out of my schedule, and I really have to push myself to exercise, it's totally worth it.

What Keeps Me Going

Sometimes it's really hard to motivate myself to exercise for the day. I may have had a long day, have mounts of homework to do, or just want to go to bed. I state on this blog that achieving a state of being whole, staying fit, and reducing stress are my main reasons to keep up with my exercise goals, but I want to post up some links on the benefits of regular exercise. I often think about these other reasons as motivation to keep going!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676
This article discusses long term benefits of exercising regularly, such as being in a better mood, and promoting better sleep patterns. Sometimes just thinking about the long term benefits of regular exercise motivates me to follow through with my goals.

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/benefits.html
This is another article that discusses benefits of regular exercise. This article focuses on highlighting how exercise helps the different systems of the body. Thinking about the reasons listed in the article really helps me to follow through with my goals because the reasons specify how exercise will help me to function more holistically.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=59844
This article talks about new exercise trends for 2010. Reading this motivates me to follow through with my goals because I find some of the trends fun such as using new technology, and being a part of exercise that seeks to align the body and mind (again with being whole!).

What It Feels Like to Hike 10.5 Miles

Major progress towards my goal this week. I hiked 10.5 miles up Echo Mountain today! The hike was mentally and physically challenging and was not easy by any means. Although I regularly go on hikes this was my first time hiking such an intense trail. I had also gone on the hike with my friend Filip Bartnik, who documented the trip through the pictures you see, and encouraged me to make it to the top.

So what was it like to hike 10.5 miles? I'm not going to lie about this, it was hard. The trail was very steep and narrow. There was times I questioned if I would make it all the way to the top of the trail, a place called Inspiration Point. However, I found with enough focus, belief in yourself, and allowing for breaks in between making it to the top was possible. Once I made it to Inspiration Point I was in total awe of the view, it was so beautiful. You can see Glendale, Hollywood, Venice Beach, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica from the point. It was very relaxing and rewarding to look at the view, the hike was very much worth it. Then it was time to head back down, something we were rushed to do as it was getting dark fast. Since it was such a long trail, the hike seems to go on forever as you're going down, however once we made it back down I felt a huge sense of accomplishment.

Although this hike was difficult and I am really sore now, I really feel the hike made a good measure of how much progress I made this semester with my exercise goals. I don't feel I was always physically in good enough shape to be able to complete such a hike, and am really happy that I was able to do so now. Knowing this really does motivate me to continue making progress.

Gotta Practice What We Preach

Today I printed out my intervention material on encouraging graduate students to exercise more, and being a grad student myself I was motivated to go and workout at the gym today. It has been hard this week, again I've had a lot to do for school. I do find it interesting though after I spend most of the day preparing for an upcoming exam, I found myself to be exhausted, I just wanted to home home and go to bed. However, I thought exercising was something I should do, because A it's relevant to my assignments for this week, and B I think it might make me feel better. After my workout I do feel a whole lot better, that drained feeling is better, I feel energized, and not as stressed.

Due to midterms and Spring Break, this was my first time going back to the gym in awhile. It's been good having variety in my exercise schedule, but it felt really refreshing and motivating to head back to the gym environment. I am really excited about starting zumba lessons soon and joining a group of friends to go hiking Saturday morning! Stay tuned for pictures of the hike.

Change.....

I just flew back to California tonight. Despite being away from a gym I got in three workouts last week. Even though I don't always get in four workouts every week I have noticed changes in myself since the start of my intervention. I walk as much as I possibly can. Today I had a really long wait at an airport, and used some of my time to simply walk around the airport. I'm parking my car further away from buildings now, to get in a little bit more walking time in my daily routine.

My eating patterns have changed now. I'm adding soups and more fruits and vegetables to my meals. This leaves me feeling full, and makes it less likely for me to crave junk food snacks. I'm noticing more and more fast food chains that post up calorie counts on their menus, I'm opting out of high calorie food and snacks in exchange for healthier options. So point being even though I may not always work out four times a week I've noticed changes in myself that are here to stay for the long run, and yes sometimes these changes do temporarily go away like during midterms, but for the most part the changes have appeared to become the norm now.

Spring Break

I'm currently spending time with my family at the East Coast for Spring Break. Although I have been working on school work for much of this break, having some time off from classes and work has given me the opportunity to get my body back in the habit of exercising regularly. More so I want to use this time to undo the damage of the lack of exercise and extra junk food time I allocated for myself during the stress of midterms. As I've mentioned earlier in this blog joining 24 hour fitness has really motivated me to meet my goals, but since I'm away from the gym this week I've been looking at other ways to go about reaching my goals.

Specifically, I've realized that there are times in life when even though exercising may not seem relatively easy you can readjust your environment and exercise routines to still get in a solid workout. Here are some websites that I've come across that are helping me to figure out ways to get in exercise time in the absence of being super close to a gym:

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html
This website from the CDC will tell you the recommended guidelines of how much you should be exercising based on your age and health status. Specifically, the website breaks down different categories of exercise such as moderate and vigorous and gives you examples of what types of exercise fall under each category. These tips will help you to balance out your workout. The tips will also give you ideas on how to workout without going to the gym.

http://www.fitwatch.com/exercise/10-ways-you-can-exercise-at-home-without-any-equipment-10.html
This website from Fit Watch gives you 10 easy ways to get in cardio exercise routines within the comfort of your own home. These exercises are relatively easy to do, and can be scheduled around busy times.

http://fittv.discovery.com/convergence/virtualvideotraining/cardio/cardio.html
This website will show you short clips from Fit TV experts demonstrating how to do cardio exercises. Many of these exercises such as marching in place can be done at home while even watching TV.