Do you exercise??

[Rhoda Collins]

Where is the time for THAT!!! Share if you do/don't/wish you would!

DD has the TV on and this infomercial is on. I am REALLY tempted to order it!!
http://www.beachbody.com/product/turbo_jam_maximum_results.do?code=...
Looks fun....
Rho

[Cathryn Bauer]

On days when I am going to be in court or expect being in a depo all day, I get up at 5:00 AM and bike or walk.

The key is having everything I need -- clothes, inhalers, garage door opener, bike in good condition -- ready the night before.

[KJM]

I try to go to the gym before class on MWF... That means getting up at 5am. It's hard because I usually don't get to bed until after midnight, but when I do get in a workout, I feel great for the rest of the day! I, too, have seen that infomercial and it does look good. I am not good about working out at home. There are always so many things around my house (like laundry, dishes, dusting -- not to mention I could be spending that time practicing on my machine, etc..) that distract me and make me feel "guilty" when I am in front of the TV, that I have found I need to go to a gym where I can just focus on the exercise.
I was totally obsessed and spending a lot of my attention on losing weight and working out for a while and I made a decision that since I can only totally devote myself to one thing other than my kids and family, I have had to make the choice to redirect that energy and attention to my steno studies... The working out and dieting have kind of taken the back burner for now. I guess that's just part of my personality -- I tend to be able to really devote myself to only one "project" and right now that HAS to be court reporting.

Sorry for the novel, but I'd love to hear any strategies or tips anyone (working reporters and students) has for balancing everything, as court reporting is such a demanding profession. Thanks! And I hope you don't mind me asking that here, Rho. ;P

[Mary Motley O'Brien]

I have found you just have to make time. If you don't, all you do is work, work, work. Since we are never completely "caught up" if you keep telling yourself "Oh, I need to finish this many pages before I can do anything else" it's just NEVER gonna happen, so you just have to give in and take the plunge. We go on long walks with our dogs but as I've gotten older, just walking is not enough. I tried the gym but I just don't like it. A good friend of mine (also a reporter) loves yoga and has been trying to get me to try it, so she got my hubby to get me a gift certificate to go to classes for Christmas, and I really do enjoy it. I think I have found my nitch. It is so therapeutic and really good for us all since we sit so much, to really work on stretching, inner peace and toning all at the same time.
And just a suggestion Rhoda, I'm not critizing AT ALL, hope you don't take it that way, as I have fallen victim to this web site too, but I see that you spend a lot of time posting and responding to forums. If we all just spent 15 minutes or so less a day typing away and surfing on this web site alone, in seven days, that's 105 minutes, over and hour and a half a week that you could devote to walking...two 45-minute walks or some other form of exercise. So that's my two cents =)
On a separate note, I've been meaning to share with you that my husband has an engineering degree in Glass Sciences from Alfred University. He grew up in Oswego and spent a lot of time in Sodus Point. He came out to Southern California about 11 years ago. He has a fantasy of moving back there to raise a family, but he just loves the weather out here too much. Plus my parents are out here and we're staying put to be a family and take care of them as they get old.
We spent two weeks in Sodus Point last July and may get back out there this summer too!!

[Rhoda Collins]

LOL Mary, I have been thinking the same...posting time = practice (but I use my machine to post) or exercise!

If you get out, let me know, maybe we could meet! I like the change of seasons. Not a skiier anymore tho...sigh. Very expensive!

Rho

[Mary Motley O'Brien]

I will definitely let you know if you come out that way!

[S. Arielle]

Go for it!!!! Summer is coming and every little thing helps. All we do is sit on our butts all day literally....I just started walking and running on treadmill.....I'm 39 years old and I have to just do it

[Rhoda Collins]

I bit the bullet and ordered it. DH laughed, lol. I am just so out of shape! Am excited to try it out.

[Sheryl Fort]

Rhoda,

As a scopist, I spend *way* too much time sitting. I also have a daughter with special needs who is now a teenager and so stress levels are extremely high. At the beginning of the year, I decided it was time to get my life back. I realized that I couldn't even begin to turn things around if I didn't do something about being so sedentary and getting my health headed in the right direction.

My two boys go to private school and I take them to school Monday through Friday. It happens to be at our church where we have a gym. I started at three days a week in January of walking in the gym. I'm now up to five mornings a week and am now walking outside with hand weights for part of the time. You can only go around the gym so many times before it gets extremely boring and no longer a real challenge! I've encouraged other ladies to join me and have walking buddies now. Really helps with making the time fly while you're walking and makes it actually enjoyable!!

Since the beginning of the year I've lost 14 pounds and a ton of inches!! I went from a size 20/22 to somewhere around a 16/18, even getting into some 14/16 sizes!! I still have a *long* way to go, but the changes have been incredible. My mental outlook has improved and my desire to eat right has changed along the way as well. Found out last week that all of my cholesterol levels are bad, but at this point the only change I need to make is taking supplements and continuing in what I'm already doing to see if I can get the numbers down in the next three months. I would have been more bothered by the whole thing if I hadn't already started to do something about my health. I know the numbers will drop as the weight comes off, and hopefully the supplements will do the job in the interim so I don't have to go on medication.

Do I really want to walk every day? Yes and no. I'd like to be able to skip it, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives. I hope you make out well with what you're planning to do!

Sheryl

[Cathryn Bauer]

Wild applause, Sheryl! You are an inspiration to us all.

I found the gym too nutso with loud music, bright lights, and all that repetition. I have had a stationary bike at home for about ten years now, and I actually use the thing, particularly in winter, because it's so convenient. But I prefer to walk and bike ride.

[Sheryl Fort]

Cathryn,

Thankfully the gym was nice and quite. You just had the kids coming in to school and the maintenance staff coming in and out sometimes. No loud music and all natural light because it has skylights and we would turn the regular lights off. But it's 16 and a smidge laps around the perimeter of the gym to make a mile and we were easily doing two to three miles and it was just getting boring. Added hand weights a couple of weeks ago, which was a challenge, but it didn't help with the overall feel of what we were doing. I'm outside of Philly and we're just starting to see some spring-like temps. It was a natural to take it outside. Two laps around the parking lot/perimeter of the buildings is just about a mile. Lots easier mentally to do four laps each morning now! Plus we get the benefit of an incline. We're even nuts enough to walk in the rain, that's how much we enjoy the change!

My doctor wants to me to ramp it up and add bike riding. I went to her two weeks ago for my physical (I know you're supposed to see them before exercising) and was telling her how the inches were coming off great but that the weight was slow to come off. So we talked about walking in the gym and how it's good to a point and then if you want to keep taking the weight off, you have to do more or change the routine in some manner. I think my husband would shoot me if I got an exercise bike for the house. I just got rid of the treadmill because my daughter requires constant supervision and there's no convenient way to walk here at home. We have a home gym and eventually I'll use that.

I need to figure out what I'm going to do come the end of May when school gets out. Won't have the convenience of going out every morning to take the kids to school. My neighborhood doesn't have the safest roads to walk on. Will either have to go to a local walking/running track or get the bike or use the gym. At least I've established this as a habit and won't just give up on it at the end of the school year.

My dad turns 75 this Sunday and a number of family members are going to be in Florida for a surprise birthday party. I wasn't able to work it out to go, but I talk to him on the phone on a regular basis. He walks on the beach in Clearwater on a regular basis. I was telling him how I can't wait to be able to come down for a visit sometime and walk with him. And I have a court reporter I work for in the Tampa area who also is into walking. We haven't met face-to-face yet, but when I do get in the area, we're planning on getting together for a walk. Great stuff to look forward to!

Sheryl

[Rhoda Collins]

How wonderful!!! Congrats to you! What a wonderful story, and thank you for sharing! {{HUGS}}
Rho

[Julie]

Rhoda - The beachbody people are seriously the best home workouts you can do with fast results. I did the Slim in 6 and lost 3 inches off my waist in 3.5 weeks...it took my hips away and toned my core, butt, thighs, etc. Debbie Siebers and Tony Horton know what they're doing! My mom is 52 and got washboard abs from Tony's Power 90...I say go for it!

PS Best thing I ever did was buy ankle weights and add those to the workout. They help it all melt off a lot faster!

Good luck! Julie