I'm ALIIIIIIVE!

I was feeling a bit like Frankenstein's monster this morning (you know the feeling - you wake up after a fitful night of dreaming about overdrawn checking accounts, your ex-husband dating Kenny Rodgers and flying puppies), and in a rare moment decided, "what the heck - I already feel like crap, a run won't make me feel any worse."

Where the heck did THAT come from?  I decided not to question the intricacies of my brainwaves too long, fearing that the inspiration to get up and get outside might be fleeting and so within minutes of getting out of bed I found myself walking and jogging with Pooch around our 2.5 mile loop.

With a continued feeling of, "this is going to hurt but let's just do it anyway", I found myself jogging about a third of the loop, making it a goal to jog at least a portion of each block before dialing it back and walking to catch my breath.  Somewhere over the last few weeks of doing squats while reading and checking out Netflix's exercise videos, I have magically increased my stamina.  It's an odd sensation, and maybe I'll try for a repeat tomorrow... maybe.

Feeling the CRUNCH!

Continuing to browse through the many exercise video offerings of Netflix, this morning I worked out along with Crunch Fat-Burning Pilates.  The Crunch workouts are classically some of my favorite routines, and I have used their workout videos off and on for nearly 15 years.  I recently discovered that Crunch also opened a gym within an hour of my house, and I am struggling with the urge to check it out since I know it is too far for me to visit regularly should I fall in love with it.

But I digress.  I have never really gotten into Pilates, but the Crunch workout married it with a cardio routine to make it feel a bit more familiar to me.  The first 20 minutes really got my heart pumping and sweat beating, and then the last 20 minutes which was a purely Pilates routine made my core scream... in a good way!  The good news is that I got the workout in and completed it from start to finish, something I doubted I'd be able to do because of an achy shoulder (I really do wish I'd stop getting older). Now I'm crunched on time and late for my next To-Do, but at least I'm worked out!

Dancing Away the Morning

This morning I was having some difficulty getting into motion (is it just me, or does it seem that most mornings are that way?) and as I scrolled through the many selections for my daily workout I struggled to find one that could inspire me to get up off the couch and up on my feet.

I finally stumbled upon some dance videos and decided, why not?  I got started with Dance Off the Inches - Tummy Tone Party Zone with Marie Forleo, intending on spending 15 minute or so moving around the living room.  Just enough time to say I gave a workout a shot.

45 minutes and three segments later, I am winded and sweaty, and surprised that I was able to keep moving well beyond what I had intended.  And my abs are KILLING me!