GETTING INTO SHAPE FOR 2012

O.K., O.K., I know this is my daughter, April, and not me, but I am hoping that by this time next year I will look more like her and be in better shape.  This is April after completing last year's Ragnar race.

I wanted to share a few things I have learned that have helped me get excited about getting into better shape. I am realizing that like many of you, as I get older I need to increase my amount of exercise each week.  However, I am also learning that it does not have to be participating in marathons, or even half-marathons.  It can be as little as 30 - 40 minutes of concentrated exercise 5-6 days a week and the bigger the variety the better.

In the past I have counted playing tennis as part of my exercise, however, except for lessons which push me very hard physically, or the occasional play time where friends run me harder on the court than usual- I won't count routine doubles as my full exercise for the day.  I can take Shannon's dog, Kashi, for a jog/walk for a few minutes in addition to the tennis.  Last year I would work out on our eliptical machine on my non-tennis days, but since Shannon and family are living in our basement these days, and that machine is also down there, I have had to come up with some options which I can do upstairs any time of the day.

No laughing, but one of the new and fun things I have started doing is using the Richard Simmons "Sweatin With The Oldies" and his "Disco Sweat" dvds. The music is fun, and you just have to ignore the crazy outfits he and his dancers wear.  Of coarse, they are good for a laugh, and who doesn't need more laughter in their life.  I have made a few changes.  When he is doing the 'intermediate' portions of the workouts, I pick up my 2 lb. dumbells to use with the dances and I up the intensity a bit when kicking and lunging.  I also use the tricks I have learned using the Biggest Loser Workout dvd, like making sure that during the entire workout I keep my abs tight, my butt tucked in, and my chest out.  When Richard Simmons was making his dvds they didn't know much about using your core muscles like we do now.  It protects your back and strengthens core muscles.

I alternate Richard Simmons' workouts with Bob Harper's Biggest Loser Cardio workout.  This week for the first time I also tried taking a Zumba class.  It was fun, even if a bit crowded, and man oh man, did I get my heart rate up.  I also discovered I can still shake my bootie pretty good for an old lady.  I plan on taking a Zumba class once a week for variety.

Some other tips I am trying are not eating any closer to bed time than 3 hours to improve my metabolism, increasing my daily intake of water, keeping LOTS of healthy foods on hand, getting back to writing down what I eat and weighing in and tracking it on paper each week.  If I behave myself during the day I give myself a little treat of 200 hundred calories or less after dinner, guilt free.  I am not letting myself over indulge at every celebration like birthdays, etc.  If I do have cake, take a small piece, and at holidays try adapting at least part of the meal with lower calorie and fat versions of traditional dishes.  I don't really have a huge amount of weight to lose, but my focus is on overall better health and preventing things like cancer, heart disease, and dimentia.

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