Great Walking Programs

This morning I received an email from Prevention Magazine with 3 great walking workout programs that anyone can do. These programs were created by experts in their field and are sure to help you improve your life by getting healthy and fit. Follow this link to see their wonderful and easy to follow walking programs.

Setting Goals

Setting goals for yourself is a wonderful idea and a great motivator. They don't have to be outrageous goals that are unachievable, but easy to reach goals so that you feel accomplished. My last week goals were to walk 6 days a week and so far I'm right on top of that. My reward will come at the end of two weeks if I continue to reach my goals. The reward, well let's see, that new book I've been anxious to read or maybe a new shade of polish I've wanted. Any kind of non-food related reward is what you need to strive for. The form below is from about.com and is easy to fill out each month. Print the form from their website and keep a journal of all your daily accomplishments. At the end of one month you will be pleasantly surprised how well you did and feel like a real SUPERSTAR! So give it a try, what do you have to lose! :-)
About.com Walk of Life Goals

By Wendy Bumgardner

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
Date:

I Will:

Milestones:

1 month: __________________

by date ______________________

___ months: __________________

by date ____________________

___ months: __________________

by date ____________________

Goal to be achieved on: ____________________________________

How I will track my progress:


(suggestions: food and walking diary, use a daily walking log, posting to Forum each week)

How I will celebrate:

Signed:

What Kind of Walker Are You?

About.com has this wonderful quiz to help you determine "what kind of walker" you are. Not everyone is the same and it's nice to know what your style and preferences are before starting a serious walking program. Regardless of your "kind of walker", you need to focus on the fact that you're doing this to help you live a longer and healthier life. Even if you don't like walking outside or on a treadmill because it hurts so much, start by working out in a local pool. Many community centers, health clubs, YWCA's and even some hospitals with fitness centers offer a pool aerobics program. You don't have to sign up for them if you don't want to but check to make sure you can utilize their pool when the class is through. Follow your daily walking time in the pool, and remember to mark your walking map distance to your final destination. Walking in a pool means less stress on your body and a great way to jump start your walking program. Follow the link above to find out "what kind of walker" you really are and go with it. Happy Walking!

I Saw It!

Today, for the first time in months, I actually saw my treadmill. No, really I did! After my last post, and being on vacation, I never followed through with my own plan to start walking everyday. Yesterday being a travel day wore me out and today just getting things put away and back in order, walking was not a priority. I promise, however, that tomorrow I am going to get my backside in gear. I really hate being overweight and not having my clothes fit properly. :-( So for the rest of this week and next, here's the plan (remember that I'm walking to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and my total mileage is 1124):

WEEK 1

Thursday - April 29th - 20 minutes
Friday - April 30th - 20 minutes
Saturday - May 1st - 20 minutes
Sunday - May 2nd - 30 minutes
Monday - May 3rd - OFF - no walking
Tuesday - May 4th - 20 minutes
Wednesday - May 5th - 20 minutes

WEEK 2

Thursday - May 6th - 25 minutes
Friday - May 7th - 20 minutes
Saturday - May 8th - 20 minutes
Sunday - May 9th - 35 minutes
Monday - May 10th - OFF - no walking
Tuesday - May 11th - 20 minutes
Wednesday - May 12th - 25 minutes

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR 2 WEEKS IS - 275

I should be able to reach my goal in 7 weeks, which is around June 16th. Wish me luck and let me know what your walking goal is so that I can cheer you on!

Walking For Life

We all know that without exercising, our bodies just don't function as well as we age. I've found that walking is my way of keeping my heart in good working order as well as making the rest of my body work at a much better capacity. My challenge to you is to stop procrastinating and do what you know you should to live a longer, healthier life. If you're up for it let's do a "walk" across the United States. "Leaving" from your home, for every minute you walk count it as a mile. Pick your final destination of any place that you'd like, mine will be Disney World in Orlando, Florida because I'm a real Disney fan. And because I live in the Virgin Islands, I'll be "treading water" for most of my trip. "lol" Seriously though, for every mile between my home and Mickey Mouse's, whether it's technically over water or not, every minute I walk will bring me closer to my destination. So send me a comment so I know you're joining me on this great "Walk for Life". Good luck to you and happy walking.

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

MS Walk Here I Come

On April 25th I'm walking to help the National MS Society. Although I have no direct connection with debilitating disease, I have chosen to raise funds for their cause, for the last 20 years. Yes, you read it right, I've been doing this walk for 20 years now and have raised thousands of dollars that I know are being put to good use. This being said, I need to start preparing for this event. Where I walk is only 2 miles, but because so many people support me I always feel that I need to do more and I do, 5 miles total. So on with the walking shoes. I need to be able to finish so that I don't embarrass my family who always joins me for this event. :-) If you would care to support me and my team "Team GymMama" please follow the link below, select find a team and make a pledge. Thanks! Feet don't fail me now!

www.walk4ms.org

Forgetfulness

As I'm aging I realize that I'm forgetting more and more. Maybe it's natural but it's always scary. In order to help with memory problems, do some brainercizes! You know, exercises that make you use your brain, like crossword puzzles, suduko, even those word search puzzles, anything that requires you to think. While you're out for a walk, try remembering song lyrics in your head, and even sing them out loud if the mood strikes you. :-) The more you use your brain power, the better your brain will perform for you. So go outside, or stay inside, either way you can give your brain it's daily workout.

Come and Gone

Well, my 60th came and went and I'm already 6 weeks into the adventure of being 61. My 60th found me at Disney World with Jim and Mickey of course! What a wonderful trip, although it was mighty cold for Florida, it really didn't stop us from enjoying every minute of our trip. Went on every roller coaster they had, wanted to prove that as I'm getting older I can really have a lot of fun doing things I want to. Since returning home, life has been a bit hectic with my job, my community involvement and life in general. But during this stressful time I realized that I need to make time for myself, just as we all should. Nothing can depress you quicker then realizing that you have to put yourself last in the scheme of things. Make the time, even 10 minutes of meditation, stretching, walking or whatever makes you relax will help you deal with the stress in your life. My latest venture is yoga, again. I seem to come back to this every time life causes me to be out of sorts. Although I now get up earlier on Wednesdays and Saturdays just to get my work done, this allows me to go to my 90 minute yoga class. This is my time! If there aren't yoga classes in your area or you just feel uncomfortable doing yoga in front of others, watch or record a yoga training program from your TV, borrow a yoga DVD from the local library or a friend, rent one from the video store or purchase one of your own. I really don't know what each pose is called and it doesn't matter to me, I just know that it's my ME time and I'm thankful for the opportunity to enjoy it. Hope you can too. Namaste :-)

Wii Fit Plus

WOW! The new Wii Fit Plus is just so much fun. Both my husband and I have such fun "playing" the exercises. This new program offers both minutes you spend exercising information as well as calories burned during that period. It's a wonderful thing that after you finish an exercise you can switch users right there and the other player gets to try his or her luck, before moving on to other events. We get a good workout together or alone. We especially like the part when we laugh so hard at our misfortunes during the "games". At least we have a really fun time together. If you get a chance to try this new Fit Plus, do it, you won't regret it.

Healthy "Old" Age

We all strive to be healthier when we age, but mother nature has other plans for us. Doing some simple things now, as we begin the aging process, will help us achieve that healthy "old" age we look forward to.

Start by remembering that you cannot do the things you used to do at the same speed you used to do them. Slowing down a bit and enjoying each day is something that we have to work hard at. Our "golden" years shouldn't be plagued by stress or injuries. Eat right, exercise everyday and know that your body will respond to these easy to do steps. We all need to stop eating like we're 20 again. We need to stop trying to do extremely difficult exercises that put us at risk. If you're used to doing these things, bless you! Most of us can't keep up like we used to, but we can't give up either.

Have fun in your aging years. After all, we only get one life to live, so lets live it to the fullest.

Trouble in River City

Have you ever watched the Music Man and had this phrase stuck in your head? Well, as you can tell I have. I remember watching that movie and thinking, boy those people are sure moving quickly for old people. Maybe that's the key, dancing around! Keep yourself moving whether it be dancing, walking, running, or any other activity you like, just keep going. Don't let age catch up with you when you're not looking. It's a sneaky little fellow!

Trick or Treat

For those of us who always enjoy trick or treating, today's our day. But as we get older, remember that those candy calories are going to go right to your hips and surrounding areas. I'm not saying don't have any candy, but make sure you limit your intake because with the Christmas season rolling around really fast, you'll want to save some of those special treat moments for then. Be safe and have fun!

How Easy Is It To Just Quit?

Let me tell you, very, very easy! This is quite unfortunate since we're talking about making our lives better as we age. There always seems to be other things we would rather do then exercise, but if we don't get up and get moving, we won't be able to do ANYTHING!

The Wii Fit is a great alternative to just sitting. Get up, dance around, hula hoop, do yoga, whatever you feel like doing at the time, as long as you do something. Thirty minutes seems to be the magic number when exercising, most professionals say and believe me when I say, doing the Wii Fit makes that 30 minutes fly by. Give it a try, what do you have to lose?!

Funny But Sadly True

I saw this poem on Funnypoets.com and got such a charge out of it, I had to share it with you. Hope you laugh as hard as I did.

Growing Old Gracefully

There's a mole on my neck that's growing a hair
When I was younger it wasn't there
A lot of things changed since I've grown older
like my fallen arches and this hump on my shoulder

Yesterday I noticed a twitch in one eye
and spots on my hand that resemble a fly
I used to be able to party all night
but now to stay awake until five is a fight

My breasts used to be firm and quite pert
Now I have to be careful they don't drag in the dirt
Gravity surely has taken its toll
What was once on the surface is now in a hole

The backs of my arms are wobbly like jelly
and I found the remote tucked under my belly
I used to eat steak but now I can't chew it
Growing old gracefully. I don't think I can do it

Copyright; Donna Vickodil

Easy Skin Care

Yesterday I watched Dr. Oz tv show and was glad to see that the subject was making your skin look younger. Simple routines of taking care of skin on your face really does help you look and feel younger. Okay the feeling part is all about self image, but who doesn't want that?! The easy way to accomplish this is to gently clean your face with a mild soap, moisturizer with a product that contains an SPF of at least 15 and use an exfoliator once a week to remove the dead skin cells. This process keeps your skin looking fresh and not dull.

Hope you give this a try, we don't want old looking skin as we age, now do we?!

OMG!!!!

Oh, my gosh, I can hardly believe that it's been so long since I posted. Not only that, but it's been so long since I really exercised. :-( Let me tell you that starting up again isn't as easy as it was a few months ago. It was a tough exercising day yesterday since I'm again so out of shape. I started with the Wii Fit, doing the dance steps thinking that that should be the easiest. Whoa, was I wrong! I started with the slow one and did pretty good so I moved on to the faster one and after being chided for not keeping up with the pace, I did it again hoping for better results. It did get better but it made me realize that I'm letting my mind control my body by saying you're doing the best you can. Thankfully my husband wasn't in the room when I was exercising because I thought, let's try the hula hoop. Okay, so I was pretty good at this when I was a kid, but I found out rather quickly that I'm not a kid any more. :-) I'm not giving up though because I don't want my body or mind to fail me when I'm aging.

Footnote:
I did the same routine today, with pretty much the same results, but I'm not giving up! Wish me luck!

"Commit to Recommit"

What a powerful message this is. I was reading an article this morning at caloriecount.about.com and the message was recommitting to your weight lose program. Mommycarlen3 spoke about having to recommit to losing weight and how changing just one thing a month has helped her get to a healthier weight. I know she is much younger then I am, but I'm sure that recommitting myself to losing weight and becoming healthier will be the same. I also know that I will not lose weight as fast as Mommycarlen3 did because of my age, but losing anything will be a plus in my book. Thank you for the encouragement Mommycarlen3, and also for the great catch phrase, "COMMIT TO RECOMMIT", I just love that!

Teamwork

Thanks to my wonderful husband Jim, I am now able to walk AND run on my treadmill. He's my hero!!! Even better then having the treadmill fixed is that now Jim and I exercise together in the afternoons. We have the treadmill and an exercise bike and each day we switch the equipment we use. So far it's working out great, though I'm sure when we get to a longer walk/run, the person on the bike will have trouble walking when they get done. :-) We're taking it at a moderate pace for now, don't want to overdo. Wish us luck and happy exercising.

IT'S WORKING!!!!!

The treadmill that is. It's all fixed and works great. Jim did a fantastic job of fixing it and now it's all up to me. I want to be that heart healthy, in better shape, dedicated to exercising woman that I keep preaching about. NO EXCUSES NOW! It's great having the treadmill in the downstairs room because when I'm finished I can just hop in the pool to cool down. Life is good. :-)