fitness – The91Rewind

As you read last week, I have a modified goal of trying to follow our old 5 minutes may change your mind challenge. I have routinely struggled with making exercise a priority. I work full-time, I am the mom of a toddler and a four year old, I have a side hustle, and I’m on the go A LOT for work. Can I do this challenge? I’m not sure, but five minutes may be changing my mind…

Day Two:

This day was destined to be a sh*tshow. I had four separate appointments for work, along with an evening event as well. In between the normal workday and the evening event, I needed to pick up my friends daughter from preschool. Afterwards, I needed to pick up my daughters and trade off of kids and vehicles with the Hubs. Turns out he had his work car, which meant there was no room for an extra kiddos…This also meant I wasn’t going to make my evening event. I stayed at dance with all three girls, wearing the toddler on my back in the Ergo carrier. I walked all over the studio, trying to keep all of them entertained while we waited on pictures to happen. Needless to say I did not intentionally exercise, but I’ll count the frantic running everywhere and babywearing as a workout. At least, it felt like one!

Day Three:

I managed to squeeze in a short walk outside in between things at work. Was it much of a walk? No, but it was better than day two.

Day Four:

At 5:33 am I received a text from a friend asking if I wanted to meet up before dinner to squeeze in a walk. She knew about this challenge and wanted to help me stay on track before our dinner with friends. I arrived early for dinner, got the toddler all wrapped on my back, and had the four year old ready to head out with us. Next thing I know everyone starts showing up and beergaritas are getting passed out. I kept the heavy toddler on my back for at least a half hour then, and again for 45 minutes later. I failed to get my walk in, but i’m counting this toddler hauling as my workout.

Day Five:

Today was a FULL day. I had breakfast with my family, met up with some Richmond area moms to dream about Mama Tribe RVA. After that I was off to Bloom, which was hosted by the Richmond Moms Blog. As one of their new contributors and social media manager, I was there the whole time walking around and helping with clean up. For over four hours, I was here, there, and everywhere. All this walking and lifting and clean was absolutely a workout. After it was done, all I wanted was rest and time with my babies.

Day Six:

I don’t know what happened. Church, restless kids, a little housework and an evening meal later…Suddenly, it was 9pm! Day six came and went without a workout, but I found myself missing it. I knew I didn’t get it in and was frustrated. That’s something, right?

It is the final day of week one, and I got a solid twenty minute wal in. This may be my best day of the challenge thus far. I kept both kids in the stroller, which meant I was walking and pushing that almost 60 pounds. I actually looked forward to AND enjoyed my workout today. so I’m calling this a win.

Recap…

So, did I complete my 5 minute workout streak for the first week of May? No, I had one day that was barely passable and another where I didn’t complete my workout at all. Technically this may have been a fail, BUT it was a learning experience. I’ve realized that I enjoy taking time each day to get up and be active, BUT it’s hard to make this a priority. The good news is that I’m going to stick with it and see if I can’t make week 2 a little better. Am I going to beat myself up over how week one went? Hell NO! Am I aiming to do better during week two? HELLS YES! Stay tuned!

taking care

five minutes might change my mind

May 3, 2018October 12, 2022 Crystal Varner Parker

As you heard on Tuesday, Erica will embark on an aMAYzing challenge this month with a “run streak”; running consecutive days in a row. I think it’s fair to say that we all know that here on the91rewind, Erica is #teamfitlife more than myself. I happen to have a complicated relationship with fitness. I’ve learned over the last few years that exercise calms and centers me, but it’s not something I particularly enjoy doing. Since that’s the case, I broke out an old post (five minutes MAY change your mind) from a couple of years ago in an effort to bring fitness back into my life. At this moment, I have my doubts, but I’m hopeful that five minutes MIGHT change my mind.

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Ever since I was a kid I stayed active doing things…

I would spend as many days as my uncle would allow swimming in his pool. In elementary school I had a brief stint cheerleading, to which Erica was a witness. Not many people are witnesses to those days, and I’m forever grateful. As most Asian kids will attest, I was forced told I would do martial arts. The days in class were spent having fun with my friends, but I don’t know that I would say I always ENJOYED going.

By high school I found the sports that I enjoyed doing…

I discovered the joy of playing lacrosse and field hockey with a team comprised of girls from various Henrico County public schools. In the midst of playing those sports, I discovered that I may have resented my parents making me do martial arts at first, but looking back now, I actually loved it. I’m forever thankful they pushed me to stick with it.

Despite finding sports I liked there was a limit…

I do not like to sweat. Anything that requires a LOT of sweat is not my cup of tea. This is a ory for another day, but I’ll just say that I do NOT like sweating.

Why does any of this matter?

Erica knows all these things about me. She also know that I want to be healthy so I can live a long life with my kids. To do this, fitness is key. She also knows that I don’t like to lose, so a challenge is good for me. Back when we first shared this challenge I was supposed to participate, but I also found out I was pregnant. I battled morning sickness the ENTIRE first trimester. Last year I wanted to try again, but I had a newborn and was just returning to work. Now this little one is nearly 15 months old and I need to get fitness back in my routine. Maybe I’ll do the full workout, maybe not. Most important of all, I’m getting off my butt for AT LEAST 5 minutes everyday.

Making time for myself while balancing my family (husband, 4 year old, and toddler) won’t be easy. BUT, if I don’t make time for myself who will? I’m hoping 5 minutes will change my mind, and get me doing more, but you’ll have to wait and see…

xoxo,

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taking care

Make it a-MAY-zing!

May 1, 2018October 12, 2022 @happedancing

So it’s May. We are beginning the fifth month of 2018. To some of us it’s like WOW where did the time go? For others it may seem to be dragging along. At this point, spring is in full swing and we are finally coming back to life after a long and strange winter. As the summer draws near, let’s shake off the cold and make this new month a-MAY-zing!

There’s a revitalizing quality about this time of year. The newness of flora and fauna, the longer days, and there is SO MUCH LIGHT! It’s amazing, and if you notice, it energizes people. Look around. People are taking dogs for walks, they are out jogging. They are drinking on porches, dining on patios, and playing cornhole. This time of year is a great “goldilocks” time to take advantage of outdoor activities; it’s not too hot or too cold. It’s just right.

Having that said, I want to invite you to join our 91 Rewind a-MAY-zing Challenge! Crystal and I are going to kick off this month by doing something that scares us a little. We are going to challenge each other to make a new habit. We’ll pick something and try to do it every day for an entire week. After the week, we will report back on the good, the bad, and the ugly. Who knows? May-be we will a-MAY-ze ourselves? (haha I can’t quit with the May puns!)

For the first week of May, I’m going streaking. RUN STREAKING that is. I’ve been hearing a lot about these everyday runners and I’m intrigued. Some people have run every day for multiple years. This astounds me. I mean, I run all the time, but certainly not every day. I’m kind of afraid my legs will fall off, but a dear friend of mine @run_rhea_run gave me a bit of advice on the subject. She said to start small with a short period of time, and check in along the way. Rhea is a streaker, a 4X Boston Marathoner, speed demon, and general badass. She said she started with a week and just kept going with it. Now over four years later, she is still streaking and running stronger every day.

It is nearly impossible for me to imagine running for 1500+ days in a row, but I’m sure Rhea felt that way too when she began. I don’t necessarily have the same expectations for myself, but it’s really cool to see how a small idea can evolve into something really awesome. If you just stick with it and allow yourself to be a part of the process, transformation will occur. She has had good and bad days, but she’s run through them all. Maybe just a mile at a time, maybe slowly, or around an airport terminal, but she just sticks with it. It’s inspiring to see such determination.

So that’s what I’ll do, too. I’m going to run every day for seven days in a row. This is scary because I may not make it through the entire week..I am telling you all about it so feel free to ask me how it’s going. If I do make it through the week, I will have a choice to make on day eight: end the streak or keep going…I have no idea know how this will go, but I’m excited to give it a try.

People say you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time. While we do not advocate or support eating elephants at the 91 Rewind, we do hope you have elephant-sized dreams and goals. We support your efforts in making them a reality and invite you to take a step—or maybe a week’s worth of steps towards making this month A-MAY-ZING! Persistence pays off, so as long as you can get started, your on your way.

P.S. – Crystal is also taking on a challenge for the first seven days of May…stay tuned for her post later this week!

Namaste,