The New York Times is absolutely killing it lately with their health and fitness articles. My dad forwarded an article today about Kathy Martin, a woman in her 60's who found her passion and insane talent as a distance runner in her 30's. She now owns MANY world records and races distances from 800m to >30 miles. Originally I was like woohoo, another athletic phenomenon, nothing I haven't read about before. But as I read further into the article, page 3 section 'Overcoming Age', there were some really good assertions that I wanted to share:
#1 - "Distance running is more popular than ever." I think this is pretty awesome. Running, especially jogging for several miles, is basically the only activity you can do with zero gear in any location and any weather, as long as you bring along a pair of running shoes and appropriate gear. The minimalist nature of this sport makes it very accesible, inexpensive and flexible. With the incredible popularity and success of barefoot running footwear [Nike Frees, vibrams, etc...] more and more people are getting into distance running. What a WONDERFUL thing.
#2 - "...many of the ravages of aging are not so much inevitable as voluntary. Muscles do not have to shrivel, joints do not have to stiffen." The most important message here is that you have a CHOICE to age. Becoming old, senile and inactive is not a fatalistic curse, it is a choice. I think the best possible thing you can do for yourself is get into a healthy active lifestyle in your 20's. If you are well past your 20's, there is no reason not to start now. As my dad has always told me 'age is a mentality.' He has proven his statement year after year by conquering athletic feats that most people in their 20's wouldn't survive. Remaining ACTIVE is the key to staying young.
#3 - "People who continue to exercise intensively have a much slower rate of decline." I believe that this absolutely holds on a physical level. I also believe that 'intensively' is the key word here. Many people cease their intense workouts, long runs and heavy lifts as they age. They take up long walks and gentle yoga, assuming their bodies are unwilling or unable to continue the physical intensity. I think that is the moment that you give up on your body and physical strength. I resolve to maintain my physical intensity for, well, as long as I can use both of my legs. Another sidenote on this assertion is the effect on mental state. There has been loads of research linking intense physical activity to better mental health and memory. The more the better, for body AND mind.
#4 - "We're not destined to go from lean flank steak to rump roast, not if we invest in chronic, high-level exercise four to five times a week." I wish America was forced to read this sentence on a daily basis. WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GET FAT. There is no biological disposition to getting fat as you age. Being lazy, sedentary and lacking motivation and discipline as you age make you fat. Not the simple fact of aging. Wrinkles happen, grey hair happens, but obesity doesn't just happen. Now this doesn't mean that you don't have to work to make sure you aren't among the majority of obese Americans. But I would put money on the fact that if you put in 4 to 5 intense workouts a week, in combination with a clean and healthy diet, obesity will not 'happen' to you as part of the aging process.
This entire article is full of great information and details a motivational athletic story. If you want to check it out, the full title is "After Late Start, Runner is Speeding Through Records." Main takeaway according to Shannon: Aging is a choice. Choose activity!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
"I feel like the heat removes the priss factor.”
I am currently really inspired by an article out of the New York Times published yesterday. Title: Some Like It Hotter. Which obviously is such an attention grabber I was psyched to read an article by this title in the Health section [my first stop upon opening nytimes.com...who reads business or tech...really].
My first heated workout experience [excluding normal outdoor workouts in the summer]: I first attended Bikram yoga one summer during college, along with my dad who was rehabing from pulling his entire back and hamstring area going too heavy in deadlifts. We were quite a sight. My dad is a former 2 sport college athlete, 6'2, muscular, little to zero flexibility, engineer, red head. Wearing running spandex. And only running spandex. Here I am as my college self, 5'9, platinum blonde, thick legs/butt [hello track physique], wearing running spandex and a sports bra [as advised by father]. We looked like two bodybuilders who confused directions and ended up at yoga instead of Crossfit. It took me a good 30 minutes to even learn how to BREATH in that type of heat. It was a Bikram studio exclusively, so the heat was well over 100. I didn't understand how people could choose to do this. Like, voluntarily. I had never seen sweat drip off my body like it did that day. I was SO impressed. I seriously thought I had hit my max sweating potential way before this experience...and boy was I wrong.
Fastforward to spring 2012. Primarily as a resource to manage my grief with Derrik's death, I joined Prana Power Yoga in December, a heated power yoga studio in Cambridge. The first thing I do when I scroll through the class schedule for the day is automatically eliminate any classes with (unheated) listed after the name. I get to the studio 20 minutes prior to start time to position my mat 1. as far as possible from the door [because NOTHING is worse than people leaving it open and letting the heat escape] and 2. as close to a heat vent as possible. Sometimes I walk in and the temp reads <90 and I consider leaving. This hour and 15 minutes of pain [that only I seem to experience while everyone else is focusing on deep breathing] isn't worth it if the studio isn't really hot. The sweating that occurs in these classes is absolutely insane. Bikram is definitely sweaty, but imagine doing vinyasa flow in a heated room, it is like 2x the sweaty goodness. I have yet to find a proper towel solution that will prohibit me from slipping and sliding in every pose during the last 30 minutes. I just consider it an additional core challenge.
The most fascinating aspect of this article is how the 'heated workout' has found its way past yoga and well into other exercise disciplines. I wholeheartedly applaud this effort. The best quote in the article accurately summarizes how I feel every time I hit the gym: "You don't waste three songs sitting around warming up - you can hit it hard from the start." I don't actually believe you should skip your warm up, but it annoys me that it takes appx 3 songs to even start sweating during the average spin class. WHYYYY do they keep the spin class room at 66? That is freezing. If you come to the gym and hope not to sweat, just stay home. The best benefit of spin class is leaving a pool of sweat under your bike. It isn't like you are riding more than a couple miles in 45 minutes...no serious training is to be done in there. I sneakily up the temp to 70 every time I enter the spin room. People stare at me like 'what are you doing?' and I simply look back at them like 'don't worry about it.' I also place myself as far away from the fan as possible. I seriously didn't come to spin to not sweat, quite the opposite.
I would be totally thrilled if all exercise classes were held in heated rooms. Beyond the obvious benefit of a complete cleansing sweat, your muscles are much more supple and ready to work in heated environments. I learned this very well my first season of track, when we were forced to warm up in full body sweats when it was 90 degrees outside.
While I personally love heated workouts, I also know how my body reacts and I know that my body can handle them. Test it out for yourself. I drink liters and liters of water a day, which certainly helps, and don't go in starving or you will be THAT girl/guy that passes out because they don't know how to properly feed themselves [quite a shame...]. I hope that the heated exercise fad continues growing because, as the title of this post implies, it will help rid the gym of the priss factor...
My first heated workout experience [excluding normal outdoor workouts in the summer]: I first attended Bikram yoga one summer during college, along with my dad who was rehabing from pulling his entire back and hamstring area going too heavy in deadlifts. We were quite a sight. My dad is a former 2 sport college athlete, 6'2, muscular, little to zero flexibility, engineer, red head. Wearing running spandex. And only running spandex. Here I am as my college self, 5'9, platinum blonde, thick legs/butt [hello track physique], wearing running spandex and a sports bra [as advised by father]. We looked like two bodybuilders who confused directions and ended up at yoga instead of Crossfit. It took me a good 30 minutes to even learn how to BREATH in that type of heat. It was a Bikram studio exclusively, so the heat was well over 100. I didn't understand how people could choose to do this. Like, voluntarily. I had never seen sweat drip off my body like it did that day. I was SO impressed. I seriously thought I had hit my max sweating potential way before this experience...and boy was I wrong.
Fastforward to spring 2012. Primarily as a resource to manage my grief with Derrik's death, I joined Prana Power Yoga in December, a heated power yoga studio in Cambridge. The first thing I do when I scroll through the class schedule for the day is automatically eliminate any classes with (unheated) listed after the name. I get to the studio 20 minutes prior to start time to position my mat 1. as far as possible from the door [because NOTHING is worse than people leaving it open and letting the heat escape] and 2. as close to a heat vent as possible. Sometimes I walk in and the temp reads <90 and I consider leaving. This hour and 15 minutes of pain [that only I seem to experience while everyone else is focusing on deep breathing] isn't worth it if the studio isn't really hot. The sweating that occurs in these classes is absolutely insane. Bikram is definitely sweaty, but imagine doing vinyasa flow in a heated room, it is like 2x the sweaty goodness. I have yet to find a proper towel solution that will prohibit me from slipping and sliding in every pose during the last 30 minutes. I just consider it an additional core challenge.
The most fascinating aspect of this article is how the 'heated workout' has found its way past yoga and well into other exercise disciplines. I wholeheartedly applaud this effort. The best quote in the article accurately summarizes how I feel every time I hit the gym: "You don't waste three songs sitting around warming up - you can hit it hard from the start." I don't actually believe you should skip your warm up, but it annoys me that it takes appx 3 songs to even start sweating during the average spin class. WHYYYY do they keep the spin class room at 66? That is freezing. If you come to the gym and hope not to sweat, just stay home. The best benefit of spin class is leaving a pool of sweat under your bike. It isn't like you are riding more than a couple miles in 45 minutes...no serious training is to be done in there. I sneakily up the temp to 70 every time I enter the spin room. People stare at me like 'what are you doing?' and I simply look back at them like 'don't worry about it.' I also place myself as far away from the fan as possible. I seriously didn't come to spin to not sweat, quite the opposite.
I would be totally thrilled if all exercise classes were held in heated rooms. Beyond the obvious benefit of a complete cleansing sweat, your muscles are much more supple and ready to work in heated environments. I learned this very well my first season of track, when we were forced to warm up in full body sweats when it was 90 degrees outside.
While I personally love heated workouts, I also know how my body reacts and I know that my body can handle them. Test it out for yourself. I drink liters and liters of water a day, which certainly helps, and don't go in starving or you will be THAT girl/guy that passes out because they don't know how to properly feed themselves [quite a shame...]. I hope that the heated exercise fad continues growing because, as the title of this post implies, it will help rid the gym of the priss factor...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A very new year
Welcome to 2012. Whether you are ready for it or not, it is here! I think it has been a solid five months since my last blog. Much has happened since August of 2011. My family lost a son and a brother on November 15, 2011. My brother, Derrik Michael, was 20 years old and lost his life while studying abroad in Santiago, Chile. In his third month of grand adventures in South America, he was on a hike with his friend Samuel and after much discussion, they decided to jump into a beautiful waterfall to go for a dip. Unfortunately, they were not able to see the strong undercurrent beneath the seemingly peaceful water. Luckily, his friend Samuel was rescued by a nearby boat. Derrik was unable to make it to shore. It took divers over four hours to extract my brother's body from the water.
What do you do when your worst fear is realized? What do you do when you see and feel the grief in the hearts and souls of your parents? What do you do when you wake up in the morning only to feel the sorrow deepen?
You realize that you are still alive.
To 'be alive' is something different to everyone. To my brother Derrik, living was all about challenging yourself. Challenging yourself with relationships, studies, literature, music, spirituality, and athletics. To Derrik, athletics went FAR beyond team sports. He was a very very talented team sport athlete, most recently as an important contributing member of the Colby College varsity lacrosse team. But team sports were the obvious form of athletic challenges. He looked to the mountains, the rivers, the plains, to nature for real life challenges. Climbing, rafting, hunting, hiking, skiing. That is truly living.
In the past 8 weeks, my family's lives have changed completely. As a family, and as individuals, we have tried to piece together our new lives without Derrik as we have known him for the past 20 years. We find sorrow and loss in experiences that used to bring us joy.
Yesterday, January 10th, was Derrik's 21st birthday. Although Derrik has acted 21 for many years [he would show a fake ID at family dinners...there would be 4 Flahive's and then...another surname. pretty hilarious], this was a very special day. Yes, we ate, we drank, we toasted. But most importantly, we CHALLENGED ourselves. I met up with my Dad at Red Rocks Amphitheater, arguably one of Derrik's favorite places on earth. Being able to experience live music and the great outdoors at the same time combined two of Derrik's greatest passions in life. What did Dad and I do? Kicked our asses as hard as possible, climbing the stairs over and over again until we couldn't breathe.
Blood. Sweat. Tears. Exhaustion. Fatigue. Lactic acid. That is what makes you alive. Adrenaline rushing through your body. The ability to push yourself past your limits. Derrik's life in his body is over. It is up to me, my family, my friends, his friends, to embrace life. We are still able to feel what it means to be alive each and every day. So do yourselves, and my brother Derrik Michael, a favor. Kick some f***ing ass.
What do you do when your worst fear is realized? What do you do when you see and feel the grief in the hearts and souls of your parents? What do you do when you wake up in the morning only to feel the sorrow deepen?
You realize that you are still alive.
To 'be alive' is something different to everyone. To my brother Derrik, living was all about challenging yourself. Challenging yourself with relationships, studies, literature, music, spirituality, and athletics. To Derrik, athletics went FAR beyond team sports. He was a very very talented team sport athlete, most recently as an important contributing member of the Colby College varsity lacrosse team. But team sports were the obvious form of athletic challenges. He looked to the mountains, the rivers, the plains, to nature for real life challenges. Climbing, rafting, hunting, hiking, skiing. That is truly living.
In the past 8 weeks, my family's lives have changed completely. As a family, and as individuals, we have tried to piece together our new lives without Derrik as we have known him for the past 20 years. We find sorrow and loss in experiences that used to bring us joy.
Yesterday, January 10th, was Derrik's 21st birthday. Although Derrik has acted 21 for many years [he would show a fake ID at family dinners...there would be 4 Flahive's and then...another surname. pretty hilarious], this was a very special day. Yes, we ate, we drank, we toasted. But most importantly, we CHALLENGED ourselves. I met up with my Dad at Red Rocks Amphitheater, arguably one of Derrik's favorite places on earth. Being able to experience live music and the great outdoors at the same time combined two of Derrik's greatest passions in life. What did Dad and I do? Kicked our asses as hard as possible, climbing the stairs over and over again until we couldn't breathe.
Blood. Sweat. Tears. Exhaustion. Fatigue. Lactic acid. That is what makes you alive. Adrenaline rushing through your body. The ability to push yourself past your limits. Derrik's life in his body is over. It is up to me, my family, my friends, his friends, to embrace life. We are still able to feel what it means to be alive each and every day. So do yourselves, and my brother Derrik Michael, a favor. Kick some f***ing ass.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Morning multi-tasking - not for the faint of heart!
Happy Thursday! Friday is oh so close. Once I get through Wednesday I sort of already feel like I've won. Apparently life is me vs. the work week. I win Thursday through Sunday. How do you start Thursday off right? A little morning multi-tasking. I have been a social being for the past couple of weeks which has left me with zero time to clean, cook, launder my clothes, workout, or do anything remotely productive. During the week I sleep enough to work, on the weekends I spend all my time at the beach before heading out to play. Summer is tough on my domesticity.
So I decided to do everything at once this morning. I sucked it up, set my alarm for 5:30am and made shit happen. First on the agenda: laundry. I know I need to wash my clothes when I run out of my face washclothes. I like a clean face, and I need fresh washclothes to make that happen. With eyes half open, I put on spandex and trudged to the basement to put in a load of laundry before I headed to the gym. Given the wash cycle is 38 minutes, I figured I had time to fit in 30 mins of cardio between washer and dryer. Epitome of efficiency, thank you very much.
I headed to the gym and got my booty on the stairmaster for a little morning sweatfest. Plugged in a 30 minute "Fat Burning" workout, level 10, headphones blaring, and got the party started. There was an issue of Vogue sitting on the stairmaster next to me, and since I was already on my second activity of the day at 5:45am, I figured what the hell, why not catch up on fashion while I workout? I am a strong advocate of no reading while working out. I just broke my own workout code today. My biggest issue is that you shouldn't be able to focus on words and you should be sweating enough to soak the pages [lamination anyone..?]. If we analyze it to that level, I didn't actually break my workout code. I wasn't reading, I just looked at the pictures, and by the end the magazine was super sweaty. And you know what? My 30 minutes felt like 10. I totally get why women do it. So now I won't judge if 1. you are only looking at the pictures and 2. I can see sweat marks on the pages.
After my booty-shaping stairmaster program [and fashion update], I headed back home and changed my laundry. I made a nice little breakfast, showered, and picked up my laundry from the dryer. I had 10 minutes to watch the news, and then headed to work. I have never had a more productive morning. So, my lesson for today: if you are playing hard and don't have time to get anything done around the house/workout, be extreme, wake up at 5am, and cram it all in. Make it happen!
So I decided to do everything at once this morning. I sucked it up, set my alarm for 5:30am and made shit happen. First on the agenda: laundry. I know I need to wash my clothes when I run out of my face washclothes. I like a clean face, and I need fresh washclothes to make that happen. With eyes half open, I put on spandex and trudged to the basement to put in a load of laundry before I headed to the gym. Given the wash cycle is 38 minutes, I figured I had time to fit in 30 mins of cardio between washer and dryer. Epitome of efficiency, thank you very much.
I headed to the gym and got my booty on the stairmaster for a little morning sweatfest. Plugged in a 30 minute "Fat Burning" workout, level 10, headphones blaring, and got the party started. There was an issue of Vogue sitting on the stairmaster next to me, and since I was already on my second activity of the day at 5:45am, I figured what the hell, why not catch up on fashion while I workout? I am a strong advocate of no reading while working out. I just broke my own workout code today. My biggest issue is that you shouldn't be able to focus on words and you should be sweating enough to soak the pages [lamination anyone..?]. If we analyze it to that level, I didn't actually break my workout code. I wasn't reading, I just looked at the pictures, and by the end the magazine was super sweaty. And you know what? My 30 minutes felt like 10. I totally get why women do it. So now I won't judge if 1. you are only looking at the pictures and 2. I can see sweat marks on the pages.
After my booty-shaping stairmaster program [and fashion update], I headed back home and changed my laundry. I made a nice little breakfast, showered, and picked up my laundry from the dryer. I had 10 minutes to watch the news, and then headed to work. I have never had a more productive morning. So, my lesson for today: if you are playing hard and don't have time to get anything done around the house/workout, be extreme, wake up at 5am, and cram it all in. Make it happen!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Is it raining? Nope, just sweat.
TGIF! Or, like Katy Perry likes to chant, T - G - I - F, T - G - I - F! [love that song, can't hide it]. I hope everyone had a wonderful week and is ready for an action packed, beach filled, active weekend. Forecast points to a pretty perfect weekend so live it up. My good friend from college will be in town all the way from Australia so I look forward to some quality social time with my besties. Little sun, little beach, little exercise, little beverage. Life is good.
Since I have only been making it to the gym 3 or 4 days a week for the past couple of weeks, I have really focused on getting in good lifts. When it comes down to it, cardio makes you feel great but it has no sustainable effect on muscle growth and metabolism boosting. On the days I lift lower body, I have no problem getting a sweat going by the second set of whatever I'm doing. On upper body days...it may or may not happen. There is nothing worse than leaving the gym without being super sweaty. I would feel like a failure. Solution? I always make sure to do like 15 mins of cardio to get a good sweat going before I start my lifting routine.
As the queen of efficiency, the obvious answer to my cardio warmup is to choose the exercise that makes you the sweatiest the fastest. There is one, and only one, answer: the stairmaster. 10 minutes on that baby and I'm fully 'glistening' [because that is what girls do, right?]. This brings me to Tuesday evening. I was about to get my lift on, and hopped on the stairmaster to warm up. Usually I pick a program but I decided to just do 'quick start' to get the party started. The quick start program automatically sets you up for a 20 minute workout, so I got all competitive with myself and wanted to do the whole 20 minutes, increasing speed every couple of minutes. Who competes with themselves on the stairmaster? As a warmup? I'm weird.
Regardless, 20 minutes later I was panting and INCREDIBLY sweaty. Record setting I'm pretty sure. I got off the machine and made my way to the weights area and said hi to one of the trainers who was using a bench next to me. He looks at me and goes, completely seriously, "ooo did it start pouring outside?". My response: "Uh no. I was on the stairmaster." He gave me a pretty serious look, chuckled, and just turned around. I'm almost impressed with myself that someone assumed I was caught in a downpour rain storm. New high. Sweat all your toxins away this weekend - it does the body good!
Since I have only been making it to the gym 3 or 4 days a week for the past couple of weeks, I have really focused on getting in good lifts. When it comes down to it, cardio makes you feel great but it has no sustainable effect on muscle growth and metabolism boosting. On the days I lift lower body, I have no problem getting a sweat going by the second set of whatever I'm doing. On upper body days...it may or may not happen. There is nothing worse than leaving the gym without being super sweaty. I would feel like a failure. Solution? I always make sure to do like 15 mins of cardio to get a good sweat going before I start my lifting routine.
As the queen of efficiency, the obvious answer to my cardio warmup is to choose the exercise that makes you the sweatiest the fastest. There is one, and only one, answer: the stairmaster. 10 minutes on that baby and I'm fully 'glistening' [because that is what girls do, right?]. This brings me to Tuesday evening. I was about to get my lift on, and hopped on the stairmaster to warm up. Usually I pick a program but I decided to just do 'quick start' to get the party started. The quick start program automatically sets you up for a 20 minute workout, so I got all competitive with myself and wanted to do the whole 20 minutes, increasing speed every couple of minutes. Who competes with themselves on the stairmaster? As a warmup? I'm weird.
Regardless, 20 minutes later I was panting and INCREDIBLY sweaty. Record setting I'm pretty sure. I got off the machine and made my way to the weights area and said hi to one of the trainers who was using a bench next to me. He looks at me and goes, completely seriously, "ooo did it start pouring outside?". My response: "Uh no. I was on the stairmaster." He gave me a pretty serious look, chuckled, and just turned around. I'm almost impressed with myself that someone assumed I was caught in a downpour rain storm. New high. Sweat all your toxins away this weekend - it does the body good!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Happy hour workouts - get CRUNK
Happy Thursday! It is THE perfect morning today in Beantown. Sunny, relatively warm but not hot, no humidity. How lovely. Thank you for starting off my day in the best way possible. I'm looking forward to a beautiful summer weekend, keep the sun coming! After the July 2011 heatwave [which I will admit...I actually enjoyed], it is nice to sleep without the hum of the air conditioner. There is something about fresh air that totally does it for me. Don't get me wrong, I feel blessed that air conditioners exist, but I would prefer to never have to use them.
My new job is totally awesome. I love it. I love the people, the spectrum of projects, the office, the stimulation. On a 'second week of work' high. I hope this honeymoon phase lasts awhile. I've had to make a small adjustment in terms of timing since the office 'opens' at 8:30am daily. I had gotten used to strolling into work at 9:15am, which worked great since I could wake up at 6 and get a good workout in, and miss rush hour on the T. Routine had been fixed. Getting into work at 8:30 changes things up a bit, I have to be out of my house at 8am. I get up at 6:30 as is to have time to make breakfast, shower, prep food for work, etc... so I would have to be up around 5am to get a workout in. It hasn't happened yet...oops.
Enter: getting crunk on happy hour workouts. I have joined the rest of the 20-something mass in my gym going at 6/7pm. Not going to lie...I sort of love it. I feel like part of the 'in' crowd. Obviously the machines and weights are pretty packed compared to the morning crowd, but it is fun to be around your peers getting your sweat on. It also feels SO good to get my blood and endorphins pumping after a day in the office. As I walked to the gym a couple nights this week, I saw loads of people sipping on brews on outdoor patios. This is when the 'evil' Shannon snickered and patted herself on the back for making the healthier decision. Not that I wouldn't [often] rather be sitting on a patio sipping a manhattan, but life is short and your body needs some loving.
I am now officially in love with both morning AND evening workouts. What is a girl to do?!? I'm glad I am digging the happy hour workouts, because it gives me more flexibility to be social at night and not worry about 9pm bedtimes. A good thing for all involved. I am giving you full authority to binge at the gym during happy hour - you will feel like a million bucks.
My new job is totally awesome. I love it. I love the people, the spectrum of projects, the office, the stimulation. On a 'second week of work' high. I hope this honeymoon phase lasts awhile. I've had to make a small adjustment in terms of timing since the office 'opens' at 8:30am daily. I had gotten used to strolling into work at 9:15am, which worked great since I could wake up at 6 and get a good workout in, and miss rush hour on the T. Routine had been fixed. Getting into work at 8:30 changes things up a bit, I have to be out of my house at 8am. I get up at 6:30 as is to have time to make breakfast, shower, prep food for work, etc... so I would have to be up around 5am to get a workout in. It hasn't happened yet...oops.
Enter: getting crunk on happy hour workouts. I have joined the rest of the 20-something mass in my gym going at 6/7pm. Not going to lie...I sort of love it. I feel like part of the 'in' crowd. Obviously the machines and weights are pretty packed compared to the morning crowd, but it is fun to be around your peers getting your sweat on. It also feels SO good to get my blood and endorphins pumping after a day in the office. As I walked to the gym a couple nights this week, I saw loads of people sipping on brews on outdoor patios. This is when the 'evil' Shannon snickered and patted herself on the back for making the healthier decision. Not that I wouldn't [often] rather be sitting on a patio sipping a manhattan, but life is short and your body needs some loving.
I am now officially in love with both morning AND evening workouts. What is a girl to do?!? I'm glad I am digging the happy hour workouts, because it gives me more flexibility to be social at night and not worry about 9pm bedtimes. A good thing for all involved. I am giving you full authority to binge at the gym during happy hour - you will feel like a million bucks.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Everyone needs a little life balance.
Welcome to the July 2011 heat wave! A little excessive heat advisory? Bring it on! I have gone through complete psychological preparation for 3 days of non-stop sweating. I have never in my life been so happy to ride the T into work...a little thing called air conditioning goes a long way. I'm trying not to gross my new coworkers out too much by keeping the whole 'sweating in biz casual dress' thing under control. So far so good. I sort of think it is funny that the local governments get so serious about the heat. I understand it is dangerous for the elderly and children etc...but we are in Mass. We aren't in the deep south [or apparently Minneapolis] where the heat indices are out of control. We will all be ok. In case you aren't, there are 'cooling centers' that are being set up. I need a cooling center in my life. What a fabulous idea. Air conditioning, cool beverages, why are we waiting for a heat wave to make this happen?!
I know I have been a little MIA in this whole blogging business lately, I hope no one has been missing me too much. I had 11 glorious days home in Denver, followed by 2 days of wrapping things up at my old job, another 10 awesome days off [this time in Boston], and now I am in my first week of work at my new gig! I spent the 10 days off in Boston being outside pretty much 8 hours a day. Biking, running, stadiums, walking, everything you could possibly imagine that takes place outdoors. During that time, I realized that blogging is my outdoors/exercise outlet when I work in an office for that 8 hours of day instead. If I can't experience it, I want to write about it and share my passion with others.
Which brings me to this week! I was very excited to start my new job. I crave routine and by the end of my break I began to miss having an intellectual/business purpose to my day. I decided to take a job in which I have zero experience. I switched from investment consulting to internal operational financial strategy. Mostly that is just a bunch of nerd terms in one sentence, but in reality the two roles have very little to do with each other. Read: I have a LOT of learning to do. I have been in training each day this week which is helping me get an understanding as to what I will actually be doing on a day to day basis. My goal for the week? Absorption. As much as possible.
Starting this new job has taken complete priority over my life for the week. I am spending all my time and energy trying to learn as much as possible, and in the meantime, trying not to get too lost along the way. Exercise, for the first time in awhile, has taken a back seat. I have managed to squeeze in a lift and a run, but I have removed the pressure I usually put on myself to get 6 weekly workouts in. Sometimes [but only sometimes], exercise just can't be my number 1 priority. If you are starting a new job, moving into a new place, or experiencing another significant life change, it is okay to give yourself a little break. Make sure not to use it as an excuse, and I would put the emphasis on 'LITTLE' break, but take a load off for a few days.
I look forward to the next couple weeks of making my work life and my fitness life merge into a new happy lifestyle. A life change is the perfect time to switch up your routine, so I am likely going to implement a couple days of a combo biking to work/gym workout close to the office in the mornings, a couple of evening workouts with friends who live close by, and who knows what else! Change is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
Have a fabulous Thurday...almost TGIF! Don't get heat stroke...
I know I have been a little MIA in this whole blogging business lately, I hope no one has been missing me too much. I had 11 glorious days home in Denver, followed by 2 days of wrapping things up at my old job, another 10 awesome days off [this time in Boston], and now I am in my first week of work at my new gig! I spent the 10 days off in Boston being outside pretty much 8 hours a day. Biking, running, stadiums, walking, everything you could possibly imagine that takes place outdoors. During that time, I realized that blogging is my outdoors/exercise outlet when I work in an office for that 8 hours of day instead. If I can't experience it, I want to write about it and share my passion with others.
Which brings me to this week! I was very excited to start my new job. I crave routine and by the end of my break I began to miss having an intellectual/business purpose to my day. I decided to take a job in which I have zero experience. I switched from investment consulting to internal operational financial strategy. Mostly that is just a bunch of nerd terms in one sentence, but in reality the two roles have very little to do with each other. Read: I have a LOT of learning to do. I have been in training each day this week which is helping me get an understanding as to what I will actually be doing on a day to day basis. My goal for the week? Absorption. As much as possible.
Starting this new job has taken complete priority over my life for the week. I am spending all my time and energy trying to learn as much as possible, and in the meantime, trying not to get too lost along the way. Exercise, for the first time in awhile, has taken a back seat. I have managed to squeeze in a lift and a run, but I have removed the pressure I usually put on myself to get 6 weekly workouts in. Sometimes [but only sometimes], exercise just can't be my number 1 priority. If you are starting a new job, moving into a new place, or experiencing another significant life change, it is okay to give yourself a little break. Make sure not to use it as an excuse, and I would put the emphasis on 'LITTLE' break, but take a load off for a few days.
I look forward to the next couple weeks of making my work life and my fitness life merge into a new happy lifestyle. A life change is the perfect time to switch up your routine, so I am likely going to implement a couple days of a combo biking to work/gym workout close to the office in the mornings, a couple of evening workouts with friends who live close by, and who knows what else! Change is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
Have a fabulous Thurday...almost TGIF! Don't get heat stroke...
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