Fitting in my Exercise

I just got to work after my water aerobics class this morning. I try to do something in the morning several days a week, particularly on days when it looks like I am going to be fairly busy. This way, if my plans go south, I have at least done something. I don't necessarily do anything too high impact, I go to water aerobics on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I do Nia on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. (Nia is kind of a combination of tai-chi, dance, and yoga). If I do not drag myself out of bed on time to make it to the gym by 6:30am (this happens frequently), I will do 1/2 an hour of my Zumba Wii game or Wii Fit at home (not terrific exercise - but it gets my blood flowing).  I really enjoy each of these activities, so it is easy to motivate myself to do them.

At lunch, I go for a walk for 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour. I find that the walk is really beneficial not only for my physical health, but for my mental / emotional well-being. My job can be stressful, and it is refreshing to get away from the office and walk around the beautiful area where I work for a while. I work on one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country (seriously, it's listed in the Princeton review as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country). My walk gives me a chance to be inside my head for a while and regroup in the middle of the day. As a bonus, it helps me to burn a few calories.  So, with my morning work out and my lunch walk, I've burned around 300-500 calories before I'm even home from work.

After work, I go on a nice long walk at the beach or the bay with my hubby or we go the gym and get a nice cardio workout in or I do my Zumba class.

This probably sounds like overkill, and to be honest, I do not always do all of this activity every day - but it is good to have all of these tools at my disposal. I'm still in the process of figuring this all out because, ultimately, it is a lifestyle change. Because of that, I need to find activities that I really enjoy and I need to, by trial and error, figure out how to fit those activities into my daily schedule. Having a bunch of different options will help me when my schedule inevitably changes due to any number of possible events that will change my ability to adhere to any routine that I ultimately establish.