So how’s your life in the fitness lane? Staying focused can be tough with a full-time plus job. And when you’re running for fitness when you’re over 50 there can be additional challenges as well. Like the fact that you’re not 25 anymore.
Make A Plan And Follow Through
It takes planning and perseverance to get your exercise in. It’s so easy to let the rest of the world stop you from being healthy. We live in a world that’s getting more unhealthy every day. Have you noticed how long the fast food drive through lines are when you’re driving to work in the morning?
What I have learned, especially on the days I exercise in my house, is that when the phone rings, I have to let it ring. Or field the calls. In my case there are 2 people I will interrupt my workout to answer the phone for. Anyone else can wait till I’m done and I will call them back.
I say this because I can have 23 hours in a day that I don’t exercise, and the very moment I start my 30 – 60 minute workout, the phone starts ringing off the hook.
It really is best if you can get outside and leave all distractions at home . . . including your phone. Or at the very least, turn it off if you feel you can’t leave home without it for safety reasons, because I promise, it will happen. The very minute I make a plan, it’s as though God is checking to see just how serious I really am by throwing every distraction possible at me.
Alternatives When Running Outdoors Isn’t Optimal
My job requires that I take a certain amount of call in addition to my regularly scheduled hours. This means that on those days, I have no idea, for certain, how many hours I will be putting in at work. This is when it’s nice to have some exercise equipment at home.
If I am called in, I have to show up at work within 30 minutes of getting that page (yes pagers really do still exist), so I can’t be running or riding my bike outdoors on those days due to the time constraints in the required response time.
I have my treadmill and a recumbent stationary bike for those days. This week, on Wednesday and Saturday, that equipment will get some good use since I am on call Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
I know buying a treadmill isn’t in the budget for everyone. I weighed the cost between that and a gym membership and the treadmill won.
I know the gym has a bigger selection of things you can do, and you don’t have the responsibility of keeping the equipment functioning. But I only used a few select things at the gym, and I really hated getting in my car to go there in the winter time. So, for me, the treadmill was a good choice. Eventually, I added the stationary bike. I have saved far more by buying these items than paying for a gym membership.
Less expensive options would be a small trampoline. I owned one of those for years before I started doing longer, more challenging runs. Also, if you already own a bicycle, just getting or making a stand to use it as a stationary bike in the winter time when bike paths aren’t plowed will work.
Week two of getting back on the starting line starts today
This week will be easy to remember. Each day is the same workout with 1 day thrown in of cross training.
On Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday~
- Warm up with a brisk 5 minute walk.
- Run 1.5 minutes Walk 1.5 minutes x4 sets; then Run 2 minutes and Walk 1 minute x3 sets
- Then, a 4 minutes cool down walk. Along with post stretches.
Stretching afterward is super important in injury avoidance.
These (click here) are the stretches I do after each run or run/walk interval workout. They really don’t take much time and they are effective.
- Wednesday ~ Cross train day for riding the stationary bike for 30 minutes.
Cross training can be anything that isn’t running, like biking, swimming, lifting weights, yoga etc.
Click for:
The Reward
The truth of the matter is that you may have to begrudgingly force yourself to get out and move if you’ve been out of the habit of running for a while. The reward will be your sense of accomplishment when you’re done. In all the time I have spent running in the last 10 years, the closest I have come to a runners “high” is when the end is in sight and I know I’m done for the day.
But for me that’s good enough.
The goal here is to start back safely, and avoid injuries. I know from first hand experience what it means to be out for 9 months after pushing myself too hard in a race I wasn’t prepared for.
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© 2016 – 2017, Pamela. All rights reserved.
