Taking Inventory

Preparation is going to be essential to my success on this journey. Yeah, I know, I've already started, but I think I need to figure out what I've got, what I'll need, what I'm going to do with what I've got, and what my goals are. I'd like to focus on what I have already (minus the bicycle that's already a planned but future purchase) and see whether I can make beneficial use of these items.

So, taking inventory of items I've already got in the house that could help:

• 4 resistance bands, 3 still in the original package (can't remember when I bought them but now I'm glad I have them.)
• 1 yoga DVD (not dusty); 1 pilates DVD, dusty 
  
• 1 stair-stepper, dusty
• 1 recumbent stationary bike, primarily used as temporary clothes hanger so not dirty, but not used overmuch either
• 12 flights of stairs at work
• 1 gym membership at work
• 3 slightly different-looking resistance bands, not in original packaging. I dimly recall trying these once, after I read the article "The $10 Weight Loss Trick," published in the June 2002 Good Housekeeping. I know this because the article is still neatly folded up in the mesh bag that conveniently holds the resistance bands, which are dusty
• assorted pairs of dumbbells in weights ranging from 5 to 15 pounds,very dusty
• 211 pounds (going in the right direction) (I usually weigh myself Friday mornings at work; however, because of the winter weather, this was Wednesday's weight)
• 3 dogs that enjoy long walks

I'd purchased the dumbbells during the 2 years I actually went to the gym three or four times a week and started weight training, successfully I might add, until I injured my:

• right rotator cuff (shoveling snow); 
• knees (squats in a squat machine with pretty heavy weights -- I was squatting 160  pounds and >500 pounds in leg press); and 
• back (those squats again). 

That experience proved to me I could really enjoy the pursuit of fitness -- I loved it when one day at Home Depot I swung a 55 pound bucket of ice melt into the car like it was nothing -- but the injuries I incurred was the start of my theory that exercise is the root of all evil. (This theory further reinforced when a friend of mine broke her knee cap jumping up and down off a stool -- she's a cross fit queen, actually -- she's in her late 30s but looks like she's 20...) The knee and back injuries are resolved, although currently I'm still dealing with a  pinched neck nerve and my right arm hurts as if the rotator cuff is still damaged, although my doc and physical therapist believe it's the result of the pinched nerve (for which they put my head into traction and forcibly stretched my neck, not unlike the rack of the days of torture gone by. Who says that torture is no longer condoned?) 

I believe I'll be most successful if I increase my fitness by incorporating it into my daily life, by making it routine. But no one -- least of all me -- will stick to a routine that's not fun and rewarding -- so I'm going to start with what I already enjoy doing. I have the tools already -- plus a gym membership. There are no more excuses!

I am going to eat the fitness elephant one bite at a time. Incremental changes are the way to go, a strategy suggested by a Washington Post article my sister sent to me in January (http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/12-months-to-a-fitter-you/2013/12/31/2d74abf8-7244-11e3-8def-a33011492df2_story.html). The article provides a monthly calendar of ways to add activity for overall fitness, and it's worth a read.

Goal 1: start light weight training -- for toning, versus strength training, since that's how I hurt myself the last time. I'm going to start with the resistance bands and do some of the leg exercises until I consult with my physical therapist about upper body exercises (I really don't want to exacerbate any injury to my right shoulder/upper arm). These I can do while watching TV -- so hoooray, I get to keep my TV-watching hobby, just not always from the couch! I will keep a log of the exercises I do, how many sets and reps. What worked well for me before was doing three sets of 20 reps. With a light weight, it'll invoke muscle burn (but not pain), and I can gradually increase the weight as my muscles become stronger. The plan is to do the toning routine every other day. At some point I'll swap out the resistance bands for the dumbbells.

Goal 2: More challenging with winter weather and fair-weather beagles, but worth committing to is giving the beagles a good walk every evening -- and by good I mean walking briskly two miles or more. A tired beagle is a happy beagle -- so it's good for them as well as me. Plus, it'll help us all keep our sanity -- a bored beagle is a beagle looking for trouble, and although not the brightest breed out there, they're smart enough to find trouble, every time. Because I'm not a runner, never have been, walking is my exercise of choice, for now. Since I was a young teenager I enjoyed leashing up a dog and going for a long walk. On days when it's unlikely I'll be able to fit in a walk after work, I'll walk at work, on a route that is just shy of two miles. There are many benefits of walking outside during the winter, which I'll explore in Sunday's post.

As I proceed along this journey, I'll keep tabs on and report back about what's working and what's not, what I stick with and what just isn't making sense for me. 

I'd love to hear what works for you on your journey to fitness -- please send me an email at daytripgal@gmail.com!

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