Since the weather is having a tough time choosing to be spring like instead of winter like, I decided that I needed an alternate plan to walking at home.
And no, I am still not spending the money on a treadmill.
When I first started this journey, walking at home - be it marching in place or do laps in living room - was a hard work out. It is sad to admit I was that out of shape. I really was. 30 minutes of marching in place wore me out.
Yet it doesn't cut it anymore. I noticed this last week when I was marching in place while the children watched a cartoon. I was bored. I couldn't get my heart pounding for any length of time. I kept checking the timer hoping the "walk" was over. Yeah, it isn't usually like that.
This week, when once again the roads were too icy for me to drive, I pulled out my old Zumba Wii game. I love Zumba. I love to dance. The music is catchy...the rhythms practically pull you out of your chair. And I get an awesome work out in - hardly can talk, breathing hard, heart pounding. yeah, good stuff. The bonus is that my kids like Zumba too.
I didn't start my journey off using Zumba because my children like to mess with me. If I can Zumba without them it is fun. If they are anywhere near me than...watch out! They will try to stand in front of the t.v., they will try to crawl between my legs, they will try to cut across my path...all kinds of crazy stuff. They do the same kind of crazy stuff when I have regular music on & want to just dance. I never stopped them because I didn't want my exercise time to be a memory of mom being frustrated with them. When we lived with my in-laws it was super easy to Zumba without the children...not so much here. Anyway, long story still too long - I did walking so we could all exercise & I wouldn't get frustrated or be messed with.
I am rather proud of myself because on Monday, I told the children they needed to exercise even on the days we didn't go to the mall to walk. I told them we would Zumba. I also told them the "rules" - I would march behind the couch and they could not mess with me! They had to move the entire 30 minutes but they did not have to follow the Zumba dance. They had to be respectful of everyone in the room.
It is working out so well, the children are requesting to Zumba in the morning when I tuck them into bed.
But I do have to confess...I can't just march in place. The music is too good. I end up doing little dance steps & shaking my hips. I do make myself do all the arms movements while I half dance, half march in place. But I don't think this "change" in the journey is a bad one. I am getting a really good workout in, my children are exercising too & we are all laughing & having fun. Seems to me like it is a win-win - the kind of thing to look for in a journey!
Happy Walking!
Walking is definitely a challenge in bad weather! Everyone suggests mall walking, but I despise mall walking. I have never been comfortable working out in front of others so I also recognize that it would reduce my personal motivation so it's a bad idea. (I can't tell most people that, of course, because they have arguments which only prove they don't understand why I won't go "mall walking".)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I have wanted that Zumba for Wii since we got the thing, yet the money keeps going to video games everyone else wants. Besides, I haven't had anyone to say what they think of it so your post this day helps! I have been able to find a couple decent videos at the library, but...that means driving in nasty weather to get it. Still, that's what I've resorted to doing. It's hard when you don't have the room or money to just buy equipment or membership to a gym.