Exercise???

Perhaps some of you have noticed that I have not mentioned the word 'exercise' once since I've been here?  I know.  That is because I have not exercised (other than 1 hour on the cruise) in about....oh......2 months, or so?  I'm not sure I can really count a few bike rides on the beach in Hilton Head, so it is closer to 3 months.  Although, before that is when I had broken my wrist and couldn't do hardly anything...so.... well, you get the point.  It's been a looong time.  Do I miss it?  Not so much.  The only thing I miss is getting a good sweat on and knowing that I usually feel so much better afterwards.

I think the reason the exercise thing has not been such a big deal is because I am walking an inordinate amount since being here.  Walking is a mode of transportation for me, so I do not dawdle.  I walk fast anyways, but now it's even faster because I'm usually anxious to get to my destination and it's not just a 'walk in the park'.  I'm not sure how many miles I put in a day, but it's a lot.

Here is the schedule.  I walk the dogs for 30 minutes at 8am.  At 830, I leave my flat to walk to class (10 minutes at a very fast pace).  I then sit in lecture for 2 hours and walk back to my flat.  I take the dogs for a 10-15 minute walk.  If I don't have to go back to school, I may take them down to the park to play...this is a 30 minute outing.  Come back, make a sandwich and walk back to school.  Or, if not in class, walk to the grocery, to a meeting for a society, downtown to the bank, etc. 

Another dog walk in the evening before I settle in to study or before I head out to whatever I'm doing.  I usually have 3-4 nights where something is going on and of course, I walk there.

So, I'm not really feeling like I'm not getting any exercise, I'm just not getting the cardio or resistance training that I've been used to.  And frankly, I do not necessarily feel like exercising after all of that walking.  But, I have to.  So, I think I'm going to start P90X again here in the comfort of my flat. Because, I need to sweat and I need all of the benefits of exercise again.  I should start my program today.  Should.  We will see. P90X is an intense program on DVD's and it had a lot of resistance training - pushups, pullups, dips, etc and also has some cardio- 'kickboxing', plyometrics, yoga (not really cardio, but it does make me sweat), etc. It is a great regime and does work. My pants are pretty much hanging off me at this point and all of my belts are on the last notch.  I'm certainly not complaining about this, but I do need to start toning up the muscles again....skinny arms and legs are not my thing. 

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I was thinking of joining the women's rugby or football (soccer) teams.  Yes, that still gets my competitive juices flowing, but I am not so sure it is a good idea.  For one, my feet are already KILLING me.  Here is a picture of one reason why:

No, that is not the picture of a happy foot.  I've had the bunion for a while now and it has affected me in some of my footwear choices, but it is now a large problem.  This foot is now problematic and my footwear is critically important with all of this walking.  I wore some 'cute' shoes the other night and boy did I pay for it afterwards. The bone associated with the ball of your foot was actually throbbing and painful. This is the same foot I tore the plantar fascia about 2 years ago training in Vegas, so it's understandable why I'm having trouble with it. 

With the feet thing, playing a sport where I have to run around on them is not something that is going to help.  Plus, I figured if I busted an ankle or something, that will severely affect my commute, which I cannot afford to compromise.  I also talked myself out of it because they practice at a field that is not easily commutable for me two nights a week.  It would involve a bus ride or bike (which I decided not to buy another one). Instead, I decided to try and hook up with the mountain biking team (which I have yet to do), start swimming some (there is a place a block away), or figure out something else that is not going to be so stressful on the big, ugly dawgs.  Plus, I've done the whole college athetics once already and now I'm concentrating on some academic and social societies instead.  These take up a portion of my time, but it is going to be time well spent.  I'll post on my societies at some other time, once I am certain of which ones I'm going to be a member.

I'll keep you all posted, but I do believe I'm starting with P90x and concentrating on some upper body stuff for now and the rest should fall into place. Now that I've procrastinated enough, I think I'll take the Boyz to the park and consider going shopping...ugh.

Over-N-Out