A Date To Add To My Calendar

Yes, I am alive. I'm going to be getting on the blog wagon again very soon. This is just a quick post to mention a date that I'll be adding to my calendar from now on.

I became aware of this a few days ago, thanks to Charisse, an 18-year old girl with CP. I guess from now on, the first Tuesday in September is World Cerebral Palsy Day. You can read all about the day here. Really great thing in my opinion, and I want to thank Charisse for posting about it on her FaceBook page.
I highly suggest you check Charisse out on either her Facebook page or on her YouTube channel. She is one awesome girl!
I am coming back, but for now, Keep Moving!

ElliptiGO Better Video

I found a more informational video. I’m now going to stalk these guys until they make a trike version. Muhahahaha!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZs-cc2YTas]

I Want One!!!

About two or three years ago this thought went through my mind. “I wish I could take my elliptical outside. I wonder if they can make an elliptical that moves outside.” My husband’s sarcastic response was “They do. It’s called a bicycle.” Hahaha.

Fast forward to about six months ago. My father in-law mentioned he saw something about an elliptical type bike on the news. I don’t know why I didn’t look into it back then. Maybe I just forgot about it. Then this morning, I was reading a blog post over at The Daily Spark. My wish has been answered. There is an elliptical bike. The ElliptiGO. Here’s he blog post I read this morning on it. Giveaway: ElliptiGO Elliptical Bicycle.

I checked it out on YouTube this afternoon because after I submitted my name for the giveaway, I had doubts. What if it’s like a normal bicycle? I am unable to ride a normal bicycle because of my cerebral palsy. The balance is just not there. Even as a little kid when my balance was better than it is now, I didn’t have the coordination to keep it upright. This is the video that I saw.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FBO1AK5iOY]

Looks like my doubts have merit. I highly doubt I’d be able to keep it upright. Even if I could keep it upright while using it, stopping would be an issue. I’d fall over more than likely. So, a big bummer.

They need to work on a tricycle type of EllliptiGO now. If they ever make a trike version, I’ll be all over it. Well maybe once the price comes down a bit.

My initial reaction when reading the blog was “I want one!!”

Four Years Walking

Today marks the fourth year of walking with the virtual walk site. If you haven’t checked it out yet, do it. It’s a really good motivational tool to keep you moving. I look forward to entering my mileage for the day and seeing where I am along the route.

I did 4.1 miles today after not doing anything since Wednesday. I woke up in the middle of the night Wednesday/Thursday and the tendon in my upper left leg was really sore and tender. I have no idea what I did to it. It didn’t hurt at all during my workout that day, so I’m thinking I pulled something when I rolled over in my sleep. So, I took Thursday and Friday off to be safe.

It felt a bit better today. It’s still a little achy every now and then when I move in a certain way, but I wanted to move my body. So I did my 5K With A Twist dvd and then did a mile on the elliptical. Didn’t hurt one bit. Plus, seeing as this is my anniversary at the walk site, I had to something for it, right?

Here are the last several pictures from the site. And again, go check it out!

Mile 443.8 (Elliptical for 1)                                       Mile 447.8 (WATP for 3.1, Elliptical for 1)

                 

 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Keep moving!!

Mileage Monday

Not a whole lot going on. Not a whole lot to say. So here are the pictures.

Mile 430 (watp for 3.1 Elliptical for 1)                     Mile 434 (watp for 3.1 Elliptical for 1

                 

Mile 434.6 (Elliptical for 1/2 mile)                            Mile 435.6 (Elliptical for 1)

                  

Mile 438.6 (watp for 3.1)                                         Mile 441.8 (watp for 3.1)

                  

Mile 442.8 (Elliptical for 1)



 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Review: Leslie Sansone’s 5K With A Twist DVD

It's been about a week now since I received Leslie Sansone's 5K With A Twist DVD. I've done it several times, and I feel as though I give it a review. I have just two of Leslie Sansone's Walk At Home DVDs, and I enjoy them both. The first one I got was her 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk. I enjoy that DVD, however it got to be a little redundant and old quick. Not the exercise part, her commentary and conversations. The problem with that DVD is during miles 2, 3, and 4 she has a group of people doing the workout with her. She chats back and forth with them, which is fine, but it did get old. On that same DVD, she is by herself for miles 1 and 5. I prefer those miles since she devotes all her attention towards you, the viewer. It's still a great DVD, and I recommend it to anyone.

Now for the 5K With A Twist DVD. I love this DVD, and I'll be using it pretty much every day I workout. It's about 45 minutes long including the cool down. You can break it up, and do just one mile at a time. You don't have to do the whole thing all at once. She's by herself the entire time with no breaks in between the miles. So you can see that she's actually working up a sweat herself. Which I love in exercise videos. You actually see that the instructors sweat too. Normally in exercise videos they take breaks and let everyone cool down before they start filming again.

The exercise routine is the same as in the 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk, and she uses some of the same music. I think all of her DVDs are like this, so I don't know how many more I'll get. She uses the same moves. Side steps, front kicks, knee lifts, kick backs, and tap outs, and of course walking in place between each movement. There's also a two minute “boost” at the end of each mile where she goes into a “power walk” or a “gentle jog”. Gives the heart rate a boost for a better calorie burn. She does suggest that you stay low impact if there's a reason you can't or shouldn't jog in place.

One of the main things I like about any of her DVDs is the fact you “can't do it wrong”. If she's kicking with her left foot, and you're kicking with your right, it doesn't matter. If she springs a move on you (which she does often, like the tap outs during the second mile), just start when you're ready. The main thing is to keep moving. Don't stop moving the feet. If you have to go slower than the beat of the music, that's OK.

It's a very casual workout, but it does make you sweat. So, it's casual but powerful. I've read from a few advanced exercisers that her DVDs aren't hard enough. Then again, these exercisers are runners and not walkers. They run half marathons and that sort of thing. I can imagine for anyone at the level that the DVDs wouldn't be a challenge for them. But, if you're just beginning to exercise, or you have any type of injury or you just want to move your body, they're great.

I intend to keep doing both of the DVDs, but I think for the next foreseeable future I'll strictly be using the 5K With A Twist. And jump on my elliptical after that for another mile.

I give a thumbs up for Leslie Sansone and her Walk At Home program.

March Vacation: Walking

The third and final part of this vacation recap is a little late, and here's why. When thinking about writing an entry on my walking performance, all I could do was focus on the negative. My walking on this trip was far from good. It wasn't where I'd hoped it would be. Blah, blah, blah. Now I could focus on the negative, I could whine and complain, but I'm not going to do that. I whined and complained a lot growing up about various things, and I've gotten out of that habit (thank goodness). Now, I turn things around and look on the positive side.

While my walking on this trip was less than desirable, I got to where I wanted to go. No falls, and maybe just a few stumbles. It isn't how you get to your destination that matters, it's the fact that you get there. I can blame the knee twinge from walking in the snow for my tentative steps. I could blame a blister for not walking as fast as I'd like. I could blame bad confidence or self consciousness for poor walking form (I was pulling a lot to the side), but the point is, I was walking. Despite my issues, I kept going. I kept moving.

Sure, my legs were tired from walking up and down hills, but what's the important thing? I walked up and down hills. Steep hills at that. Yes, I tweaked my knee in the snow. But I did not fall. I didn't fall once the entire trip. That's a nice accomplishment for me, especially on icy ground. I read a few blogs this morning that clicked with me. One was from the main SparkPeople daily blog site. The blog can be found here. Basically, Stephanie practices yoga six mornings a week. Rain, shine, good moods, or bad, she does her practices. She may have a practice that's tough, and she's physically worn out one day, but she gets up the next day and she does it again. Why? Because she's committed herself to that particular path. She may not have a perfect practice every time, but she keeps going.

The other blog I read was from a SparkPeople member. I'm not going to link to it, because I didn't ask him for permission. John said, 1: You deserve to be successful. Don't listen to negative talk, be it from other people, or negative talk from yourself. Don't listen to it. 2: You are worth the effort you put into yourself. Any little effort you put into yourself is worth it. You're committed to improving yourself and that does take effort. And 3: You are who you hang around with. Whether it be a website such as SparkPeople, or any other self improvement site, the people there will help you. But you have to actively be a part of the community to receive that help and support. You can't expect to sit back and wait for people to come to you to cheer you on. You need to share your experiences and cheer other people on to get that support.

These two blogs really helped me to keep a positive attitude. It doesn't happen often, but I sometimes think about stopping my workouts, slowing down, or this, that or the other thing. I always get back on the horse so to speak on my own, but it's blogs like these than help me along the way.

I could stop exercising. But where would that lead me? Unable to walk. Depressed, moody, and back to being overweight. That's not what I want. I want to keep going and fight the good fight. It's not always easy, and it's not always going to be sunshine and roses, but those “perfect” days do happen, and I want to be around when they do.

As I said before, I do my best not to complain. I gave up on the complaining long ago, and when I don't like something, I figure out a way to change it. Complaining and whining are unproductive. Think of ways to change what you don't like. Think of ways to do something that you think you “can't”. It may be hard, but anything is possible.

Get up and keep moving!