If you’ve been following my blog, you know I’ve been doing 30-day challenges since July. They’ve been a great way to focus my energy in one area, accomplish more than I would have otherwise, and make each month memorable.
October is my birthday month, so I want to focus on taking care of my body. I’ve done better than ever since I turned 50, with Goju-Ryu Karate as my challenge the the autumn of my 50th birthday. When I started my master’s program in Early Childhood Studies in England, I began one of the best habits of my life – working out for an hour 3 times each week. By not giving myself a choice not to work out 3 times each week, it worked. I’ve kept with that since 2006.
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” Jim Rohn
My workouts have changed over time. In England, I worked out in a gym or climbed apartment stairs and worked out to DVDs. Since I’ve been back at home in the U.S., I’ve used mainly rebounder, Zumba (my favorite!), Pilates, and Power Plate.
I love listening to audio books while I work out, and my 3 workouts each week have become a great time to listen to novels. I listened to a number of Charles Dickens books, and I’m having fun with some light British novels at the moment.
This month, my challenge is to focus more on the other days of my week. I typically have 3 minutes of rebounding and 2 minutes of Pilates every day (except Sunday, my day off). Now I want to add some walking every day (what better time than autumn?!) or walking up and down the stairs while holding hand weights.
I admire athletes who are extremely disciplined in their daily workouts. Even though I’m not an athlete, I can adopt a bit of that discipline into my life, too.
“Energy and Persistence” Word-Art Freebie
How about you? Do you have a fitness challenge of your own?
Photo Credit: Photo by auro at Flickr Creative Commons.
Linked with Thought-Provoking Thursday, Kirsty & Friends, and Fitness Friday.
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Hi would you be kind to join my group http://www.stickam.com/group/fitnessandhealth please…… I needed more members in it so there will be more conversation about health and fitness. Registration is actually free. It is like a chatroom. You may share your stuff about health and fitness there. I hope to see you there
Thanks so much, Ahmad, but I really won’t have time to be in any more forums right now. It’s great you’re spreading the word about health and fitness, though! 🙂
this sounds like such a fantastic idea. I might have to try this myself.
happy 21st birthday!
Thanks for your comment, Grady! I’m loving my 30-day challenges. And thank so much for the 21st birthday greetings! It was awesome! 😉
Have you ever heard of SparkPeople – it’s a great site which includes info about nutrition, fitness, motivation, healthy lifestyle, etc. Since I joined them early in August, I’ve gone from being unable to walk around the block without huffing to surviving an hour of water aerobics! I’ve also lost 15 pounds. This is a link to their site, and I’ve also included a link about my success to date (at the bottom). http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/register.asp?from=friend&ReferredBy=10742319
My initial challenge was to exercise for 10 minutes each day. Now that’s no challenge, so I’m thinking I’ll change to an hour of water aerobics twice a week.
http://acts17verse28.blogspot.com/2011/09/progress-report-woo-hoo.html
That’s wonderful, NCSue … congratulations! Thanks so much for the link. SparkPeople looks like an awesome resource!
Great! That sounds awesome. Love the quote too. So true.
Thanks, Kirsty! I’ve definitely loved my 30-day challenges, and I’m a real fan of autumn walks! 🙂
There are programs specifically designed to help people get fit after turning 50. Have you ever looked into any of those? Obviously I’m a bit biased but I’m curious about your experience.
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