Been awhile

But I walked today. I have been trying to exercise at least three times a week, but I haven't been recording it, but here is what I did today.

Treadmill

20 min in heart rate training zone :)

Yay for summer break and having someone to hold the baby so I can workout uninterrupted!

Short workout

I had a short workout today; it's a busy morning, and this was all I could get done before my shower. I did carry 3 lb weights in each hand for most of the walk, and I was at a 6% incline most of the time. According to my heart rate monitor I burned 95 calories (interesting that it matches the treadmill) and spent 10:18 in the "zone". My average heart rate was 131 and my max was 144 during the 15:40 that I had the monitor on.

10 Minutes

Today is our oldest child's birthday. She is our only daughter, and she is turning 14!

Also, today, my baby spent several hours happy - while I did lots of useful things - followed by spending several hours fussy and just wanting to be held, and waking up every 5 minutes if he wasn't held. I choose to spend the time taking care of him, because that is what I want to do more than other things.

However, I also wanted to work out, and with our daughter's birthday, there wasn't enough time to go to the gym like I had been hoping. In fact, there wasn't even time for 20 minutes on the treadmill. So, instead, I spent 10 minutes doing core exercises. I extended each leg 10-20 times in each direction while tethered to the door gym; I then stood on each foot for one minute. This currently makes my calves and shins burn, so I'm sure it is still effective exercise for me, even though as I progress again it probably won't be. After that I did 3 sets of 20 sit-ups on the exercise ball, and then I did a one minute plank! I can't do full body length again yet, but I was able to do it on my knees. This is especially significant, because it is solid evidence that my left knee is indeed getting better, since when I tried this 9 days ago, I collapsed in a shot of pain from that left knee when I tried to do a plank. Some days I think I should change this blog to "I'm the Tortoise" because small, slow steps are definitely what I'm all about.

Now for a quick shower and trip to the store for ingredients for dinner, before my 14-year-old gets out of school!

Evening Stroll

I can hardly believe I went a whole week without working out! And yesterday, it's not like I worked hard, but at lest I got out of the house and walked a bit, albeit late at night.

Distance: 1.61 mi

Moving time: 42:19

Average moving speed: 2.28 mi/hr

Max speed: 2.77 mi/hr

Also, I got the thank you notes I had written delivered, so I was very happy to get that done. :)

Free Weight Workout

The days seem to blend one into another right now. I am tired, but trying to work out anyway, but between my back, my knee, and my baby, it feels like the world is conspiring against me getting stronger.

The day before yesterday I went to the gym and met with my personal trainer again. We worked on biceps, triceps, and deltoids; here is what she had me do:

single arm side preacher curl (12 reps @ 8 lbs, 10 reps @ 8 lbs, 8 reps @ 10 lbs)

cable curl w/ straight bar (12 reps @ 30 lbs, 10 reps @ 40 lbs, 8 reps @ 50 lbs)

seated hammer curl (12 reps @ 8 lbs, 10 reps @ 10 lbs, 8 reps @ ? lbs)

tricep cable pulldown w rope (12 reps @ 40 lbs, 10 reps @ 40 lbs, 8 reps @ 50 lbs)

seated overhead press (use 1 hand weight - hold weight on ends) (12 reps @ 8 lbs, 10 reps @ 10 lbs, 8 reps @ 10 lbs - increase next time)

raise side / raise front - 8 reps @ 5 lbs, 3 sets - 2 feet first set, then standing on L foot, then standing on R foot for other 2 sets

seated shoulder press w/ rotation - 12 reps @ 5 lbs, 10 reps @ 5 lbs, 8 reps @ 5 lbs - gradually increase to 8 & 10 lb weights

Now that I'm not staying home absolutely all the time with my baby, life feels crazy busy. Yesterday my middle child turned 11! I'm not working out as well or as much as I'd like to be; instead it feels like I'm hanging on for dear life! But I am hanging on, because I know this time will fly quickly and then I'll have my time to myself again all too soon.

Back to the Gym!

So, Saturday night I was doing some laundry, and I was carrying a basket upstairs - and instead of carrying it all the way, I knelt on a step and pushed it up onto the landing before turning around to head back downstairs. As I knelt, I felt a burning, tearing pain in my left knee. Most of the time, I absolutely and completely forget that I hurt it, because it isn't painful at all! Except for in those moments when I once again kneel, and then it is definitely painful. This morning, I forgot about it again and knelt down toward my baby, and when the pain hit me it literally knocked me to the ground. (With my back still sore, it took me a few minutes to get up as well!) Thus, I decided it would be best to go to the doctor this afternoon. They took x-rays to confirm that nothing is broken - I should get the results tomorrow - and I am also supposed to ice it for 15 minutes, 4x/day and take 400 mg of ibuprofin, 4x/day. If the x-ray looks normal and it isn't getting at least a little better in a week, then we'll probably do an MRI to make sure nothing is damaged that won't eventually figure itself out.

On a happier note, our gym membership is active again! Before 9 am, and again between 11 am and 5 pm, kids are allowed upstairs on the track. So, Monday morning (yesterday), I took my two boys to the gym and the 10 yr old walked the 2 month old around the track in the stroller while I lifted weights. I think it's been at least 6 months since I lifted weights, and I have been SORE! It felt great, though, and I'm really glad to be back at it! Hopefully this knee thing won't slow me down too much....

So, here is a list of what I did:

couple minutes of walking around the track to warm up

Chest Press - 12 reps at 40 lbs, 10 reps at 45 lbs, 8 reps at 50 lbs

Pectoral machine - 12 reps at 40 lbs, 10 reps @ 45 lbs, 8 reps at 50 lbs

Low Row - 12 @ 75 lbs, 10 @ 80 lbs, & 8 @ 85 lbs

Lat Pulldown - 12 at 60 lbs, 10 @ 60 lbs, & 8 @ 70 lbs

Single Arm Row w/ kettlebell - 12 @ 10 lbs, then 10 @ 15 lbs & 8 @ 15 lbs

Straight arm pushdown - 3 sets of 10, all @ 30 lbs

Ab crunch on ball - 3 sets of 20

plank hold - about 2 seconds, before I quit because of knee pain (I can't quite do a full length one yet, as I am just coming back to it after this break)

BOSU balance - 1 min on each foot, 1 min on each knee, & 1 min on both feet together (oddly, being on my left knee didn't bother me for this one)

I forgot to stretch out afterward, which I'm sure has made my soreness worse, and my back has burned quite a bit since doing this - but it hasn't refused me service, for which I am grateful. I am hoping that by pushing it at the gym for a couple weeks, while still being extra careful on the stairs and carrying the baby, will get me in shape enough that I can carry the baby on the stairs without hesitation or pain once again. I'll keep you posted on how that goes!

Museum Stroll

Until tonight, I hadn't sat down to a computer in about 4 or 5 days. However, I was still exercising!

My 10 yr old (who will be 11 later this week) is out of school for 3 weeks, so part of the time I've been doing stuff with him, and part of the time he's been helping with the baby so I could get stuff done using 2 hands at the same time.

Friday night last week we went to Ogden to visit some friends there, and on the way home on Saturday afternoon, we stopped at the airplane museum near Hill Airforce Base. I knew I wouldn't get home in time to exercise that evening, so I turned on MyTracks and tried to reach a mile of walking around the museum. Instead I made it 1.35 miles! Here are the details:

1.35 miles

1.04 mi/hr average speed

total time 1:17:56

moving time 1:01:06 (we were in a museum after all)

max speed 2.30 mi/hr

All this I did while holding a baby or pushing him in a stroller. (My husband and older kids offered to take him several times, but I wanted them to be able to focus on the museum.) My husband used to fly planes in Civil Air Patrol. He never got his license, but he still knows a great deal about planes and it's really fun to go through a place like that with him. I also learned that it's a lot more fun to go through it with a 13 yr old and a 10 yr old (and a 2 month old) than it was the last time we went through it, with a 4 yr old and a 1 yr old!

Best of all, half way through the museum when my baby needed to eat, I asked to borrow a chair and was offered a private room! I don't mind nursing in public, but I also don't cover up and therefore I really don't mind nursing in private either. I felt that I was treated exceptionally well as a nursing mom, and I really appreciated it.

Nice Slow Walk in Sunlight

My baby is two months old today!

Today I took a nice, slow walk to my friend's house, just the other side of the church. I'm guessing I went about 1.1 to 1.3 miles total.

It was slow, but the sun was out - which is a little bit uncommon in February in Utah. The reason it was slow was because on Sunday night my back gave out. It had been sore for a couple of days, and steadily getting more painful, but I was trying to ignore it and go about my life as usual. I woke up at about 3 am Monday morning and nursed, sitting up on my bed, though it was quite painful to do so. At 6 am we woke up again, and I realized that I could not sit up to nurse the baby, nor could I carry him across the room to his changing pad to take care of his leaking diaper. During the day on Monday my husband worked from home, and Tuesday my dad visited to help with the baby. (Tuesday night my dad got sick, but that's another story.) Anyway, the daily activities I could do were definitely all the exercise I could handle the last two days, but I was grateful to feel well enough to go on that walk today. My recovery has been pretty fast, like it was the last time my back went out (one week before my first triathlon). However, recovering to the point that I have done in the past, where I can walk and bend a little bit and take care of myself again, is no longer sufficient. Now I need to be able to lift an almost-13-pound baby and carry him up the stairs! I can barely walk up the stairs by myself, even now. Oh, and our house is a split level - so we have three sets of stairs, and there is no bathroom or bed on the kitchen level, so you really have to do the stairs several times in any given day, unless someone else is waiting on you hand and foot. 

As always, I must get stronger! It's the only way I can see out of this mess. Next week I get to go back to the gym. I'm really looking forward to it. Until then, I think it will be more walking, as much as I can.

Heart Rate Adjustments

Today I am back on the treadmill.

I did a little research, and then used the calculations from 

http://exercise.about.com/od/cardioworkouts/ss/findtargetheart.htm to change the heart rate training zone on my  monitor from 122-159 to 131-169. This is more in line with what my personal trainer had calculated for me, based on my resting heart rate, but perhaps more significantly, it felt better to my body.

I was going to write more - and walk more - but this is the point at which my baby woke up, and I have had a good work out and that is sufficient for me.

(I spent most of this workout at 9% incline instead of 12%, and I felt like I got a better workout and it felt better for my body to work at that rate.)

Duration w/ heart rate monitor on: 33:27
240 calories
In zone 24:59
average heart rate 143; maximum heart rate 164

Walking in Wind

Yesterday I had only gotten 5.5 or 6 hours of sleep - I don't even remember now - but a friend who lives an hour away offered to come visit me in the morning, and by the time my older kids were off to school, I no longer had time to take a nap. So, I went on a walk instead!

I realized yesterday afternoon that exercising with my baby is a wonderful and very enjoyable way of taking care of myself without relying on anyone else. Right now, though, I have to rely on the weather to cooperate. At the beginning of my walk it did, and I would have liked to have kept going longer, but as I walked it got colder and windier and by the end, we were just trying to get back inside as quickly as we could.

I also thought, as I walked, how much I have invested, financially, in my health over the last couple of years. I've bought a gym membership, a jogging stroller, a BOSU, and various time with a personal trainer, plus I have done a few races. As I enjoyed my walk with my jogging stroller and my happy baby yesterday, I thought it's totally worth it! I am so grateful that we are in a financial position to make these choices, and I'm glad that they are (to me) clearly paying off.

Here is the info from MyTracks from my walk:

Total Distance 1.38 miles

Total Time 29:04

Average Speed 2.84

Moving Time 27:40 (I kept having to stop to move the blanket so it still covered the baby, but the wind kept blowing it so it was directly over his nose and mouth - so this may have actually been even lower than this)

Average moving speed 2.98 mi/hr

Max Speed 3.22 mi/hr

Heart Monitor Data:

Duration 29:31

163 calories

21:08 time spent w heart rate between 122 and 159

average heart rate 125; maximum heart rate 141

It was challenging for me to walk fast enough to get my heart rate up, because my neighborhood is basically flat. I suspect that the cold kept it down some, but that the resistance of walking against the wind kept it up some.

This morning I've gotten about 6 hours of sleep so far (just got up from an extra hour, yay!) but now I need to head out the door to a doctor's appointment and various errands. Right now I doubt I will get to exercise today, but if that changes I will report it here :).

President's Day

The day before yesterday was President's Day. Though everyone was home for the holiday, so I didn't have to take the baby with me, I woke up early enough and feeling good enough that I put him in his snowsuit in the jogging stroller and headed out. I had a lovely walk, and talked the whole time on the phone to my best friend. It was too cold, but other than that it was very pleasant, and according to google maps I went 1.7 miles and it should have taken me 32 minutes; I'm sure it actually took me longer than that, but I didn't mind.

Biking!

I really didn't want to exercise yesterday, but then I realized it was Saturday. That meant my husband was home; since the weather was also good (55 degrees in mid February is unseasonably warm where I live, but it was very nice!) I went biking! I haven't been on a bicycle since last July, when I was training for a triathlon and started threatening to miscarry and had to stop.

As I biked, I was going to do a short route and only be out about 20 minutes - but it felt so good, I called my husband and made sure my baby was doing well (he was happily asleep) and then changed my route and kept going. Here are my totals, both from my heart rate monitor and from a free android phone app called MyTracks:

406 calories

average heart rate 133

maximum heart rate 177

distance 9.03 miles

average speed 8.77 mi/hr

maximum speed 18.25 mi/hr

moving time 1 hr 0 min 23 seconds

I felt so good! And, emotionally, I have felt great ever since. I am so delighted with myself for being able to go 9 miles, my first time back on a bike in 7 months! Also, there is a Big Hill along the route - very big, very steep, very challenging, and I didn't have to stop at all while going up it! In fact, the only stops I made were for stoplights, once to call home and check on baby before heading into a poor-cell-coverage area, and once to walk for a bit because my feet were numb. (The numb feet are a reflection of my weaker core, but my strength will come back with time, as I stick with it.)

:)

Dancing

I only got 5.5 hours of sleep last night, and I never did make it onto the treadmill. 

However, there was a dance at our church tonight, and we walked over - which, according to google maps, is .6 miles each way - and it was a lot of fun :). We took our baby with us (though the dance was officially for 18 yr olds and up, so we left the older two kids at home); we used our jogging stroller for the first time ever! We tried to have him ride in the carseat in the top of the stroller, which is what it is designed for, but he still doesn't like the carseat. We also took the front carrier (Baby Bjorn) with us, so one of us was holding him pretty much the whole evening, but we still managed to dance together pretty well. As I said, it was a lot of fun. 

Heart Rate Monitor Info

I had finished my 7 hours of sleep for last night (I actually got 7.5!) by 10:30 this morning; by 11:30 I had taken care of the baby and gotten myself breakfast. And then... I really didn't want to get on the treadmill. So I didn't, until tonight when my baby was happily asleep and someone else could watch him if he woke up, so I could work out without fear of interruption. My average heart rate (from the 23 minutes of workout and the 4 minutes since then) was 152, with a maximum of 168. I hit my goal of 10 minutes at 160+ :) and, as always, I feel happier right after exercising. 

My left hip complained while I was on the steep incline to keep my heart rate up, but it felt fine after that 10 minutes when I brought the incline back to 0. I'm going to have to be careful of that, in case it starts to flare up.

My heart rate monitor is a Polar FT4; it has a chest strap that communicates wirelessly to a watch, where I can read the information. I like the men's colors better than the women's, and the watch strap is the same size. You can see them at http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/polar-ft4.html?gclid=CIT68abayrwCFUiGfgodaRAA9A, if you're curious.

Feel the Love - Or at least the Heart Rate

The night before last, I only got about 4 hours of sleep, Try as I might by napping during the day, I couodn't get past about 6 hours, and 7 is my minimum goal. So, (I never did get onto the treadmill.

Last night, however, my baby slept for 5 hours straight! And, I thiknk I got a total of 8 hours throught he course of the night! HALLELEUJAH! It's amazing how honestly happy I feel when I get enouigh sleep!

...

I have also fed myself breakfast today (though it wasn't until 10:30, which is definitely later than it should be.) And, now I have exercised! (I even got my heart rate between 160 and 165 for a full 10 minutes again today. Isn't it great what you can do when you have had sleep?) Now, for the bonus quest: I'll go take a shower!

Eat, Sleep, Play

"Eat, Sleep, Play" sounds more fun than "Eat, Sleep, Exercise".

I am sick. I have a cold. It's been kind of miserable for the last couple of days, but even before that I felt extra tired and just yucky.

On top of that, I've really been struggling with what I call "sleep deprivation induced depression" - though at my six week checkup last week, they were inclined to just call it postpartum mood disorder or something to that effect. It involves some depression, a lot of apathy, and a new somewhat bipolar approach to life. I'm also learning that eating sugar makes me less able to moderate my own emotions... I'll let you imagine the potential vicious cycle that can lead to. (Or, just look the 130 lbs I packed on over the years. That should be pretty self explanatory.)

So, I'm focusing on what I can do about it. I am really TRYING to get enough sleep. I have actually counted my hours of time actually asleep at night, in an effort to get up to 7 hours between what I get at night and naps during the day. With being sick right now, I would really like to get a little more than that - especially since I've been down between 4 and 6 hours lately (6 being a really good night/day). 

I'm also focusing on feeding myself better. I have put a lot of effort over the last few years into improving the quality of my eating experiences; this has meant eating more real food, unprocessed and prepared from scratch when practical. The biggest thing I"m currently struggling with is eating at all. I don't notice when I should get hungry. (I think I actually do get hungry, but I've trained myself into ignoring it...?) So, feeding myself is becoming my next priority after sleep.

Finally, today I am returning to exercise. I have been walking (relatively slowly) on my treadmill as I typed this; I liked the cardio training I had started doing, but I think a slower, gentler workout is wiser until my immune system is less preoccupied.

I am doing some things well. Yesterday I drank at least 3 quarts of water  - maybe closer to four - and I'm sure that's why my cold seems better today. I am also actively seeking more ways to take care of my self, like playing music that I like and paying closer attention to my social needs (especially since I've been staying home with my baby since Christmas, and I"m planning to continue staying home for another month or more.) Most things that I can do for myself - like take a long, relaxing bath - require someone else to be home and available to take care of the baby for me. I certainly do those things when I can! But with two older children with homework, school, church, and occasional music and sports activities thrown in there - sometimes neither they nor my husband is available until 9or 10 at night. I want to increase my own, independent self care, that will not be as affected by daily circumstances and schedules of others.

Also - and this is actually my highest priority, for the next few months when the need is most intense -  I'm taking care of my baby with all of the needed patience, even when he is fussy and never sleeps more than 5 minutes at a time (except for one, 1-hour nap) in a 14 hour stretch - which is what he did yesterday. i am grateful he did that on the weekend, because I don't think I could have handled a weekday like that on my own. Today, he woke up crying twice in my first quarter mile ion the treadmill -  though he seems to be resting better now. I am sure that life will get easier when both he and I are feeling better.

If I have readers, and if they are willing to comment, do you have other suggestions for me on self care, especially while taking care of a baby?

And now, my baby is awake again, though at least he is happy for now :)

Sleep Wins

Two days ago I just didn't feel good, and rather than doing an easier workout, I skipped that day. Looking back, I wish I hadn't, because yesterday I had a blood draw (to check me for infectious diseases, because I'm donating breastmilk) and today I had a doctor appointment because my baby is 6 weeks old, followed by errands. Thus, I haven't worked out since Monday, and I really don't like that. What's more, I can't afford this kind of break unless it really is an anomaly.

Unfortunately, I'm battling what I call sleep-deprevation-induced-depression. So, for tonight, sleep wins, in the hopes that tomorrow I will feel well enough to hop on the treadmill very first thing in the morning.

Successful Morning

Exercised - including specific strengthening exercises for my back! - first thing this morning!

Now to run my 10 yr old to school before he's late!

Maximum heart rate: 172

Average heart rate (over 27 min, because I forgot to turn off my heart rate monitor until I had my son half way to school): 152

"Calories: 218" (at least this calorie counter takes into account my weight and my heart rate, though I still don't really believe in its accuracy)

15:03 "in zone" (heart rate between 122 and 159, though I'm actually aiming to be above that)

Sleep vs Exercise

If it is morning, and I am faced with a choice between sleep and exercise, I will usually choose sleep because I hold out hope that I can exercise later in the day.

Sometimes, whether because of sleep or just other activities (today it was errands in the morning and later, friends coming over for dinner) "later in the day" becomes MUCH later, like tonight when it is 11:25 and I am just getting on the treadmill.

And now, the baby wakes up.

(15 minutes later I began my workout, after feeding the baby and getting him to sleep.)

As you can see below, I completed my 20 minutes. What is more, I kept my heart rate between 160 and 165 for 10 minutes. To begin, I had decided I wanted to start keeping my heart rate up to 160 for 20 minutes, three days a week. After tonight, it is clear to me that I need to start with less than that. During pregnancy, I wasn't supposed to get my heart rate above 150, and after 15 weeks I had to quit doing even that because I started spotting (threatening to miscarry). Thus I know it has been since at least last July since I worked my heart this hard, and I can feel it! Also, my shins are telling me that I need to stretch better, and my lower back is warning me about my combination of steepness and speed. I may need to take it slower for awhile still, but as long as I continue, eventually I will progress.

Baby slept on the bed beside the treadmill through the entire workout!

Heart Rate Tracked!

Today I used my heart rate monitor for the first time in a very long time! Somehow I didn't star the recording feature though :(.

However, by observation of the watch (which displays the data) while I was walking, I gradually worked my way up to the low 140's and stayed there. The picture below shows the incline at 0, because I had already lowered it, but spent almost the entire time at about a 5% incline. 

I like sweating. I makes me feel like I did some little bit of work. :)

Slow but steep

Occasionally I will type while I walk. It is a slow way - go - and unless I hold the keyboard while I type, it is quite wobbly - but some days it just works out best to get my thoughts out while I am still moving.

Here is a picture of my setup, mid walk:

And here it is again when I finished:

Again, my back was feeling a little sore and not as stable as I want it to be, so I turned up the incline. I really like that! It makes me sweat, and feel like I've done some work! I generally ignore the calorie counter, for one thing because it is probably made for an average sized person - which I am not - and for another, because it seems healthier to focus on other things like how you feel, rather than things like how many calories you have burned. I have noticed, though, that it counts calories far more quickly when the incline is higher; a higher incline makes far more difference than higher speed when it comes to calories burned, apparently.

Still Walking

I am still really, really tired today, but I walked anyway. Perhaps it is a blessing that I cannot not exercise. I know I feel much more that way when I am well rested :).

Whine

This post is going to be a short whine.

My back hurts. I don't want to exercise. I need to find the papers I got when I first met with my personal trainer and figure out what to do next to make my back stronger, because it hurts to stand up long enough to cook dinner. 

My hips are sore - especially my left one - and I don't want to walk faster tonight. I skipped walking on Saturday, though, because my husband was home and I therefore decided that taking a bath was a higher priority than walking on my treadmill. Today, though, I know I cannot afford to skip altogether, so /i'm only going 3.8k/hr (lately I've been at 5k/hr). It means I won't finish in 20 minutes, but I'm enough of a grouch at the moment to choose not to push myself. So there.

That was where I stopped because my baby woke up & needed attention. After a long (2 hr+?) break, I finished here:

Post script: As always, I felt better after exercising. I'm still not totally happy, but I'm less whiney than I was.

Missing Motivation

I had a really hard time getting myself onto the treadmill today. I know I've got to do it, or I will physically suffer pain - but I still didn't want to!

I am too soon after having a baby, and I have learned too well that over doing it does not pay off. Also, I expect to get pregnant again (relatively soon), but I don't know exactly when that will happen, so it feels unwise to plan for a race this summer - especially because the last race I was going to do, I couldn't because I was pregnant and started bleeding and I really did have to not race for my health and that of my baby.

As I have walked for the last twenty minutes, I did come up with an idea: I can start using my heart rate monitor again! I can start training with the goal of reaching a certain heart rate and staying there for a certain amount of time. I'm not sure yet what that heart rate or that time will be, but it will give me something to work toward again.

I miss Zumba. Because it is flu season, and we don't want our baby around people, we put our gym membership on hold for a couple of months. I am really looking forward to going back to that, and to the weight machines there. I do have a Zumba video game, but I haven't even wanted to try that when I was home alone with the baby, because I'm not willing to make him sit there and cry so that I can dance. Maybe I will get up the gumption to do it this weekend though, when my husband and children are home all day.

Today on the treadmill, I did carry the 3 lb weights in my hands for about 10 minutes. Doing that, and walking fast enough that your arms swing, and keeping your abs tight while you do, is another way of increasing stability in your back / your core.

Late in the day

It took until 5:40 pm for me to complete my 20 minutes on the treadmill today. A small portion (maybe 30 minutes of the entire day) of that was lack of motivation. The rest of it was taking care of a baby before I took care of myself. I know that I have to take care of myself every day in order to have the health and strength to continue to take care of my baby, but hopefully tomorrow it won't take until 6 pm to do that!

I did complete my 3 sets of 15 bicep curls and the same of shoulder presses while walking. I haven't made it onto the BOSU, nor have I completed my middle/upper back exercises :(.

Added incline

Today I added a 3% incline for 1 minute of my workout. Truly, I am the tortoise. My progress is infinitely slow, but it is progress!

I didn't make it onto the BOSU yesterday. All afternoon/evening my lower back was burning, but I prefer the burning feeling to actual achy-ness and pain. I like to think that it was the same burning you get when you have really worked a muscle group well at the gym :).

Today I also need to do my middle and upper back exercises again. Rather than saving this post until those get done, though, I am going to go ahead and push "publish" and then go back and edit once I've done those exercises.

Over 20 min again! :)

Once again, over 20 minutes and over a mile.

I realized this morning that I forgot to stand on my BOSU yesterday. All of my exercise is very small - easy to do, and very short - but it's so important that I do it each day! I am so grateful that I have the option of not being in pain, as long as I take care of myself. I know too many who cannot stop their pain, whatever they do.

Next on today's agenda: see if I can shower while the baby stays asleep! 

OVER a Mile!

I used to have the goal of going one mile each day, or going for 20 minutes on the treadmill - whichever was longer. Today I made 20 minutes longer than a mile! (Only by about 15 seconds, but I did it!)

This shows my speed while walking - I hit 5.1 km/hr, which is far faster than I have gone since... last May? Maybe before that? Going this fast during pregnancy made my heart rate faster than I was supposed to allow it to get.

Final time & distance for today

I also did 2 sets of 5 "corkscrews" on each side, and one set of 10 "statues" (seehttp://trimathlete.blogspot.com/2014/01/middle-and-upper-back-home-workout.html). Also, three sets of 10 dumbbell rows with 3 lb weights and three sets of 10 cobras. (The cobras were interesting; I think I could definitely add weights if I wanted to, though I will wait a bit. Also, I couldn't do them on the large exercise ball - I had to use the small one.) I was planning to do my middle-and-upper-back-exercises daily, but having done them once, I think I will be wiser to do them every other day to give my body a little chance to recover in between. I am anxious to get stronger, but it is not worth injuring myself and taking even longer to feel better!

Middle and Upper Back Home Workout

These are the exercises I have found so far to do from home to strengthen my middle and upper back. If I find more/better ones, I will make a note in my currently daily exercise post and I will update this post at that time. (I am also avoiding anything that requires bending over without my upper body supported, because of my lower back issues in the past.) Also, I have no idea if these will be enough to solve the pain that I am having, but I think that these are not too much to start with (especially if I keep the weight really low on the dumbbell rows, and I don't use any weights on the cobras). Thus, I will try these for a week and then re-evaluate.

Dumbbell Rows (from http://www.wikihow.com/Work-Your-Back-Muscles-at-Home)

"The Corkscrew"

"The Statue" (I can do this with my door gym)

"The Corkscrew" and "The Statue" above are from http://www.menshealth.co.uk/building-muscle/get-big/5-exercises-for-a-strong-upper-back.

"Cobras" - 50 seconds into this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI3TteGmYS4

Hooray for the internet! It makes my life better to be able to research this stuff, and collect it and publish it on my blog so easily!

One More Mile

18 minutes into "Amazing Grace". 

I moved from 3 sets of 10 to 3 sets of 15 with my weights today; it was very challenging for the shoulder presses, but the bicep curls are still a little easy. I have other weights than the 3 lb ones I keep on the treadmill console, but there isn't room to keep more than one set there unless I add a shelf somehow.

Also, I need some sort of at-home exercises for my middle and upper back, since those are what is hurting most throughout the day as I hold and walk the baby.

Stability Returns!

I realized yesterday that stability is returning to me! I can get my pants on without having to sit down or hold on to something, and without falling over! I can climb into the shower (lifting my leg over the side of the tub) without feeling like it is going to put my back out!

I'm not out of the woods yet; it will take more work to get my back really stable enough that I am not worried about it again. I want to get it to be strong enough that I can walk my baby as long as he needs to be walked, without my back ever aching. 

So, I'm not there yet, but I am pleased with where I am.

Another Day Done

(Post written Tues 1/14/14)

I'm 1:45:11 into Return of the Jedi now!

Today is the first day I've tried exercising while home alone with my baby. I had to stop mid way through, but I was able to come back to it and finish my mile anyway.

When I answer my cell phone at the beginning, though, I don't go as fast or drink as much water. I think I made up for it as I went on though.

Now to go change a poopie diaper!

Walking Again

I finished Return of the Jedi! Also, I finished walking before 9:30 am (which is a great accomplishment!).

I'm still focusing on keeping my abs tight as I walk, and on drinking at least 3 cups of water while on the treadmill. I'm also using my 3 lb weights to do 3 sets of 10 bicep curls and 3 sets of 10 shoulder presses while walking.

Me and Life

Source

Tired but successful

I'm now 1 hr 36 min into Return of the Jedi!

Today I am almost overwhelmingly tired. However, I managed to walk anyway, and I feel better after having done so than I did before. My next priority is to take a nap!

I'm definitely getting faster again. I really want to get back to doing a mile in under 20 minutes. Also, I'm trying to drink a 24 oz water bottle every day while on the treadmill.

Tired

It was a rough night with our baby. I walked anyway, because I am tired of feeling bad and I know it is the only way to really feel better.

On the bright side, I am now 48:26 into watching The Return of the Jedi while I walk!

Overdid It

So, my "awesome workout" last week felt awesome at the time... but the next day I really paid for it. Apparently I overdid it, and it took several days to start to feel better. Our two week checkup was on Wednesday (even though my baby wasn't technically two weeks until Thursday), and my midwife said I should be okay walking now. I had planned to walk yesterday (which was Thursday) but I did a couple errands on Wednesday after the doctor's office, since I was out anyway, and I didn't feed myself well and apparently I overdid it again! I felt terrible yesterday.

Today I have felt fine - good even - so I did get back on the treadmill. I can tell my body is still recovering and getting better, since this is the fastest mile I've done since mid pregnancy. My hips are continuing to hurt frequently, and sometimes it is difficult for me to even walk down the hall carrying my baby. I hope to start walking every day again, or at least nearly so, but I'm going to have to take it one day at a time and listen to my body as I go. For today, I am happy with what I have done.

Awesome Workout

Today I went faster than I have in probably 4 or 5 months, and it felt fabulous! I even jogged for about 5 seconds (though don't tell that to my midwife or my husband, because I'm supposed to wait another week for that!). 

Also, we got a BOSU from Costco! I decided about 6 months ago that if they came to Costco I would get one, in hopes that it would be cheaper than they are everywhere else - and it was, by about $35. I'm looking forward to inflating it later today and just standing on it, to start rebuilding my core. 

I am now a person who enjoys exercise, and who loves the way it feels to be strong. I've only been this person for a couple of years, or less, but I like this part of who I am.