The Dreaded E Word

Dual Mom here. Can I just say holy shit? Can I swear on this thing? Hello, does this thing work? The reason I say holy shit? Thirty-three followers in one day and so much enthusiam and support for everyone who has decided to join the crazy train. You guys are just full of the awesome.

One of the comments on the previous post asked how to get started exercising. I'm sure Daffy and any one of the other lovely ladies could answer this question better than me, but I have a big mouth and I'm jumping in on this one. Three years ago I could run 5k in under 30 minutes, I exercised at 5:30 in the morning at least five days a week. I ran outside, in rain, wind and snow. This morning, I found myself winded climbing one flight of stairs to my office. I tell you this because I know what it does to ones body and self esteem to be completely and totally out of shape. I also have a bit of experience in how to change all of that.

Let's talk about resting heart rates for a minute. Do you know what your resting heart rate is? Put your fingers to the pulse in your neck and count beats for 10 seconds then times that number by 6. I know math is hard....but give it a try. Your resting heart rate is important. The lower it is, the healther your heart is. American Heart Association indicates your heart rate should be between 60-80 bpm. It will generally increase with age. However, physically fit people have a lower resting heart rate. How does that work? Well, if you have a lower resting heart rate, it means your heart does not have to work as hard to pump blood through your body. This is important, the harder your heart has to work over a prolonged period of time, the quicker the ticker is going to wear out. A worn out heart is not a good thing people.

Exercise increases your heart rate, hence the gasping for oxygen. But it only increases it for short periods (while you're exercising). This is good for you. So how do you get started with exercising? It's easy, just move. Walking is one of the easiest, safest forms of exercise that you can do.

- Start small - you're not going to be able to go out and speed walk for an hour if you haven't exercised in awhile. Plus you'll end up hurting yourself which will totally defeat the purpose.

- Stretch out your legs, shin splints are a bitch.

- Try to do some sort of physical activity at least three days a week. This is important for a couple of reason. Anything less won't give you results. Also, it's important to get into a routine.

- Try to work hard enough to sweat. Sweat is good for you. Each of those droplets running down the side of your face contains toxins that are being expelled from your body.

- On the flip side of that, drink drink drink. Any bitch that has lost weight will tell you how IMPORTANT it is to drink water. Yeah, you'll piss 600 times a day for the first little while, but just think of all that fluid coming off your ass!!! It will even itself out and you'll be back to peeing like a normal person in no time.

- Music makes exercise easier. Yes it does, trust me on this. The louder the better.

I went to the gym this evening after work for the first time in almost three years. This morning while packing my gym bag I realized I had one pair of gym pants that fit me. Sigh. I did 50 minutes on the treadmill. I was slow, so slow. I started thinking about how far I've fallen and had to immediately shut those thoughts down. Halfway through when I realized I was going to actually finish the workout without dying I was filled with an incredible sense of accomplishment. Something I haven't felt in a long time. My muscles were burning and my calves were bawling but I did it. And you know what.........you can do it too. I know you can. So c'mon, how did you work it today?