Under the Healthy Life Category
Neighborhood Fitness for Workout Flunkies
I have a funny relationship with fitness, and working out. I never caught on to aerobic classes, kick boxing or the zumba craze. I felt like a dork – stepping left when everyone else was stepping right. I couldn’t afford personal Pilates lessons with those crazy contraptions. I ordered the “at home” equipment so I could look like Christie Brinkley – forget it. I like yoga, but couldn’t make the classes consistently – and I am down right bored with the drone of the gym.
I still get out and bike sometimes, hike sometimes, swim sometimes, ski sometimes -but creating a consistent fitness routine eludes me. If you want to get right down to it, having coffee with a friend trumps working out any day of the week. Apparently, I am known as one of those “in-between” people: not a total couch potato, but not in great shape either.
Does this sound like you? Bored with the gym, or need to save money on monthly dues? So let’s chat about something more doable for busy moms, “neighborhood fitness,” and the added perk is you can have an ongoing date with a friend or two while you’re at it.
The national guidelines for fitness from mypyramid.gov state that to maintain established fitness levels- you must be vigorously active for a minimum of thirty minutes per day – every day. If you want to lose weight, or to maintain weight loss, vigorous activity is required for 60-90 minutes per day.
“That’s pretty aggressive,” says personal trainer Terry O’Hara. “All the articles that say you can get flat abs in 10 minutes per day are wrong. To affect change, you have to make it a part of your life.”
O’Hara took me on as a bit of a pet project and created a “neighborhood fitness” program for myself, and a group of girlfriends. Instead of going to the gym or a class, we met in a local parking lot, and spent an hour jogging through neighborhoods, huffing and puffing up stairs, stopping at a nice view for group squats, using park benches for push-ups, and ending with plank style ab crunches, and giggle-filled kegel tightening exercises. Think: “Desperate Housewives Does Basic Training.”
It was one of the toughest workouts I had ever done, and a total paradigm shift for me. Everyone loved it; we felt energized, sore and happy. We got our cardio, strength training, and all the week’s gossip in one tidy little hour! The numbers grew each week, and all of us were challenged in some particular way. Some could hardly jog a block, while others zipped along. Some struggled with the push-ups and others with stretching. We learned that the gym had actually decreased our overall fitness level – by becoming stagnant with the same exercise pattern over and over again.
In between group workouts, the concept of getting in that sixty minutes per day became something to achieve in short increments. I discovered there were plenty of ways I could sneak something in. While waiting for the school bus, I could stretch and do push ups in the yard. In the evenings, I started doing exercises during the commercials of my favorite show – and made it a contest to see how much I could do, before flopping back on the bed for the next installment of Grey’s Anatomy.
One of my challenges is running. I could not keep up with the group, even though I was the tallest. I do not like to run long distances, and consistently cramp with a side stitch. I asked O’Hara for other ideas to help me get that “vigorous exercise” under my belt, in the shortest amount of time. She surveyed my neighborhood for options, and noticed I have a fairly steep hill on my street. Viola! My “neighborhood fitness” homework was to run up the hill, and then walk back down again about 4 times. Running UP was the opposite of what I wanted to do!
It worked. I could jog up the hill without a side stitch, and got to the top gasping for air. Running up a steep hill is just enough to get the heart pounding, and walking down offers time to get the breath back. The unexpected challenge of my hill inspired even the most fit to show up and give it a try. Imagine plenty of moans, groans and expletives as middle aged Facebook junkies heaved themselves up and down a sleepy suburban hill. The rewards were quick; the hill got a tiny bit easier to manage each time.
I am still a workout flunkie. I still don’t exercise every day, or nearly as much as I should. However, I now know that I don’t need a gym, yoga mat or fancy equipment to be healthy. In fact, I can strengthen my body more than I ever imagined on the swing set, park bench or the municipal building’s concrete stairs.
By Kari Henley
LifestyleMom contributor Kari Henley is a featured columnist for The Huffington Post, has her own consulting practice, and is an expert in group facilitation. She is the mother of four and in her “spare” time she is serving as the President of the Board of Directors at the Women and Family Life Center in Guilford, CT
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i laughed at how painful the one leg up crunch is!
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Thanks for the thumbs up!!
Thanks so much for your kind feedback and best of luck on your neighborhood workout routine! It’s so liberating to know that squeezing in a little here and little there in your own backyard can make a big difference. I think we call all agree, the gym is not always an option.
Thanks so much for your kind feedback and I look forward to hearing from you again!
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Thanks Andrew and best of luck with your exercise regimine!
Thanks Natalie for your kind comment and best of luck on your blog. I agree, it is great fun but fitting it in with kids requires commitment and passion!
Thanks for your comment and I’m so glad to hear that you found some good nuggets to take away and add to your life. Hope to hear from you again soon!
Thanks Carlesetta, and have fun with neighborhood fitness girfriend style!
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Good for you! And if you’d like to be truly inspired listen to the Feb. 2nd episode of the LifestyleMom Radio Cafe with guests Keri Glassman (nutritionist and author of the O2 Diet) and Kim Bensen, author of Finally Thin! Listening to them will help keep you on track. Good luck!
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Just want to say congratulations, well done and a big THANKS for the tips!
It looks like you are having a good time while working out. All grind is not good. Keep up the good work.
Great comment from the queen of fitness herself. Thanks Jillian!
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