2009, The Year Of The Wii Fit

January 6th, 2009 Gina Posted in Fitness 5 Comments »

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I’m always on the lookout for a way to spice up my workout (or entice myself to workout, period) and despite the fact that I own enough equipment (treadmill, elliptical, spinning bike, upright bike, weight bench etc…) for a home gym, I still get bored. 

I’m not much of a video gamer, but once I heard about the Wii Fit for Nintendo Wii and read some really great stuff about it, I just had to have one.  We got the Wii in late November so that we’d be able to play it with the family after Thanksgiving dinner.  Then, I asked for the Wii Fit for Xmas. 

A couple of weeks before Xmas we walked into Best Buy to do some Xmas shopping and there they were, stocking the Wii Fit right at the front of the store.  My guy bought it right on the spot for 89.99 explaining that he’d been trying to find me one and had nearly paid $300 for one on EBay. 

What I love about it

  1. The balance board is also a scale (it’s so much less painful than the traditional scale that I’ve grown so accustomed to stepping on, then looking down dreading the number).
  2. You can password protect your profile (I don’t need him seeing how much I weigh!)
  3. The running, hoola hoop and boxing.  I kick ass at these! They make me feel good about myself!
  4. Almost all the balance games.
  5. The fact that you have to do more workouts to unlock more stuff (it makes it more interesting).
  6. You can create your Mii (that’s mine, up there on the picture) to look like yourself (or not, if you hate the way you look).

What I don’t love

  1. It wants me to weigh every day which really freaks me out (weight in general, I mean). 
  2. The step aerobics (the balance board is too damned small to be doing step aerobics on) and the music us ultra-corny
  3. The yoga. It’s also hard to do on the balance board. I nearly killed myself doing the “tree pose”.
  4. The Wii Age seems very random.  One day I’m 5 years younger than my actual age and the next day I’m 3 years older than my actual age.  That makes me not trust the Wii Gods at all.
  5. If you are playing the balance games with a friend, you have to log completely out and let the other person log in or else the Wii will tell you that your weight has changed and get all weird when a different person steps on the balance board. 
  6. It tells you that you’re fat, every single day, which I personally find de-motivating and at times has made me back-talk the TV which then makes me feel like a psycho.  And that the Mii puts ALL the weight in the stomach making me look like a rolly polly.  Some of that fat belongs on my thighs!

So, I’m about 3 weeks in and I’m having fun, so far.  I did see an article that said that 60% of people who purchase the Wii Fit, never use it after the first time.  60%!   So there! I’m defying the odds, people!

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#20: Become A Runner

November 21st, 2008 Gina Posted in Fitness, Running 4 Comments »

running shoes Since I was old enough to know about exercise, I’ve always wanted to be a runner.  I doubt I’d be so drawn to it if I didn’t suck at it, so bad. 

I remember back in junior high and high school Physical Education, we were required to run a mile at the start of the year to assess our fitness level, then again at the end of the year to assess our progress.  We had 12 minutes to complete it.  Without fail, I was always the last one to cross the finish line.  To be an overweight teenage girl with low self-esteem, the only one left on the track and my classmates and teacher watching (some laughing) me struggling to make it to the end is one of the most horrible memories I carry.  Yes, I know, I’m being overly dramatic, but seriously, I nearly died from exhaustion and embarrassment.  To this day, I can see my mean bald teacher yelling at me on the last few yards about how "a snail can run faster than that!"  Coach Turner - you’re a mean old bastard and if I knew how to locate you all these years later I’d give you a nice lecture about destroying the fragile confidence of young girls (and boys).

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest…

I’m trying it again.  My girlfriends Laura and Erin and I have decided that the next time we get together (we all live in different states) we ought to try a 10K.  That’s a pretty tall order since I can’t even run 1K, but hey, what the hell.  I’m up for the challenge.  We’re still in the process of finding a race for sometime next spring in some awesome location (please leave suggestions in the comment area of you know of a good one), but the front-runners are New Mexico, Austin, Texas (I’m dying to visit this city), Arizona or Colorado. 

I found a Couch to 10K training program (listed below) and just completed week 2 yesterday.  Since I live in Chicago and it’s already freakin freezing outside, I’m running on the treadmill at a 2% incline. 

If you know me very well at all, you know I hardly ever finish anything, so I have no reason to believe I’ll complete this program.  Still, I thought share it with you.  You can follow my progress here.  Anybody wanna join me?

Coach to 10K Training program
Week 1

Session 1 - 34 min. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 8 times.

Session 2 - 28 min. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Session 3 - 31 min. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times.

Week 2

Session 1 - 38 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times.

Session 2 - 31 min. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times.

Session 3 - 34 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Week 3

Session 1 - 45 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times.

Session 2 - 34 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Session 3 - 40 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Week 4 - EASY RECOVERY WEEK

Session 1 - 40 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Session 2 - 30 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Do this 5 times.

Session 3 - 40 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 3 minutes. Do this 6 times.

Week 5

Session 1 - 46 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 9 times.

Session 2 - 34 min. Run 2 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 8 times.

Session 3 - 42 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 8 times.

Week 6

Session 1 - 52 min. Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.

Session 2 - 38 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.

Session 3 - 50 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 10 times.

Week 7

Session 1 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.

Session 2 - 40 min. Run 4 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 6 times.

Session 3 - 52 min. Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.

Week 8 *EASY RECOVERY WEEK

Session 1 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.

Session 2 - 38 min. Run 3 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.

Session 3 - 46 min. Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 6 times.

Week 9

Session 1 - 68 min. Run 10 minutes/walk 1 minute; Run 15 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 20 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

Session 2 - 46 min. Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 6 times.

Session 3 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.

Week 10

Session 1 - 72 min. Run 10 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 20 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 30 minutes.

Session 2 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.

Session 3 - 57 min. Run 20 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes/walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

Week 11

Session 1 - 71 min. Run 40 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 20 minutes.

Session 2 - 54 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 4 times.

Session 3 - 57 min. Run 20 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

Week 12 *EASY VOLUME WEEK

Session 1 - 60 min. Run 50 minutes.

Session 2 - 43 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 3 times.

Session 3 - 52 min. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

Week 13

Session 1 - 50 min. Run 40 minutes.

Session 2 - 43 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 3 times.

Session 3 Event Day 10K: have fun, and take care not to start out too quickly

image licensed by creative commons

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Why A Virtual Trainer Works For Me

September 5th, 2008 Gina Posted in Fitness, Virtual Trainer No Comments »

elliptical

Disclaimer: That’s not me on the elliptical (I wish!) but that is the elliptical I own

These days it seems like everybody has a trainer and a fancy gym membership to get the most out of their workouts.  Having somebody right there in your face to “motivate” you (yell at you, push you, kick your ass) can really make a difference in your workout, there’s not doubt about it.  There is just something about being accountable to somebody besides yourself that makes you give a little more. 

The problem with me and actual trainers is that (a.) I don’t have a gym membership and (b.) even if I did, I’m anti-social and (c.) working out (when I do it) is my “me time” and I do not really wish to share it with anybody.  I’m the type that’ll totally give you a dirty look if you jump on the treadmill next to me and try to strike up a conversation with me.  Hello!  I can barely breath here much less talk about whatever non-sense it is that you’re saying.  And besides - STRANGER DANGER!

A couple of years ago I read about virtual trainers in Women’s Health magazine and decided to give the one the magazine profiled a try.  What I liked about PlusOneActive (besides the magazine recommendations) was that they actually show you the available trainers with their picture and their bio so that you can pick somebody whose expertise and/or style matches your fitness goals. 

Jeannie Buckman was my trainer for nearly a year and with her help I achieved many of my fitness goals. (then gardening came into my life and my workouts have since gone down the toilet)

The way that this site works is that you choose a trainer then complete a very detailed fitness profile including telling them what your fitness goals are (weight loss, flexibility, cardiovascular etc…).  After that, you complete a survey of the equipment you have access to (none, some home equipment, gym membership etc…).  Your trainer will then use the information you provided to come up with some benchmarking exercises to really assess your physical fitness prior to developing a targeted workout for you.  Your workouts are loaded to your calendar each day and they even provide a video of how to correctly perform each one.  You log your workouts along with rating how easy or hard they are for you and the trainer comments and tweaks your workout along the way based on your feedback.  Jeannie is also a Wellness Coach so I was able to email her about all sorts of crap and she was great to respond with her advice. 

So I’ll be trying this for the next 3 months in an effort to get into just-in-case-I-decide-to-have-a-baby shape. 

If you decide to jump on the virtual trainer bandwagon with me, be sure to let them know that I referred you.  My username is ginag1 and my email account is gina6779 at gmail dot com. 

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