The Exercise Motivation Thread 2020

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Willow's Mom

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I finally found a form of exercise that I LOVE and lost 80+ lbs last year. It wasn't just the weight, but I went from being not medically disabled but a lump on a couch that needed to ask her son to do things for her to a childless toothless homeless of indeterminate age or gender dancing in the rain, climbing trees, and tootling little folk songs on my recorder in the woods.

You can't look back when you're moving on, and since I actually do have a rented house that needs proper maintenance and codependant issues I thought it might be a good idea to post.

That way when I see a sunny day coming up and my vet asks if it's a good day for my dog's appointment, I'll have enough of a reality check to say "No".

ETA: I'm a day hiker. I like bicycling too, but I can't afford the repair bill right now.
 

Tobermory

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I remember participating in a steps challenge at work the year before I retired. Everyone aimed for 10,000 a day, but almost no one made it. Since I retired, I've tried to walk two to three miles every day at a fast enough pace to get my heart rate up and have just ignored the steps. So I was particularly heartened to read an article on NPR last spring about a new study conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital. I've posted the link, below, about it. It involved 17,000 women (!) with an average age of 72. Really interesting results!

10,000 Steps A Day? How Many You Really Need To Boost Longevity

Here's the article on the findings in JAMA: Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women

Long story short, I'm shooting for 4,400 a day. I did 4,485 this morning. Whew! Just made it! Also, today was my first day working on strengthening and toning. I did two sets of 15 reps each on two different machines for leg strength, and I was barely able to stagger around when I was done! :lol: Tomorrow I'll do my walking and then work on arm and chest muscles. I'm highly motivated: We moved to a retirement community at the beginning of October, and while I'm probably one of the youngest people here (in my mid-60s), I can see my future every day when I look at the residents in their 70s, 80s, 90s, and yes, 100s. I want to be bopping around like so many of the active 80- and 90-somethings here!
 

Norachan

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Those horses are gorgeous.
Thank you. They are lovely, aren't they?

You are so good about staying about active!
Thanks. I'm lucky enough to live in an area that's perfect for outdoor stuff. :)

I didn't have time to walk yesterday, but I did two 45 minute yoga practices.
 

rubysmama

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I shoveled snow for 50 minutes today, so guess I got in some upper body exercise.

I've read that about the 10,000 steps before. The most interesting tidbit in that article is:
"Another surprise: The benefits of walking maxed out at about 7,500 steps. In other words, women who walked more than 7,500 steps per day saw no additional boost in longevity. "

I'm currently at 6820 steps for today. Should make it to 7,000, but probably not 7,500. Although, maybe if I walk around the house a bit, like M maggiedemi does, I'll make it. ;)
 

Winchester

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I've read articles about not really needing 10,000 steps a day. But at this point, I'm so used to getting my 10,000 steps in every day that I'm just going to keep doing it. Actually, most days, I end up with more and that's Ok, too. I used to get 20,000+ daily steps, but I'm not trying it anymore....it's too much and I have other things to do. Fitbit is concerned with getting Active Minutes in, too, so I try to work on getting about 60 Active Minutes a day.

Now, if I could get off my lazy butt to get in an 30 minute exercise routine 3 times a week, I'd be doing well! I love to walk, hate to exercise.

Yesterday (Wednesday) - 13,739 steps for the day
Walked 3 miles this morning, which is about 6,000 steps, give or take. According to my Fitbit, 2,000 steps is about one mile. (It depends on individual stride length)

Rick and I have a routine down now for emptying the dishwasher, scooping boxes, etc. He does both chores on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I do those chores on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, although I usually end up scooping boxes on his days, too. That means that, as soon as I'm done giving breakfast to the girls, I can start walking right away while he does the dishwasher and boxes. I find that, if I get some walking in first thing in the morning, I'm more apt to do it. If I wait until the afternoon or (God forbid) evening, I won't walk; by that time, I'm working on something else and the walking doesn't happen.

In addition to my morning walks, I'm also trying faithfully to get in 250-500 steps every hour between 6 am and 4 pm. I started doing that when I was working, simply because I didn't want to sit at my desk for hours at a time. And since I retired, I've been continuing my hourly walks. Every little bit helps. Esp at this time of year.

I'll shut up now.
 

MoochNNoodles

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Don’t you hate it when your Fitbit gets all judge-y and disapproving? :lol:
It gave me my first boat shoe badge earlier. Is that cool or a diss?? :dunno:

I suppose this was better than the first night when it told me I was awake from 1:49 until 3:37. I mean I was aware of this...but I didn't quite need the specifics. I should have had one of these when my kids were babies!! :dizzy:
 

Winchester

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MoochNNoodles MoochNNoodles You got the boat shoe badge by walking 5,000 steps in one day. As you progress and do different things, you'll get more badges. The badges themselves don't mean much, but hopefully you'll feel good when you get one. My last badge was the hiking boots for walking 35,000 steps in one day (we were sightseeing in Canada at the time). There are badges for distance and for floors, as well as weight loss. Here's a list of badges and what they mean: Presenting the Official List of Fitbit Badges. How Many Do You Have?

I try to walk at least 250 steps every hour from 6 am to 4 pm throughout the week. If I don't have my steps in by 10 minute before the hour is up, my Fitbit will beep (it yells at me!) to tell me to get off my butt. I have mine synced into my phone, too, so that if I get a text or somebody calls me, it will also show up on my Fitbit. Easier than making a made dash for my phone.

Yesterday (Thursday) - 13,190 steps for the day
Walked 3 miles this morning
 

Winchester

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You tell the Fitbit what your weight is and it will keep track. You tell it what your starting weight is. Then every time you weigh yourself, enter that into your phone. You'll get a badge whenever you lose the required weight for that badge. They send you the badge by email.

Unfortunately, for people like me who've already lost weight and then regained it, you don't get the badges again when you start losing the weight again. Which is proper, I guess.
 

rubysmama

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I have no idea how many steps I do. But I noticed a big difference when I increased from 1 hour walk to 2 hour walk per day.
You could guesstimate. Just count your steps for a 5 minutes when you're walking. Then multiply by 12 for the steps per hour. Won't include just regular walking around, of course, but will give you a bit of an idea.
 
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