Ah Friday
... time for the Friday Five and my weekly recap and weigh-in.
Although I haven't missed a weekly weigh-in, I've been a little slow at getting them up (usually on Saturday or Sunday). I have NOT been participating in the various Friday Five link-ups for a bit. I saw the theme the DC Bloggers (Courtney, Mar and Cynthia) put out ... Five Favorite Indoor Workouts, and thought I'd link up this week.
I am an indoor workout gal. The extremes in weather, bugs, traffic, people looking at you, dogs ... I just don't want to deal with it. I love having a home gym where I am super spoiled with equipment, in charge of what I watch, and it takes just one moment to go from home to gym and back again. I do have FIVE main types of exercise that I rotate through ...
- Elliptical ... is my go to machine. I almost always get in an hour a day. I never actually do an hour at a time, but small 10-20 minute segments spread out. Admittedly, I am usually in my workout wear (comfy clothes, sports bra) most of the day, but even if I'm not, I can still just jump on the elliptical for a few minutes for an energy boost, getting some "steps" in. I like that it's low impact, quiet, and I can wear slippers (I don't like shoes!).
- Treadmill ... I'll either hit the treadmill for a quick one mile run (ok, it's been a while since I've done that) or commit to a longer (30+min) workout. I mean, if I'm going to go to all the effort of putting on shoes and socks ... I know many dislike the "dreadmill" but I love seeing an exact count of my distance and speed, of putting on a program to watch and entertain me (although it is noisy, I need subtitles), and I really like the option of incline. Often I'll use the treadmill for "hikes" to up my calorie burn.
- Stationary Bike ... I wasn't a fan of the bike. It was a pain in the butt (literally!) and I wouldn't get "steps" on my Fitbit. But, I've found it's the perfect time to read my book. Instead of laying or sitting down, I read while I ride. Admittedly, I'm not putting my whole heart into this "workout", it's pretty low-key, but I really enjoy my read/ride time and actually feel I concentrate better on my book!
- Strength Training ... we have a nice weight set up in our home gym, but all I really need are some dumbbells and the bench. At times I've worked with a DVD (30DS for example) but more often I just have a full body workout I do on my own. I have been a little lax in my weights for a while, I need to get back, always getting it in at least once a week!
- Zumba ... of course I can't leave out ZUMBA! I started one year ago and am absolutely addicted. I go to classes Mon-Fri mornings. All different locations and instructors (and all free ... I love that, as I don't want to buy a gym membership for classes as I have my home gym which as outlined above, I am very content with!). I do occasionally workout out at home, sometimes a full hour, or just one song here and there throughout the day as I have a spare five minutes.
Because I not only have easy access to all these indoor workouts, but actually enjoy all these indoor workouts, I have no excuses! I do usually get in quite a bit of exercise/activity. I wish the fitness alone could keep me slender and healthy, but NO, food plays a part too. Dang it, I'm not nearly as good with my eating. And with that I'll transition into my weekly weigh-in and recap of the week.
It was a pretty good week. Very routine, set structure. No excuses. I had a 1.2 pound loss from last week's weigh-in (average went up a smidgen though). I Zumba-ed each week day, double on Thursday evening. Elliptical and bike every week day too. Only one small treadmill time and ... no weights this week. Oops! I really meant to either on Tuesday or Friday but then it didn't happen. I really controlled calories on Monday, then went totally overboard on Tuesday. My average intake for the week was 2236. Average burn was 2848. Crunching the numbers I ended up with a deficit of -2435.
I've just spent SO long in this 150-155 range ... I just need to drop to the 140-149 range and then I'll be fine maintaining. So close, yet sometimes feels so far ...
Not sure which Fitbit you have but it is possible to get "steps" on an exercise bike. I am using my old Fitbit One right now (have a Charge HR on order) and I keep it in my pocket and it counts steps.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a Force which I wore on my wrist (returned due to recall) and it didn't count steps, of course. However, if I fed it through my shoe laces it would count step. My husband has a Flex and can do that also.
I have the One, and I do put it on my sock for my bike workout. For my 10 miles/37 minutes, I usually get just over 2000 steps. For some reason Fitbit overestimates on the calorie count though (often crediting my 400), so I end up logging the bike ride manually (and reducing my burn to 100, which is low, but I think the Fitbit overestimates a couple other workouts by a bit, so it's how I even things out). I still do get my "steps" that way though. As important as the steps are, I need to SEE my workout as a little spike on my daily graph :)
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