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Aloe Vera Tips & Solutions, Issue #015 - My Winter Exercise Plan March 04, 2013 |
Aloe Vera Tips & Solutions monthly newsletter/ezine of www.aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com avavavavavavavavavavavavavavavav Vol. 2 #15 March 4, 2013
Contents:
Taking Care of Myself - My Winter Exercise Plan We all know that we need good, consistent exercise for good health. If we sit or lie around, taking it easy, and eating, we'll feel contented for a while, but then we begin to gain weight, and grow flabby and weak. That's why countless people make resolutions at New Year's to exercise more and they even fork over money for gym fees, and try to make exercise a positive habit. If you did that two months ago, are you still at it? Have you started to skip sessions? Right, this is a touchy subject for many individuals. I'm normally quite self-disciplined, but I have not been able to work up any enthusiasm for exercise plans. Oh, I've made those resolutions too, and it doesn't take long until other things press in as far more urgent. Of course, not all my readers live here in the middle of the Canadian prairies, but for those who do, I'd like to share the remedy I've settled on. I trust the rest of you can adapt it to your location and lifestyle. In my case, I live 13 blocks from my office. It takes about 25 to 30 minutes to walk the distance one way. That's enough to get me somewhat winded most days, and downright exhausted when I'm walking through a snow storm, bucking a sharp windchill from the north. So I call that my exercise plan, and I walk every day except those when I know I'll need the car to run errands before and after office hours. Or during the day too. My exercise plan is fairly easy on me in the summer time, (I stroll slower and admire flowers in various front yards), but in the winter I put my lunch and some office books in my backpack, and I often have to "bundle myself up" as I call it when it is super cold. I dress in layers, with long johns, padded ski pants, 4 pairs of socks in boots, and a toque with a wind-breaker liner that I sewed to button into it, plus a down-filled coat with a huge hood. I also made some large square mittens of the wind-breaker material and arctic fleece to wear over other gloves and mittens. With all that bundling, I have managed to do my walks to and from the office in -36 Celsius temperatures. (I think a few times it was down to -42C). This winter we've had extra snowfalls too, so nearly every day there are my own paths to shovel out, the shorter front one, and the sidewalk along my property, and then the longer garden path to my car in the tent-garage. No flu or cold bug has touched me this winter, and I feel stronger than I have for years. Mind you, I take Vitamin D as extra insurance. Again, I don't know whether you have such weather challenges, but surely you can adapt. Find a reason to go for walks about three to five times a week, and carrying a load helps to strengthen your bones and muscles at the same time.
A Practical Tip/Solution - Get Paid for Exercising My exercise plan is totally free. No gym fees or special clothes to buy. Although good, comfortable and warm winter outerwear is a given. It could be a paying proposition if you took a paper route. You can get paid for exercising. I've recently seen ads asking for carriers to work up to two hours a day delivering fliers and they will make from $150 to $600 a month. I don't have time to take that on, but cash income can often be a great motivating factor. There's a creative solution to almost every problem - if you just study and think about it.
I Can Recommend - Walking for Good Reasons What got me to thinking about sharing my exercise plan is that in the last two weeks I've had a great number of what I call "adventures" - unexpected things happening to me. I bought a better used car, and that same evening the old one was backed into by someone else. The next day a large portion of my ceiling fell down in the pantry, a storage room off my kitchen. Since it is an old house built in 1926, there was some concern that I might have asbestos insulation in the attic, and since it was disturbed, by law it would have to be ALL be removed. The lab tests have come back negative, so I'm just waiting now for the ceiling to be replaced. [In case you're curious enough to look for photos, check out my weekly, inspirational blog; The RoseBouquet] Meantime, I was asked to try to empty the room. Well, I've lugged and dragged many bins and containers of things out of there, and stacked them up in other parts of the house and taken some down to the basement. In all of this moving effort, even though I got exhausted at times and sat down, or stopped for that day, I noticed that I had far more stamina and strength than I'd realized. It occurred to me that I should take this opportunity today to recommend incorporating walking and yard work, such as shoveling snow in winter, raking and weeding a garden in summer, sensible and pleasurable ways to build up and keep yourself in good health. Maybe you live in an apartment and have no walks to clear of snow, or garden to care for, and no time to take on a paper route, but if you pray and think about it, a plan WILL come to you that is perfect for you. Yes, you'll have to give up some of your precious time for this, but if you give yourself something meaningful to do as part of your walks - such as praying for family and friends, another thing I incorporate into my walks, your exercise will be something you look forward to, and learn to love.
Contact & Policies - Constant CONTACT INFO: Ruth Marlene Friesen (306)856-7785 Ruth@aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com
POLICIES: I am definitely against S/p/a/m! I Will NOT share your COPYRIGHT (c)2013 Ruth Marlene Friesen
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