Earlier this month, I greatly enjoyed the FitCity Indy Fit Chat on Twitter. Did you attend?
This first one was on fitness, particularly on staying motivated in the winter months. And something from that hour-long Twitter chat actually stayed with me. Crazier still – 2 things stayed with me!
First Thing: The trainer – Matt from the Indianapolis YMCA – said that we should be getting 60 minutes of activity each day. I balked. How on earth am I supposed to find an entire HOUR to dedicate to EXERCISE every single DAY? Was he nuts?
My day starts at 5:30… we are out the door before 7. One child goes to school, the other to daycare. Off on a 30+ minute commute to work. I work fulltime in an office in a pretty demanding position. Then it’s the mad dash home in rush hour traffic to get the kids from those different locations on opposite ends of Fishers, get everyone home, get dinner on the table, bath time, bedtime, hopefully squeezing in some time with each kid. Then I collapse on the couch after the kids finally stop fighting and go to sleep.
And that’s on a normal night. Don’t get me started on days that include activities or commitments! Where on earth would I find a solid 60 minutes to dedicate to being active?
Worse… he said this: BTW…You can’t count regular physical activity as “exercise” – aim for 60 mins. above daily activity.
Ack! See my heart palpitation? Right there… 60 minutes a day for exercise? I’m lucky to hit the gym 3 days a week on my lunch hour!
Thankfully, there was a bit more to the story!
I said: 60 mins above daily activity. That frustrates me. My day ends and I am so exhausted. Finding another hour in my day? WALL!
Response: You can break it up in 10-15 min chunks throughout day.
Now that feels manageable! That is something I can work with.
Now I am on a mission. Finding things I can do in 10-15 minutes chunks. One day at work, I stood up and did lunges and marching in place and squats at my desk while on a conference call (with my office door shut). We had a lunch hour where we stayed in but took 20 minutes to go and walk up and down a hallway, back and forth, back and forth.
Days that I hit the gym make it easier. I get 30 minutes of pretty intense activity on those days. What I need now is to stay motivated to find 3-4 chunks of time during the day where I can get up and walk or stretch or do crunches…
Second Thing: I work for 3M here in Indianapolis and we have a fitness challenge starting up. I’ve joined a team and we each set goals; some might go for weight loss, some for physical activity. We get pedometers and some other things to motivate us. I’m really impressed with my company’s dedication to encouraging employees to be healthy. This is a corporate initiative and there are lots of resources and programs available to help employees get healthy and stay healthy. I’m really impressed with my company’s dedication to encouraging employees to be healthy.
Now, I haven’t worn a pedometer in about a year but I think I’m going to get back into the mode of aiming for 10,000 steps every day. I know I’m well below that mark right now. The really cool thing? Accountability and partnership. That was something else we talked about on the Indy Fit Chat. I have found that having a team, a workout buddy, friends who check in and help me stay motivated really makes a huge difference. There was a user on the chat- Flourish Girl - and I’m hoping she was sincere in wanting to work together to be accountable to each other!
From the chat:
FitCity/Matt: Another tip is to stay accountable to someone else. Find your FitCity Friend to keep you motivated.
FitCity/Matt: Especially during cold months, there are many others feeling same frustrations. Make connections=fighting fatigue
Flourish_Girl: How does one get connected w/ an accountability fitness friend w/ FitCity?
Me: Use the bloggers! I’d love to hook up for some accountability with other FC Friends!
Would you share your ideas with me? I want to know how you work extra activity into your day. I want your ideas on ways to get those 60 minutes of additional activity in every day. I want to hear about your partnerships and how that helps you stay motivated! And let’s use these blog entries as a way to share ideas, be accountable, get connected and keep moving!
Participate in the next Indy Fit Chat on Feb. 23. Starting at 6:30 p.m. EST, FitCity’s guest Annessa Chumbley (@Flourish_Girl) will give her Grocery Survival Strategies. Find out how you can get the healthiest trip through your local grocery and ask questions about portion control, food labels and more. Search #indyfitchat on Twitter or follow @fitcityindy to be a part of the conversation on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
Tags: 3M, exercise, fitness, motivation, twitter
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Absolutely amazing that 3M is dedicated to it’s employees! Outstanding!
I’m really eager for it to start- competition is good for me. Having a team rely on me is good for me. I’m setting some goals that are attainable but that will take dedication to complete. I’m not setting a weight loss goal but I am setting “minutes exercised daily” and “number of steps” goals.
There are hundreds of teams competing across 3M. They do award prizes to the winning team… but I’m really just excited to win the real prize. Being healthier! Sounds cheesy but I really mean it.
I’m with you Liz. Sixty minutes seems like a lot to ask for everyday. I am so not there yet. On our good days here are two things that help: 1) the dog and 2) our ping pong table. My dog looks at me with those little eyes, and I’m out the door for a nice, long walk. Second, we bought a ping pong table for Christmas and it’s helping our family get off the couch and go downstairs to play more. I know some of you are probably tired of hearing about that darn ping pong table, but it really has made a difference. I’m not just barking, “Turn off that TV”! I can say, “Who thinks they can beat mom at ping pong today”?
Wow- the description of your day sounds almost exactly like mine. 2 kids (3 and 3 months), different daycare/preschool in morning- 40 min commute to Knightstown from Indy and back again. To fit in my time (and some days it really is a challenge!)- I do several things- I make appointments for myself (just like we would for the kids, etc) that can’t be missed- that is my time. And whether its on the treadmill at home (I’m training for the Mini and a Ragnar Relay) or at the gym by my office, I don’t make it an option to miss. So- 2x a week, I work through my lunch (still eating- just working while I do) to leave early to get to the gym before I pick up the kids and 2x a week my husband does the duty of taking both kids to preschool/daycare so that I can go in to work early and flex my day to leave early and hit the gym. Then there are the weekends- much easier to find those 60 minutes then (most of the time).
Like I said- I have a 3 month old. When I was pg with her, I signed up for 6 races to motivate myself to get back on track with training for them. It has helped to keep me focused on what I must accomplish to finish those races. Plus- several of them involve friends of mine that I wouldn’t want to let down (and I also have a competitive spirit). I joined the Running Company’s running club/mini training program for Saturdays- this gives me a group effort to look forward to each week.
My husband parks far enough away from his work that his walk (at a brisk pace) is still 15 minutes one way- so he gets in 30 mins a day right there. I suppose you could say that that is regular daily activity- but this isn’t like walking around his office building. Its part of his daily routine- but there are fitness benefits to it.
Hey Liz! I sure did mean it! And thanks for another great Indy Fit Chat last night. I always end up feeling like working out is the last great piece to my wellness puzzle, and if it doesn’t fit EXACTLY in (and all the planets aligned:), it doesn’t happen! It’s also the piece that makes me feel best.
My roles just recently switched from working 50+ hrs/wk to now staying home with my baby girl, and only “going to work” one day weekly. My other time is filled with trying to get my business, Flourish!, off the ground with various projects. I remember when I was a full-time worker, my thoughts were…”…I can’t WAIT to stay home with my baby. I’ll have ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!” Other moms looked at me like I was crazy, and now I see why. I LOVE it, but I think I need to work on defining a schedule for myself, and writing exercise into that.
What are your specific fitness goals? Want to use FitCity or Facebook to keep eachother accountable and check-in weekly? Any other ideas? Who else is in?????
Do you have stairs in your house? A few trips up and down in the morning and night could add 2 blocks? What about that Wii…get your kiddos to play too
@Jennifer My daughter loves doing exercise at night. Mostly on the Wii Fit but I’m working on us just doing a little routine together. When they are a little bigger, I know there will be more demands to do fun, active things! Unfortunately, our dog isn’t much help. She’s an 8 lb toy poodle- and she’s 11.5 years old. She isn’t much for big walks unless the weather is perfect. And then she only lasts about 1/2 mile!
@Emily I find it easier to find the time on the weekends- but so much more challenging to find the motivation!!! I wish I could add more walking into my work routine. I work in an office park so there isn’t a lot of walking space from lot to building. But there is a lot of room inside so I do try to get in some laps or take the long way or walk at my desk! My friend and I (we work together but were friends before that) have talked about signing up for a 5k at some point… but I have a ways to go first!
@Annessa Good!! We can keep in touch more often on Facebook, for sure. But I also love the idea of coming back and commenting here to share ideas on keeping active and finding those little pockets of extra activity! I also used to wish that I could stay at home with my kids and dreamt of how much time I’d have… and while staying home never became a reality, I know I’d just fill up my time with all kinds of additional commitments and plans!
@Ashli We have a half set of stairs. (bi-level house) I’m trying to think where I might find steps (besides the gym- we run those pretty regularly, too). But that is definitely a way to up activity!
You guys have inspired me!!
My evening routine is usually to get the kids in bed and collapse on the couch, surf the net, watch TV… Tonight, I’m committing to at LEAST 15 minutes of activity in front of the TV! Marching, lunges, squats, crunches.