Power Roaming the Halls

I am not generally known for my outstanding physical health. Sure I dabble in a yoga or zumba class now and again, but people certainly are not flocking to me to learn my secrets of how to be in awesome shape. :)

I totally get the benefit of exercise. I always feel better after I do it. But, and I think this probably applies to a lot of people, sometimes exercise is better in theory. Am I right? :) When I was growing up I took several ballet classes a week and I loved to dance so that pretty much took care of it. But as I've gotten older it's been harder to stay in shape and find exercise I enjoy. For a while I was jogging but to  be honest it was killing my hips and knees. I think that has something to do with the years of ballet, but that's neither here nor there. I never really liked yoga but then I went to this great local place called Brown Dog Yoga and really enjoyed it. The only thing is it's a little pricey (totally worth the money, but hard if you don't have a lot!) and also I have to find classes that fit in my schedule. Oh, along with that I should also say that I like to exercise right after work, so I don't have time to go home and sit around and get too wrapped up in reading blogs or watching Hart of Dixie to leave again. Just sayin'.

I think we all know those people (and if you are one of these people KUDOS) who seem to have this awesome workout regimen they stick to. I envy these people, I really do. But I don't know how they deal with the unexpected like a meeting that comes up or something like that. Anyways. If I go a couple days without exercising I start feeling really guilty. Not only because I feel kind of like a lump but also because I think that I'm really neglecting to take care of this body God gave me and the ability I have to walk, run, dance and do yoga. The lumpy feelings may also be attributed to the amount of Sheetz nachos I eat, who's to say. :) I wrote a couple of days ago about trying to turn over a new leaf with the foods I buy and what I cook, etc. but the other big component to overall health is exercise and I'm not getting enough of it.

Regularly on Mondays I go to yoga from 5-6 p.m. Usually nothing interferes with this class. But the rest of the week usually gets jumbled up with school, dance and other things. A couple days ago an idea popped into my head and I decided to run with it. Or walk with it as the case may be. You see...

I work in an office complex that is quite large. It used to be a department store. Basically there are three long hallways that run parallel to each other and then one connecting hallway that runs through the middle of all of them. There are offices as well as unfinished offices that line those halls. But the halls are big, open and uncrowded. I can't quite remember how this idea came to me, but I decided that I could power walk those halls for 30 minutes at lunch every day. Kinda like a senior citizen mall walker but in my office. The truth is, I usually get an hour for lunch and if I'm not running a personal errand I usually spend that hour at my desk. I like to bring lunch from home to save money and I usually eat it while sitting at my desk. It probably goes without saying (especially if you sit at a desk all day) that sitting at a desk all day is ROUGH. Like I think it's actually killing me. So stepping away for 30 minutes at lunch every day to power walk seems like a super good idea for several reasons.

Clearly I didn't take this professional shot with my camera phone but this is what my work halls look like. Three of these longies with a long one connecting them. 

First, it gets me away from my desk. (Duh. Just checking your reading comprehension I guess.) Second, if school/dance/meetings prevent me from taking a yoga or other class in the evenings - whether I know the problem will occur or something pops up last minute - then at least I can feel good about the fact I at least moved for 30 minutes. Sure I am not running a marathon or even a 5k - well I guess I'm not running at all! - but a 30 minute power walk five days a week is not something to be ashamed of by any means! I've been doing this for two days now and it feels awesome. I left a pair of sweatpants, a tee-shirt and my tennis shoes at work, and I just quickly change into those at noon, do my power walk, then come back to the office and put my work clothes back on! Then I still have another 20-25 minutes left to eat my packed lunch.

Another bonus of the 30 minute power walk? It is THE perfect length to say a rosary. Seriously, so awesome. I just open my Laudate app where you can listen to a rosary podcast and get to work. There is nothing in the halls distracting me so I can just walk and do the rosary.

So in the past couple of days I've gone from spending an hour flipping through Facebook or whatever to exercising and praying. Guys - 30 minutes. That's all it takes.