Exercise Challenge!

I've got a growing list of things to get around to once I'm finished school. It's a file on my desktop called 'afterApril22'. That's the day of my last exam (perhaps my last exam ever) after which I will suddenly have a lot more free time. Top of the list is to start exercising again. Last year at this time I was going to two fitness classes a week, during the summer I did lots of walking & some biking. But the past two semesters I've been too busy to fit any classes into my schedule & I've used the weather as an excuse not to get out for walks. Consequently, I'm not feeling all that fit & I know I've gained weight. What I used to refer to as my 'bagel' (the flab around my navel) has become a bundt cake. Running for buses leaves me breathless & I'm feeling a lot of aches & pains.

Today I started thinking, why wait until I'm finished school to start exercising? It just reminded me of a joke apron that my dad got as a gift years ago, emblazoned with, 'My diet starts on Monday'. I will have a lot more free time after April 22nd, but if I can get in some exercise it now while I still have two weeks of classes to go, things will be a cinch later, right? So, today I dusted off the stationary exercise bike that I bought a couple of years ago & have rarely used. I hopped on & rode for about 22 minutes.

My goals & how you can help, after the jump...

I also decided that I need a specific goal to keep me on track. I thought I'd try using the Public Health Agency of Canada's guidelines as a jumping off point:

1. Be active at least 2.5 hours a week to achieve health benefits.
2. Focus on moderate to vigorous aerobic activity throughout each week, broken into sessions of 10 minutes or more.
3. Get stronger by adding activities that target your muscles and bones at least two days per week.

I think to start with I'll keep it simple & shoot for 30 minutes of exercise a day.

& now for your role in all this: you, my dear readers, are going to help me stick to this plan. Every evening I'll post a short summary of my exercise for the day: activities, number of minutes, intensity & what, if any, impact it has on me. These posts will help me remember what I did & help me focus on the benefits of getting off my ass. It'll also motivate me because if I just don't post anything or I report that I only did 7 minutes one day, for example, you'll know. Encouraging comments are muchly appreciated! Or you could even join in the fun with your own blog/status updates/tweets about your exercising... Anyone? Anyone?

So, without further ado, today's exercise report:

• 22 minutes of stationary cycling
• vigorous intensity (130-140bpm heart rate)
• got my circulation going: I was chilly before my ride, but felt much warmer for hours afterward