This Girl Can Too!

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." -- Confucius

I love the above video. Although I had watched it a while ago, a friend's recent post of the same this week reminded me to share it with you here. "This Girl Can" is a terrific campaign out of the UK that strives to help people overcome their insecurities so they can work out without fear. They have some great role models on their website and in their videos to help this campaign - I highly recommend you checking it out.

Friends have sometimes asked me how I overcame the fear of judgement by the meatheads at the gym when I started hitting the weight rack hard last winter. For me, this was easy... I honestly just don't care what people think, especially when I am working out in the gym. But I get it... It's easy for me to say that because I have worked out before. I know how to workout, and am not afraid of messing up when it comes to the gym. For many of you, however, I know it has to be hard to go to the gym when you're new to the gym scene. There's a fear of looking "stupid." There's the fear of looking fat. And lord knows that those of us with ample tops are concerned with bounce! Just keep in mind that everyone has to start somewhere. Even Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had a day one at some point.

Don't let the fear of other's opinions keep you from your goals. This is easier said than done - I totally get that - but fear is keeping all of us from living the best lives that we are totally capable of achieving. Women have curves... and curves jiggle. And that's ok! Move your body anyway. Be glad that you have a body capable of moving!

In other news, I signed up for a half marathon today! Hurray! I will be running (or walking... whatever) the Star Wars Half at Disneyland in January. This will be my first long haul race since college. I'm both nervous and excited! My main goal is to finish at the required pace - I'm currently running a 11-12 minute mile, and average a 14-15 minute/mile walking, so I think I'll be ok. That said, I haven't been able to maintain that pace so far much further than 3-5 miles, so endurance training will be key for me in the coming months. If I can finish the race at a 12 minute mile, I'll be happy. If I finish faster, I'll be overjoyed! Either way, I'm just glad that I have the will to try in the first place. If you'll be there too, let me know! I'd love to see you and maybe run or walk with you for a bit while we are there.

That's about it for me tonight, folks. Hope y'all have a pleasant weekend! Keep up the good work!

Cheers!

Becky

Ten Tunes Tuesday

"Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare." - Muhammad Ali

Hello my fit and not-so-fit friends! I can't believe it's already Tuesday... am I the only one experiencing a week that is just flying by? I also can't believe we're already well into the month of June. I declared 2015 my year back in February, but in doing so I didn't mean that I wanted to rush through it! Geez!

I spent the weekend at home this weekend, giving me lots of free time to check out new and exciting music to share for this week's Ten Tunes Tuesday post. I spent most of my weekend doing cardio - a huge departure for me lately, as I tend to be more of a gym rat lately. Give me a cold steel weight in my hand over a treadmill any day! Alas, I noticed that my energy levels in the last couple of weeks have considerably dropped, so I figured a few good pumps of the heart could be the ticket to renewed energy in the week ahead. So here it is - this week's top ten for the runner/spinner/sprinter in all of us:

1. Holychild - "Running Behind"
2. Jason Derulo - "Want to Want Me"
3. Hilary Duff - "Sparks"
4. Fall Out Boy - "Immortals"
5. Tove Lo - "Talking Body"
6. American Authors - "Best Day of My Life"
7. Calvin Harris - "Outside"
8. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Thrift Shop"
9. Fitz and The Tantrums - "The Walker"
10. Beyonce - "Run the World (Girls)" <-- Dedicated to Natasha (see below)

In case you were wondering, yes... I am a 15 year old girl trapped in a chubby, thirty-something body. Ha! Whatever... this music motivates me when I do my cardio!!!

Anyway, I just have to brag about my co-blogger before I close this post. I have been giving her grief about giving up on this little blog of ours, and she responded that she would write more but she just hasn't been very "fit" lately. I never believe her - this is the same girl who came to California on vacation, running a good 3-4 miles each day and saying that she was out of shape. Pft. Anyway, the day following her rant about her latest fitness disappointments, Natasha uploaded the below photo to Facebook, explaining "This is what you look like when crossing the finish line after a 4-miler in 90+ degree weather." SMH - this girl... 

So proud of you anyway, Tash! If a 4-miler in 90 degree weather is your idea of being lazy, I have a lot of catching up to do! Thanks for pushing me to do better :) (And to think I was proud of my little 3-4 mile power walks this weekend. Oy...) Until next time, my friends.

Cheers!

Becky

Weekending at Home

Hello, my friends! As many of you know, it's a rare weekend when I spend the entire weekend at home. I don't know why I am wired like this - I just hate sitting at home. But then again... California is an amazing place to live! There's just so much to do! I am not married, and I don't have kids, so I try to take advantage of that and get out to see new places as often as I can. This weekend, however, I ended up staying home. I wasn't looking forward to it at first - I really wanted to go hiking, or possibly go to the beach. In the end, I stayed home this weekend (my body needs a break), but I decided to use that opportunity to discover new neighborhood walks to fit in to my routine!

My first three mile walk was really just a power walk through my neighborhood. I'm a very lucky girl - my neighborhood (pictured above) is pretty great. Even before trying to get back into whole workout thing again in December, I regularly walked my dog through our neighborhood, and I have often commented on how beautiful it is. I have been doing all of my cardio at the gym lately - what the heck have I been thinking? 

Oh wait... NOW I remember! That sun is hot, y'all! It's fairly nice in the morning and the late evening, but my morning walk was interrupted by a few neighbors. It was enjoyable chit-chat, but man-oh-man did I burn! Check out my super red selfie that I took in my backyard. OUCH! Yet... the sun wasn't my only worry. I used to also be concerned that I couldn't go with as much intensity, or for as long, when the weather turned hot in the summer. If my Polar FT4 is correct, however, my 3 mile run/walk burned just over 600 calories! Woohoo!

Knowing that today was supposed to be even hotter than yesterday, I decided to wake up earlier today and walk along the river. I've walked this area with my dog before, but forgot that the bike trail itself was too busy to stay on it the entire time. Using the Map My Walk app, I mapped out a new four mile route using a combination of the bike trail and the sidewalk paths within the parks on either side of the highway. 

The bike path here is paved and well-maintained. North of where I started, it widens to allow for both foot and bike traffic on the trail. It's fairly well shaded by the trees that line the path, so this helped with the heat as the sun continued to rise too. 

The route I planned with Map My Walk eventually passes by a series of lakes and streams in an area park. If you've been following the news, you know that California is experiencing a terrible drought. When I've taken my dog to this park lately, the  lakes have been nearly dry and the fauna burnt and browning from the California heat. We experienced a couple of decent rainfalls last week, however, and it apparently replenished this park's lakes! It was such a pleasant surprise to walk by this morning.

Without the distraction of friendly neighbors, I was able to get a much more rigorous walk this morning. Granted, the calorie burn was less but that's only because the time it took me to finish my route was shorter too! I hear from friends and family every day that they "wish" they had access to a gym so they could work out like I do. What a terrible excuse! My sister, Rachel, has lost one hundred pounds, and she did it 100% at home. And at my most fit in college, I was doing almost everything outside. The lesson? You don't need a fancy gym or fancy workout equipment to keep your body in shape. Use what you have! Walk or run or bike outside. Do bodyweight exercises from the comfort of your living room. Keep your body moving. You only need to get your heart going for 30 minutes each day to make a difference. So tell me... what's your excuse now? :)

Cheers!

Becky