Grandma's Getting Fit!

Yes, Grandma's Getting Fit!  My goal (a non-resolution, I'll explain later) is to get fit, starting this year.  I am turning my attention towards myself for a change and doing what "I" need to do for "Me".  Part of this includes getting my hormones in balance.  I met with a new doctor on Wednesday who specializes in Peri-Menopause & Menopause (PM&M).  I did not even know that PM&M specialists even existed.  I learned about them in the new book titled "Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness" that I recently posted a review on.

The next part of getting fit involves physical fitness.  Here in our small town we have an AWESOME city-owned gym.  It is like what you might find in a large metropolitan city that would cost you lots!  Our community wants to promote health & fitness, so they built this facility that is about the size of a city block and is 2 stories high.  Besides having all the typical exercise equipment it also has a heated (we are in snow country) indoor lap pool, a water slide (that doesn't dump you out in the lap area, lol), a wadding pool for the kiddo's, a childcare center, a full-size basketball court, an indoor jogging/walking track that overlooks the basketball court, several racket/hand ball courts, a juice bar, multiple group sessions like aerobics, yoga, etc, and a locker room for women, men, and a family room too!  And the membership is so cheap.


So the hubs and I joined the gym on January 13th.  Why is that day so significant to me?? I will tell you...22 years ago, on January 13th, I decided that I was going to quit smoking.  Yes, Nanny Anna was a smoker, Yuck!  I had tried many, many times before to quit but had zero success.  I cannot tell you how many New Years Resolutions I proclaimed I was going to quit, but by the 13th of the month I was smoking again and hating myself for failing again.  Then one day on the 13th of January, 22 years ago, my youngest daughter Whitney was in kindergarten.  As part of the D.A.R.E program in our community a law enforcement officer was visiting her classroom and talking about drugs and how drugs effect our lives.  He also mentioned that the Surgeon General had declared that Smoking cigarettes was also considered a drug because it is addictive.  So my sweet little angel raises her hand to tell this officer that her mommy uses drugs...OMG! I could have died at that moment!  I do not use drugs and never have, so I was so embarrassed, because my daughter thought her mommy was a drug user!   There was my motivation. I threw away my cigarettes that day and never smoked again.


So this year I decided to make my non-resolution to get fit. I want to become stronger, leaner, healthier, and hopefully if my knees will carry me through, I want to get back to jogging again.  I hope to lose some weight along the way but I am not going to diet per-say, I hate dieting.  I will be more conscious of what I eat, and how much, but life is too short to deprive myself of the little pleasures of no-no foods once in a while.  I also want to put some more focus into my emotional and mental fitness too.  I plan to put my store, and the hours I put into it, back in to proper prospective...allowing me some free time to do more of the things that I use to do that brought me great pleasure.   And because I want all of this to be as lasting as my 22 years of non-smoking, I thought it only appropriate to get started on this new goal on January 13th.

I have decided to keep a journal of my progress here in my blog.  So feel free to check up on me along the way by clicking on the header link 'Grandma's Getting Fit'.  I welcome any words of encouragement or kicks in the butt, as needed.


January 14, 2011: My first workout at the gym.  I have not exercised in a really long time.  It has been almost 3 years since I last jogged.  So I am out of shape!  For my first day at the gym, sporting my new exercise outfit, I thought something low impact would be a good start, so I did a Fat Burning workout on the incline bike.  My sweet husband, who is still a daily jogger and really, really wanted to hit the indoor track, chose to park himself on an exercise bike next to me so I would not feel alone on my first day in the new gym.  What a sweety he is.  I did 30 minutes on the bike.  I think I did okay, I was not sweating like crazy, or totally out of breath, but my butt and leg muscles were tingling for a while afterward.  That is to be expected, those poor muscles have not done much lately sitting at my desk shipping orders, lol.

I think I will bring a set of headphones with me next time so I can actually hear what is being said on the multiple TV monitors around the room.  I need to also remember to bring my bottle of water, I sure got thirsty on the bike and had nothing to drink.  I feel good for doing it and I am looking forward to tomorrow when we go back again.  We decided to go every other day if our schedules permit it.  Hopefully Sunday will not be a busy day, I don't like people standing around waiting for you to get off the equipment.  I feel better already...just because I have made the commitment to do this.

Have you set new goals for yourself this year? You should join me in taking an interest in your own health and happiness, after all, you can take better care of your family if you are in good health and spirits yourself.