30 mins daily cardio!

A few months ago, my weekday morning Nia classes changed days and overlapped Zumba classes at the Y. Like rock paper scissors, Nia wins over Zumba anytime. Unfortunately, this meant that instead of having at least 5 dance workouts a week, I was down to 3. And since my hands/wrists hurt, I've retired from racquetball until after I pop and recover. So I've not been to the Y for the longest time.

That's gotta change, though. Due to genetics (thanks, father's side of the family!), I'm now having to deal with gestational diabetes. Apart from watching the food intake (quantity *and* quality) and monitoring my blood sugar levels, I need to be exercising more. 30mins of cardio daily should make a world of difference.

The weather's *finally* warmed up enough to warrant walks outside... except that the neighborhood we live in isn't that great a place to take a stroll through..

So I'm back at the Y. Wanted to bike the 30mins but the baby bump was totally in the way. I am not a fan of the treadmill. Why hello there, elliptical machine, it's been a while, eh? Wasn't planning on spending all 30 mins on my feet what with the edema and all, but what to do...

The newer silver machine I used on Thursday said that my 35 min workout took me 1.73 miles. My heartrate was slightly elevated, but I kept an eye on it and how I felt, made sure the max measured was 160 bpm.

I actually felt my body working... as in, ooops I guess I've been taking it *too* easy these past few months, being happy to just move around for an hour at a time, and not concerning myself about whether or not I was cardio-ing. My legs ACHED afterwards and the next day. I followed-up the cardio with some very basic weights on the balance ball. Didn't stretch much though, that didn't help with the leg aches, I'm sure.

The next day (Friday, i.e. today!) I had to use the older black machine, and already we're comparing apples and oranges... I put in 25 mins and took it easy. I did feel I was working a bit harder than the day before (different machine, different Level 1 settings?) but I don't believe I did 2.22 miles in 25 mins. My heart rate was slightly higher too, I think I caught it at 164 bpm a few times. Overall, however, I felt good.

I also made it a point to get on the floor mat and just do some hamstring stretches and butterfly stretches, taking my time, sinking into them, taking it easy. I think my muscles are a LOT happier with me as a result.

This weekend involves travel and limited exercise opportunities: if nothing else, I'll be back on the elliptical on Monday then.

Have a great weekend!

(image sources: diabetes and stretch)

calories vs posture?

Every day I browse through the rotating headlines on the Yahoo! main page, clicking the ones that catch my eye. Today, my eye was caught, but in a very bad way:

What's wrong with this picture?

After a few hours of hunching over the desk like that, what are the chances that this woman isn't going to be able to stand upright, and will be suffering from a lot of low back, shoulder and neck pain? How ironic would it be to stand at the desk to burn that extra 60 cals/hour only to find out you can't do any yoga, cardio, dance, etc, because you've hurt yourself by standing (improperly) at your desk?

fyi the actual article talks about "... drafting-style tables and high chairs for office workers, which gives you the option of working on your feet most of the day and sitting down to take breaks ..." so at least that is okay *if* one bothers to actually read it!

It would be nice to have a (stock) photo that actually fits the article it illustrates, y'know?

(image: screenshot of Yahoo! main page, April 6th 2011)