As I was pushing Olivia's stroller up some very steep hills today at our Local Theme Park, my husband made a comment about how our season passes may lead us to trim down quite a bit this summer. Local Theme Park is built into a hill. Since the entrance is at the top of the hill and the waterpark is at the bottom, you usually have to use the very last of your strength to get yourself out of the park at the end of a long day of playing.
Late Spring and Summer are when I get 90% of my aerobic exercise for the year. I cannot motivate myself to walk a treadmill or get on the elliptical machine on a regular basis. In my mind, I have a million other productive things I could be doing. But movement to accomplish something...that's another story.
We spent all of Saturday working on the play yard and other landscaping projects. I'm talking eight solid hours of hauling mulch, clearing out beds and transplanting perennials. Back breaking work. I would have quit sooner except that I knew that finishing the project meant that we wouldn't need to do anything on Sunday, and boy was that a motivator! I was close to the end of my strength a few times, but the idea of a finished project kept me going. I can't imagine how many calories I burned (and am still burning, by the way my muscles feel).
Olivia cooperated beautifully. After her nap, she got dressed in swim clothes and played with her water table in the shade. Well, she sat in it for most of the day, but it kept her occupied for three straight hours. And she was so tired from all her outdoor play that she went to bed early and slept late. What else can you ask for?
We are not completely finished. (Are you ever really finished with yard projects?) We still have to haul in truckloads of pea gravel at some point. But the weed blanket is in and the beds are planted and mulched. We're getting there.
1 comment:
I no longer do any formal exercise. I just get all my exercise from running around during my daily life.
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