Since moving to Scarborough late last year Judy and I have been taking morning walks along the coast – it’s the perfect way to begin the day. We’re blessed with walking trails and bike paths that circle the Redcliffe Peninsula, starting right outside our front door.
Most days I begin my day with a 5:10 am wake up call, although recently my body wakes me up a few minutes in advance so I can turn off the alarm so as not to wake Judy.
This is followed by a regime of hydration, then down to our studio to begin a 30+ minute workout. Most days its strength and core training, but two-three days per week I cycle to elevate the heart rate with our Nodic track indoor bike. On these days I have also chosen to fast until lunch time. So far, using this training routine I’ve been able to shed just over 8kg (18 lbs)
After my workout, I make coffee and then deliver it to Judy in bed – what an awesome husband!
We then take about 30 – 45 minutes before we head out on our morning walk. At the start of the year, we both committed to working out every day, however after a few weeks I found it difficult to get my heart rate up high enough to get any real benefit when we walked so I purchased a weighted vest and have graduated up to adding 10 kg to it for our daily walks.
Not surprisingly, this added 10 kg’s is more than I’ve lost since the start of the year, but when I lift it to put in on, I can’t believe how heavy it is…
The challenge is that as I’ve become fitter the more difficult it is to elevate my heart rate, although not a bad problem to have it just means that I find myself plateauing, so clearly the next tactic is to increase the cadence or intensity of our walking.
All the technical stuff aside our walks take us most days into Redcliffe which is the next town along the coast and an 8 km (5 miles) round trip to the pier and back. This translates into about an hour and twenty-minute walk from point to point.
I suppose our next hurdle on our morning walks is to lower the amount of time it takes for us to make the return journey. We’ve already been experimenting with speeding up our return journey by focusing on walking at under 10:00 minutes per kilometre.
If nothing more we both get a decent sweat up, especially me with my weighted vest as I could literally wring it out most days because of the heat and humidity in this part of the world.
Our climate is consistently between 20C – 30C all year round, with our rainy season (Nov – April) being quite hot and humid, and some days it feels as though you’re in a sauna when exercising outside.
However, given that we average around 286 days of sunshine per year, we can handle a little heat and humidity especially as the winter months (dry season) is so mild with an average daytime temp of 21C (73 F) and when coupled with endless sunshine it literally is like living in paradise.
As I’ve said many times the only reason I decided to move from Toronto was for the weather. Now, even Judy who is a native New Yorker is beginning to find it cold here in the winters and having to rug up with layers just to keep warm.
You know something is up and that you’re well and truly become acclimatized when that starts to happen…
Today on our morning walk we were discussing what clothing would be necessary for the upcoming winter months, and Judy wasn’t convinced that she would be able to find enough layers just to fend off the impending cold winds that blow off the ocean on our walks.
Crazy first world problems I know, but glad we’ve taken on this health and fitness challenge.
Now although my fitness journey sounds like it’s been successful, it pales in comparison to Judy’s since the start of the year. Not only has she lost 19 kgs (42 lbs) but has also gained her cardio back and is actively building her strength and muscle mass.
Our exercise regime coupled with watching what we eat – Judy is a stickler for counting her calories, to ensure we keep a well-balanced fish and vegetable-based diet has also contributed to our gains and losses – if you know what I mean…
So why am I telling you all this? One of the most important things we can do for ourselves as we age is to exercise, and no it’s doesn’t need to be to the levels that we’ve decided on but being active every day in some sort of capacity is key.
It could be a 20 minute walk, or a bike ride or even something as simple as taking a yoga class on YouTube (I woud highly recommend Sarabeth’s classes – see the link).
Looking after and taking care of our body, mind and spirit are the most important things we can do for ourselves in terms of self-care. Remember, you deserve to be taken care of so here’s an opportunity to do something just for you.
Food for thought…
Until next week.
Ciao!