All posts tagged: physical fitness

Top 4 Alternatives to Running for Heart Health

I’m sure you’ve heard everyone talk about how running is great cardio. And, to be honest runners make it look and sound so easy. (I might be a little jealous that it’s not my gifting…just a little bit). Between the marathoners, triathletes, 5k-ers and the casual morning joggers, running looks cool. Plus it’s a great workout! And the runners, they actually enjoy it. They love the moment adrenaline takes over and it’s just them and the sound of their feet hitting the pavement, or treadmill. Sometimes, I enjoy it, kind of. It’s a really great way to raise your heart rate and get a little sweat going, plus, it’s free.  But sometimes I just can’t do it. Sometimes running hurts me. Running is what is classified as a high-impact exercise. That means that it places a high level of impact on your joints. For some people that can cause pain either during the exercise or afterward. For me, I usually feel it a day or two after in my knees, hips, and ankles…not fun.  If …

Why I Stopped Trying to “Get in Shape”

Growing up I never thought about weight. I was never focused on that. I was a skinny kid who honestly and truly couldn’t care less about what I looked like. This carried into high school, where I was a track athlete, a competitive swimmer and an all around active human with a high metabolism. I could wear whatever I wanted and never worried about if something would make me “look fat”…because it wouldn’t. Fast forward to the college years. And no, it wasn’t the freshman 15 that got to me. It was actually everything that happened after college. The slow down of activity, long hours of sedentary work and the general stress that came along with adulthood. Put those factors together along with the slowing down of my metabolism and there you have it. I gained weight; and a bit of it. Now, it wasn’t a super dramatic increase, but it was enough to realize that I had gone from being at a place where I used to be so unconcerned about clothes fitting and …