Fitting Fitness: Be flexible.

By Cool J in Minneapolis

Thanks to Dusters for the snarky New Year’s post.

Couple quick failed fits to share for the end of 2012…

Sunday: I had plans to run with some girlfriends at 8:30 am. The thermometer read 2F, and apparently it felt like -12 with the wind. However, I thought we were still on (I mean, my friends are tough, right?) So I went through my morning routine and was ready to head out the door, when I received a text at 8:20 that the run was off…Well then! I wasn’t motivated enough to get in the extra miles by myself outside in the cold, so instead I went to LA Fitness for some cross training on the elliptical and the stair stepper. Maybe this failed fit was a good thing? I could always use some extra non-running cardio, right?

 

Monday: I had plans to head to LA Fitness for some early morning miles on the treadmill. I arrived at 5:30 am, to a dark gym and an empty parking lot. Apparently, the gym had shortened hours on NYE. Shoot! Fortunately, there is a Corepower Yoga studio right around the corner. I headed over there instead. I only had my running clothes, and didn’t have my yoga mat, but I rented a mat and the morning turned into a yoga sculpt morning instead.

Moral of the story? Well, sometimes you have to be flexible in your workouts. They won’t always go exactly as planned. I suggest bringing your whole closet with you (figuratively of course), so you have the right gear for whatever workout ends up fitting in. Sometimes I feel like the bag lady with all the gear I have to bring. And even with my full bags, I still forgot my mat in the house and had to rent one from Corepower.

Flexibility is key. Your workouts won’t always go as planned, but as long as you roll with the  punches, you can still find a way to Fit Fitness into your life!



Fits on the Road: Fitting Fitness in Maui

By: Cool J
A week of vacation in a tropical location often entails plenty of frozen cocktails, extra lounging around in the sun-

....and perhaps over-indulging at dinner time. Or, maybe one too many Hawaiian Shave Ice? (not to be confused with a shaved ice, shave ice is very fine, and carved right from a block of ice. It is also often served with ice cream at the bottom...YUM!)

Although I love this part of a vacation, it also is mandatory that I am able to workout while on vacation or I will go CRAZY! Sometimes this "obsession" with squeezing in a workout can drive my husband a little crazy too, so I'm going to offer some tips as to how to best squeeze in a workout during vacation below.

Luckily for my sanity, I was able to fit fitness in every day while on our weeklong Maui trip. We arrived Saturday night, and my fitness regime was as follows:

Sunday: Run 6 miles in the rain, 30 minutes of core work in the gym, and 30 bonus minutes on the elliptical trainer.
Monday: Run 6 miles, 30 minutes of core, 30 minutes of my own made up yoga sculpt class
Tuesday: Hana Highway (see this post). 4 hours of HARD hiking/bouldering!
Wednesday: Run 5 miles, 30 minutes of core
Thursday: Run 6 miles
Friday: Run 6 miles

It had only been one week since the Memphis marathon, so I hadn't yet started running again before the Maui trip. However, running is the easiest "fit" for the road, so it was my best option while there. It's also too hard to resist running along the ocean with the sun!

I took full advantage of the gym at the Ritz-Carlton, which was quite nice. It was probably one of the best hotel gyms I have been to.

Tips for Fitting Fitness in while on Vacation:

1. Exercise right away in the morning. No one wants to miss out on any of the pool lounging or fun activities. I understand that setting an alarm to hit the gym while on vacation might not sound that great, but for me, it makes the rest of the day that much better. Everything is better after a workout. Even if you can only squeeze in 30 minutes, you'll feel so much more confident strutting around in your skimpy bikini after a little exercise induced endorphins!
2. Take advantage of the water in the hotel gym! I use this tip not just for working out, but for filling water bottles for the entire day.
3. Check out any free classes offered by the hotel. When staying at the Four Seasons Maui last time we were on this island, I was able to attend a "core-intensive" mat class, as well as morning vinyasa yoga on the beach. Unfortunately,  the classes at the Ritz-Carlson were $15-$45 each, and I didn't want to spend the extra money to work out. However, from the looks of the classes, they may have been worth the extra money. I probably should have checked one out.
4. Choose active outings, like swimming, snorkeling, hiking, biking, etc. LL offered some good ideas for the island of Maui in this post . I also mentioned the challenging hike we did on the Hana Highway here
5. Ask the concierge right away for a map of the jogging paths in the area. The Ritz-Carlton gave me a map, and helped me figure out how best to add miles onto the actual boardwalk and Kapalua Coastal Trail that most walkers/runners would follow, so I could get in a longer run. Here's a picture from the running path that started right in front of my hotel:

Kapalua Coastal Trail

Kapalua Coastal Trail

On a side note, there was a Lululemon in Pai'a, but it was only open Fri/Sat/Sun, or by appointment!