Take a Walk!

So my belly continues to get bigger and this week my running buddy, i.e. mom, was out of town. Basically that means I had no motivation to get up and jog my regular 5 miles. However, the weather has been particularly lovely in Houston and I just couldn't bare to let it go to waste. Thus, I have been taking morning walks...and boy are they lovely!

How nice it is just to get out and enjoy some fresh air! It makes my whole day go better if I start with a little outdoor exercise. So I walked. At first I didn't have a plan- just headed out without a thought. As I started walking though I began to make little plans...I am going to walk fast until I get to that tree/the end of this song/etc. and then I am going to take bigger steps until (fill in the blank). Some spurts I would focus on my posture, others on speed or size of steps or breathing or making sure I rolled through my whole foot and really pushed off from my toes to take the next step (an excellent calf-worker!).

Then I got ambitious; every so often I would do a set of lunges and squats. It was really quite wonderful and when I got home I realized that I had covered many miles and almost two whole hours. The next day my rear was even a bit sore which, as weird as it is to say, felt wonderful!

I have continued my morning walks this week as my mom has been gone and have even added in some jogging, just to mix it up and keep it interesting. :) So my challenge for everyone this week is this: take a walk! Go outside and enjoy the fresh air- I can guarantee you will feel good afterwards. And as you are walking around, have fun with it. Mix it up; pick different things to do or focus on while you are walking.

One thing I highly recommend focusing on is your posture:

-keep your hips tucked under (not pushed back causing your back to arch)

-point your knees and toes straight forward (not turned out or in)

-pull your shoulder blades down (not together as if they are meeting at your spine but down as if they would meet your rear end)

-elongate your neck by trying to increase the distance between your ears and shoulders (not by sticking your nose in the air!)

Good luck!