National Fitness Day
Yesterday was National Fitness Day, a day set aside to encourage and promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles. Considering I’m in the fitness business, it’s a day I embrace! I teach a fitness orientation class twice a month at a local 55+ community and this seemed like the perfect day to hold one of my classes. During the class I teach the basic principals of fitness and exercise as well as emphasizing the importance of staying physically active as we age. I demonstrate how to correctly set up and use each piece of cardio and strength equipment in the gym. It’s a great 2-hour class that I enjoy teaching and I always get very positive feedback from the students.
Just a reminder that 3 strength training sessions per week with a 48-hour recovery for muscle groups is ideal, but 2 times or even 1 time is better than none. I use the American Heart Associations guidelines for cardiovascular exercise which suggests exercising 30 minutes 5 days per week (150 minutes total per week) for those doing moderate intensity, and 25 minutes 3 days per week (75 minutes total per week) for those doing high intensity.
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 45 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.7 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 8:15 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in basement, 51°, windy, and mostly sunny outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and tank top
Walking: 2.46 miles
• Average pace: 19:29 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 67 feet
• Start time: 2:16 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 67°, breezy, and sunny
• What I wore: capris, s/s shirt, jacket, and visor
Super windy, I had no interest in riding outside so I hopped on my spin bike to pound out some miles. This ride earned me the Great American Ride 500 Miles badge, the last distance badge of the event.
Later in the afternoon my husband and I went out for a walk, but before getting too far we discovered a shopping cart laying on its side in the creek. A man walked toward us asking if it was still in there. He said he’d happened upon about five middle school boys throwing it in and had told them he’d be back in 30 minutes and they’d better get it out by then. They hadn’t so he and my husband fished it out and then my husband pushed it back to the grocery store about a mile away. We must have been quite the sight walking along a neighborhood trail pushing a shopping cart. LOL
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Cycling: 22.6 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.8 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 9:19 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 65° in basement, 63° and sunny outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 3.08 miles
• Average pace: 16:38 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 75 feet
• Start time: 11:36 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 72° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Still trying to catch up to my cycling mileage goal for the year, I hopped on my indoor bike to ride while training two virtual clients. After an interesting walk the day before, this one was very uneventful.
Tuesday
Cycling: 8.4 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 16.1 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:59 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 64° in basement, 53° mostly sunny outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and tank top
Cycling: 32.39 miles
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Average speed: 13.1 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,066 feet
• Start time: 8:52 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Reston loop
• Weather: 59°, windy, and mostly sunny, climbing to 76°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Once again I multitasked on my spin bike while training a client and then went out for a ride with my husband. We rode east first with the hopes of having a tailwind on the way back, but the wind can be cruel and we had a headwind in both directions. I’ve always wondered how that happens and now I know. LOL
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
I had an early afternoon appointment with my urologist to get my stent removed and once again that sucker was much longer than I expected (the abdominal drain tube I had after my appendectomy was about 18-inches and this was at least a foot long). It barely hurt when it was removed and I’ve felt great since. Yay!
Thursday
Cycling: 28 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.9 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:58 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66°in basement, 59° and partly cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Cycling: 33.26 miles
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Average speed: 14.7 MPH
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,040 feet
• Start time: 9:29 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Reston loop
• Weather: 68° and mostly sunny, climbing to 80° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
After an early morning chatty spin with Kim, I went out on a ride with my husband. Once again we headed east so we’d have a tailwind on our return and once again the wind gods were playing with us. It was a fun and uneventful ride other than seeing four police cars parked on the trail with a bunch of officers talking to a very tall dude. He wasn’t in handcuffs and everyone was gone by the time we made our way back to the same location. I didn’t pull out my phone for a picture, though. What kind of a blogger am I? LOL
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Cycling: 3.8 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin / Peloton Low Impact Ride with Denis Morton
• Average speed: 15.6 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:28 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 62° in basement, 65° and partly cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 2.04 miles
• Average pace: 16:18 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 98 feet
• Start time: 9:54 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 77° and mostly sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
A Fast Friday badge was up for grabs from the Great American Ride so I fit in an easy Peloton ride which I wouldn’t have done otherwise. While logging in my miles I noticed that I’m in 17th place out of 405 participants in the challenge. I later took a short walk to keep my bones happy.
Saturday
Cycling: 30 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 16.2 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 6:56 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 64° in basement, 66° and mostly cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
I started National Fitness Day with a spin on my indoor bike followed by teaching the fitness orientation class I mentioned at the beginning of this post.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog these past weeks, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: April 20 – 26 / Cycling Like a Boss
- • Tuesday – 40-Mile Apoxee Preserve Gravel Ride with the Western Athletic Group
Questions:
- • How did you celebrate National Fitness Day? ~ I started my day with a ride and later taught a group of seniors all about the importance of exercise as we age.
- • Has it been windy this spring where you live? ~ It seems to be windier than normal here this spring.
- • Which was your most difficult workout this past week? ~ Tuesday’s outdoor ride fighting the wind the second half was tough!
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
*********************************************************************
I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.
Ha ha… the Wind Gods. I think that’s what’s actually happening? HOW can the wind be blowing against me in both directions??? The mystery is solved.
Anyway… teaching that 55+ fitness class must be so rewarding. As a massage therapist, I see so many older people with terrible issues- and they don’t exercise at all. So much of that could be avoided by physical activity, but now they’re in pain and they don’t want to move so it’s a vicious cycle. It makes me really sad. But it’s truly never too late- anyone can start strength training, even if they’re sitting in a chair, and research shows that EVERYONE makes improvements, even very elderly people. On the other hand, I have some elderly clients (a couple 90 year olds) who are in great shape, and they attribute it to the fact that they still walk every day. So… there you go.
I’m sure you do see a lot of these vicious cycles during your massages, but it’s always rewarding coming across the exceptions like your 90’s-year-old couple.
I went to a birthday party for an 80 year old last night. You can really notice who has taken care of their body with physical fitness and what an important game changer it is.
It has been windy this spring and has made the allergies worse for sure!
Yes, it becomes more evident who’s taking care of themselves the older we get, especially those in their 70’s and older.
I agree about the allergies being worse this year with all of the wind we’re getting. My eyes are an itchy mess when finish my outdoor bike rides.
Haha, that shopping cart incident! I love that you and your husband teamed up with your neighbour to fish it out – great to see that kind of community spirit in action. Of course, it’d be better if middle school boys weren’t launching carts into creeks… but I guess that’s part of growing up. Sigh.
The 48-hour recovery rule is such a good reminder. I’ve been cramming my CrossFit sessions too close together…definitely time to rethink my schedule!
We just happened to be in the right place at the right time to do our good deed with returning the shopping cart.
And yes, the older we get, the more important recovery is after our strength training workouts.
I had no idea it was National Fitness Day but I did get in a run! I do that most days though. It’s been windy and rainy here — but I can’t recall if it’s always like that in spring? I’m glad it’s not snowing anymore!
So you did celebrate National Fitness Day without even realizing it! 😀
That cartoon is so true — especially on the W&OD.
You were good citizens to take that cart back.
I guess I celebrated by running with Scooby. 😉
Glad the stent removal went well and you are feeling so good!
Thanks, Coco!
Happy belated NFD to you and Scooby!
Ha ha!!! I so the winds gods do exist! I always wondered if I was just crazy, LOL. As you know, I celebrated National Fitness Day with eight miles in the running shoes (and some strength work and walking) 😉 That’s hilarious with your hubby walking the empty cart (but really sad how it got there).
Yes, Kim, the wind gods really do exist. 😉 We both knew it, but now we have proof.
We had a bad day on Sunday, so I missed National Fitness Day. Oh, well. I did my fitness anyway.
Great week again! No wind for us here, but storms are on their way and that won’t be fun.
That’s hilarious!
Sorry you had a bad day on Sunday. I guess the good news is that you got in a workout on National Fitness Day even though you didn’t realize it was a special day.