exercise |

4-100 Exercise for April 1st

Four exercises performed for 100 seconds each, 3 rounds!

Check out this exercise content for keeping in shape while practicing social distancing.

https://youtu.be/SWEfplRBfPY

The work out goes:

Squats 100 seconds

20 second rest

Leg raises 50 seconds left side

Leg raises 50 seconds right side

20 second rest

Pushups 100 seconds

20 second rest

Crunches 100 seconds

1 min rest

Repeat 2 more times for a complete workout.

This is meant to challenge you. Go for as long as you can take a breath and get back into the exercise.

Make sure to sign up to my email list to continue on this journey with me. Remember it is one petal (step) at a time.

~Crystal

Watch, because they are not watching for you!

I was out on my walk/run this morning and as I approached the school there were a lot of cars coming and going. There are no sidewalks near this school and so the cars were not able to get over for me to stay safe on the side of the road, I would march in someone’s driveway while I waited and then strike out again. This made me want to write to you today to ensure you are staying safe & getting in your workouts.

We live in a distracted world. There are virtual billboards and lights flashing, it seems like everywhere. We are constantly checking social media, emails, & text messages while driving. Yes, I know it is illegal to do this, but it doesn’t stop everyone. We have choices & if caught those choices come with consequences, hefty ones that hit your pocketbook $$$.

If you are one of these people stop, please. Not just for the other drivers around you but also those walking, biking or running around in your local community.

How many times have you been backing out of a parking place & all of a sudden there is a person there that was in your blind spot? What about the car speeding past you in a school zone only to look over and see that they are more focused on the electronic in their hand than where they are, the posted speed sign, & flashing lights alerting them of the school zone? Have you ever been this person?Pull over and take care of what is needed and then continue on with your day. Facebook, pinterest, twitter & instagram will all be there when you reach your destination.

I want to encourage you to get out, take a walk, go running, or bicycle. These are great exercises to get your heart pumping & releasing some feel good endorphins. If you don’t like to go alone, find a friend or a bunch of friends to go with.

As you are out and about here are some tips on being safe:

Know your surroundings-make sure to go in areas that you are familiar with.
Take a buddy or more-If there is someplace you would like to explore take a friend or multiple friends with you. It is not people that we always have to be aware of. Cities are seeing more animals in them as they grow and they can be dangerous.
Be aware of the people around you-I am not saying be afraid. Just make sure you know if someone is near. Pay attention to their actions. Do they seem normal or harmless or should you switch sides of the street or go another direction.
Carry protection with you-If you have a carry permit and are not anti-gun carry a gun with you. If you don’t believe guns should be in public then carry pepper spray with you. If you do carry pepper spray make sure to note the expiration date and replace it as needed. Another weapon you can use are your car keys. Place them between your fingers, sticking out that if you need to jab someone or something with them they are always available. Tasers are another thing I know some runners keep with them.
Sidewalks or walking paths-use them if they are available. This keeps you away from traffic.
Stop-if your body is not responding well to exercise that day it is ok to stop and head back home. If you are unable to get back home call a friend to come pick you up or sit & wait 5 min and try to head home. If it is an emergency please call 911.
Hydrate-make sure to hydrate before you go out, especially on really hot or cold days. This keeps your core body temperature stable. If you are able to carry water with you, do. This will help hydrate you on your workout.
Dress appropriately-make sure to dress for the weather outside. If you are a warm blooded person and it is freezing outside still cover your ears, fingers & nose. Frostbite is not something to be trifled with and should be treated by a doctor if you don’t cover yourself properly. You can also run during the warmest part of the day in the winter to keep from being too cold. In all seasons put on your sunblock. You can tan even with sunblock on and it protects your skin from harmful UV rays. Every pale person knows what a sunburn is like in the summer! Protect yourself as much as possible. Loose fitting, sheer cotton shirts will still allow you to run in the summer but protect your skin. Another good summer tip is run before the sun is up.
Step aside- step to the side of the road and let cars, other people or animals pass you.
Watch out-distractions occur to everyone. My last tip here is watch because they are not watching you. Whether you are the one in the car or outside, always be watching for everyone & everything else. Treat it as if everything around you is not paying attention to you. If you are crossing in a crosswalk don’t cross until ALL the cars stop. If you are riding in the bike lane make sure you know how many cars are approaching you. Treat each animal that may come across your path cautiously. Be on guard, be more aware than everything around you.

I want to encourage you again to get outside and be physically active, all while being aware of what is going on around you. Treat each car, person, animal as if they aren’t watching for you, but you are watching for them. Feel free to share this post with your friends & share in the comments your tips for outdoor workouts. Keep safe and thank you for taking this journey with me, one petal at a time.

Crystal

Stress: Master or Minion?

We all experience stress and we all handle it differently. Some are masters at handling their stress & others are minions. No not the cute little yellow guys off of Illumination Entertainment’s “Despicable Me” movie. Minion in this case simply means that stress is your overlord, you have no authority and you follow it wherever it leads you.

Ouch, that sounds so harsh!

I have been more of a minion than master lately. This is why I am sharing this information with you. We need to be aware of how we are handling stress.

So what is stress? Helpguide.org defines stress as your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. The Bing search dictionary says stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. Psychologytoday.com says that stress is two things: the psychological perception of pressure, on the one hand, and the body’s response to it, on the other, which involves multiple systems, from metabolism to muscles to memory.

How do you cope with stress? I cope with stress by eating, spending money, & I am way less focused. This controlling need comes over me. Yes, I said controlling instead of uncontrollable because I allow it to control me. I go looking for my keto approved snacks, but nothing is satisfying. Then an ad will pop up in my email and I find myself adding things to my Amazon shopping cart. The task at hand becomes so minuscule because I am stressing and allowing distraction to rule all. I am sure I don’t have to tell you that not being focused, eating, and breaking the budget only adds to the stress.

Stress is not always a bad thing. It can drive you to accomplish more than you would have with out the pressure. However if you are not overcoming it and it only is piling up then stress can & will takes its toll on our bodies so practice ways to overcome your stress. Here are some tips to help you become the master & stress your minion!

Pray, read the bible, & worship!

I believe that prayer, reading the word of God & worshipping are great ways to combat stress. It takes my mind off of me and my problems. Each one of these help to relieve stress for me.

Yes, I do actually do this. No, not all the time or every time but I am way better the older I get. When I stop, take the focus off the stress issue, pray, worship & read my bible then my focus is shifted and the thing that was stressing me is not as intimidating. I don’t do all 3 at one time, my usual go to is 1st prayer and 2nd worship. I would say reading my bible is the one that I don’t use as much, however it is not because it isn’t important. Bible reading & memorizing scripture are extremely important so you have it with you everywhere you go.

Plus you can pray, worship & read your bible anywhere you want in America and that is something to be celebrated. That is not the freedom everyone has in the world.

Do the task I am avoiding!

I have to face the music and just work on the task I am avoiding. Just like this blog post, I will fess up and say that I have been working on this blog post for 3 weeks because I feel very ill equipped to tell people how to overcome stress. I have studied and over analyzed it to the point that I finally asked myself “How do YOU deal with stress?” and then told myself to write that! I am here to help you and if you are here reading my blog you are here to see how I can help.

I know that once I have completed the task in front of me I will feel so much better, it won’t be as bad as I make it in my head, & I will be free to move on to other things on my list.

Another example of something that I avoid is the dishes. I love a clean kitchen, but cleaning it is a whole other story! I know that once the kitchen is clean I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders and I am happy.

Take a deep breath!

Whether I do it once, one minute, or even for 5 minutes. Deep breathing is relaxing, lowers blood pressure and has a calming effect. So I take a deep breath or many and press forward. I can feel the pressure melt away.

Now the task or the problem is still there to be tackled, but now I am more prepared.

Create something!

I love creating cards, scrapbook pages, knitting, crocheting, quilting, & so many other things. However it is about having a hobby. Hobbies where we feel fulfilled are what is important. Maybe the thing you create is not made of paper or fabric. Are you an avid hiker, baker, decorator or a builder?

Then map out a new hike, find a new recipe to try, find things that can be used in other rooms in your house and rearrange, or are you one of the very talented people who can build a wall unit for your house, or hang sheetrock and make a new room. Do these things. Creating something triggers a part of you brain that relieves stress.

Do nothing!

There are moments when I have to give myself permission to sit down and watch a movie, take a bubble bath, or even read a book. Learning to schedule my days and stick to it is very challenging. I seem to be an all or nothing person. I am either scheduling every minute of everyday or I am so overwhelmed that I end up not doing anything on my list. To overcome this I have learned to make sure to schedule in free time each day.

Take the time and give yourself permission to do nothing. Don’t get me wrong this is not permission to nothing ever it is permission to relax for a few hours or a day and then get back to work.

If you are a person that doesn’t need many breaks in your day & you thrive on the go, go, go then make it a short 5 min. If you are like me & wish you could go, go, go and not get worn out, then schedule in a little more time. This will take some trial and error. I am still not at the perfect place I would like to be with this, but I am working on it and trying.

Exercise!

The last one I am writing about today is certainly not the last resort. Exercise is fantastic for releasing endorphins, those feel good hormones designed to help relieve stress. I love the idea of running and do it every now and again. Mostly I am a walker, so I go for at least a 10 minute walk. I know that 30 minutes is better and if I can, I will walk for at least that if not longer.

Exercise can be many things though. Some forms of exercise are basketball, hockey, football, pickleball, badminton, volleyball, ice skating, roller skating, skiing, hiking, bike riding and that is a short list. There are so many more things that you can do to get up, get moving and raise your heart rate. That is one of the key things for it to be exercise is that it raises your heart rate along with gets you moving.

Thank you for taking this journey one petal at a time with me. We will learn together. I appreciate you all.

Share in the comments some of your favorite ways to overcome stress.

Crystal