April 23 Part II

I’ve been thinking about what my acquaintance said about designing a personal fitness program – with the understanding that it will need to be redesigned every three to six months, because that’s how one progresses.

In order to do that, since I’m not a professional athlete and don’t even want to pretend to get up to that level, but do want more than “Daily Minimum Requirement” I have to answer some questions:

Q: What is the purpose of this program?

A: To improve the overall health and quality of life without going overboard at the beginning and getting discouraged. I want to build up strength gradually.

Q: Where’s the focus?

A: Strength and stamina.

Q: How do you get there?

A: Working on breath and strengthening the core will allow me to move on from there. If I start with where I want to finish – such as regaining the upper body strength I’ve lost via injury, I’m only sabotaging myself. That needs the strong core on which to build.

Specifically, I need the strength and stamina to haul clothes around; to stay at the desk writing for long periods of time; and to be on my feet for long days on set or long days of research.

I don’t do treadmills and I don’t do stationary bikes, period. If I’m going to work that hard, I want to end up somewhere else. I don’t like to run, but I do walk quite a bit. Here, I no longer bicycle, but, once I’ve relocated, I should think about investing in a bike and cycling again. Yoga helps with breath, posture, and core strength. When my posture is correct, my breath and my stamina improve.

I’m going to call or email my acquaintance and see if we can craft something together that’s not as extreme as something he’d live by, but something that helps me achieve, over time, my goals without burning myself out along the way.