Need to Figure out Exercise Plan

I'm already exhausted working two jobs, going to school and trying to have a social life.  Although having two jobs keeps me more on track with my diet, because I don't have time for snacking, it's just so tiring.  However I know I need to find some sort of exercise plan to do.  

For 5 years I've had a membership to the Planet Fitness around the corner from my house and only went the first year for about 4 months.  Yeah, I've been wasting $10 a month for that long.  I mean, I have the membership, why don't I go?  I can't figure out when.  I work my day job from 8am-4pm and either work my second job from 5pm-9pm, go out with friends for a few hours, spend time with my kids or just completely pass out from working so many hours.  When in the world can I fit in time to go to the gym?

I was considering getting a smaller treadmill but they are so expensive.  The cheapest one I found was from Walmart and was $250, which isn't a bad price... but where would I put it.  Back in 2007 I made a horribly impulsive purchase on QVC of a $600 elliptical.  I fell for the, "This elliptical folds up and fits right against a wall without anyone noticing it!" lie.  Well, maybe it wasn't  a lie, but I didn't think to realize they probably meant in a normal sized home it would fit against a wall.  Not a city-like two family home where the rooms are a little larger than shoe boxes.  Well, this elliptical sat in our living room for nearly a year before we finally found someone to buy it from us.  I used it a few times but it was HUGE!  It was such an eyesore in our living room.  

Planet Fitness is a 24/7 gym but I can't bring myself to go before bed, I feel I'll be too hyped up to sleep.  Getting up earlier in the morning sounds even more exhausting, I'm not a morning person!  Along with the membership I also have Wii Fit, Dance Dance Revolution and EA Sports for the Wii, I could possibly do that but then my kids want to play with it and I end up having to give in to them.  It's so damn difficult to figure out how to exercise with my schedule.  I'll probably end up going back to Planet Fitness, once I can find the time to fit it in, but I just had to write this all down -- it was driving me crazy!  I really wish I had a friend who could go to PF with me, it would definitely motivate me more.

What do you do for exercise?

Read More

EA Sports Active workouts #1 and #2

I was so busy yesterday I didn't get to blog, but I wanted to blog about my first exercise with EA Sports Active.  I was very wary when I purchased it and didn't think it would really make me sweat and give me a good work out.  After all, I tried Wii Fit and it's a good beginners workout, but I didn't think Wii Fit was good to really make use of your workout time.  I finally had some time alone yesterday and had energy, so I got EA Sports Active out of my closet and went to work! 

Having a animation of an actual person rather than a Mii is, first of all, very motivational. It's easier to see what you're supposed to do.  The actual videos also help a lot with teaching you the right way to do exercises.  If you do something wrong, the screen will tell you that you are doing something wrong.  It tracks your movements through #1. The thigh band in which you put the Nunchuck in the pocket and #2.  Through the Wii Remote.  (I also have that Wii Motion Plus, which you really don't need for the game.  But it does make it a lot easier for it to accurately track your motion.)

The exercises are very good.  You can choose from low intesnity, medium intensity or high intensity.  Currently, I am on medium.  My favorite exercise is the running/walking.  I've always wanted to learn the track and don't have the courage to run outside. lol  So this is perfect.  It tracks how fast you run and how much effort you're putting into it.  If you don't do enough, it will tell you to restart.  

It also combines aerobics, sports, cardio and strength training.  It comes with a resistance band which is an OK band.  I would rather buy a better one that actually feels like you're doing something, but I'm sure this one is OK for beginning.  (I've seen weights for the Wii where you put the remote in the weight.  I've also have seen better resistance bands for the EA Sports Active.  They're pretty cheap at AJ Wright, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc...)  I actually love the work outs on the "30 Day Challenge". 

My leg muscles hurt and I can feel "the burn" as I work out.  This is always a good sign for a work out.  You don't want to push yourself too much, but you do want to feel it.  I'm very satisfied with the work outs it gives me.  Of course, I'll get to the gym and won't keep this as my primary workout, but it's good for now when I am just starting off. Yesterday it says I burned 164.4 calories and today, since it was a higher intensity, I burned 211.3.  I know these are just estimates, as all calorie counts are, but I've heard from researching that it is usually 80% accurate.  That's a pretty good percentage.

We're also participating in:

Read More