Let me first start by admitting that I have elevator rage syndrome. If my office was not on the 10th floor, I would not use the elevator. In fact, I’ve even taken all 10 flights to avoid the elevator or gotten off somewhere around five and walked the rest of the way. I absolutely hate having to start on the ground level, stop on the 2nd for those who come in from a parking deck, then hit every other floor between 2 and 10 because someone refuses to take one or two measly flights of stairs. Now, I completely understand that some people have physical handicaps that prevent them from taking stairs. They are excused. But I would venture to say that most of the people refusing to walk the stairs are perfectly capable and taking a flight or two would do them some good.
Seriously…are we such a lazy society that we would rather wait 5 minutes for an elevator than just take the stairs? Apparently the answer is yes. So, here’s a thought provoking quote that sums it all up:
“A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time — pills or stairs.” ~ Joan Welsh
I challenge anyone who reads this to take the stairs. You’ll give your heart rate a boost while working your legs and rear end. Who knows, you may even inspire others to give it a go.
My main focuses are exercising and eating right (oh, and vacationing at the beach of course). I am a vegetarian, but I do not try to push my beliefs off on others. I do try to educate, however. I firmly believe that if I can be healthy without eating meat, then that is the path I will choose. For me being healthy also means exercising. I took ballet for over 20 years. As I got older, it became more difficult to find classes that were advanced enough but not also filled with teenagers competing against one another, or classes that fit into a full-time professional work schedule.
Hence, I found myself walking the lonely treadmill at the gym. I was never a runner and still do not consider myself one. I have asthma and running was always difficult. However, walking on the treadmill was so incredibly boring and time-consuming that I started to add in brief sprints just to break up the monotony. Before I knew it, I was running up to three miles without stopping. I now run outside with my husband and have made it up to five plus miles, and have run five 5Ks with m fastest time of 24:18 this past May.
However, I am also a DVD junkie. It all started with my dislike for the treadmill (aka dreadmill). My sister was doing the Firm DVDs, so I latched on to those and found that I enjoyed lifting weights as well as cardio. I moved on to Jari Love next, upping the ante a bit. My next step was DVD maven Cathe Friedrich. I purchased a step and started doing some of her step aerobic DVDs as well as her weight workouts. Holy cow is all I can say. She is definitely not for the feint of heart. When she was using 15 lb I was struggling with 8 lb.
I did not give up! The more muscle definition I gained, the more I wanted to keep going. For all the women afraid to lift heavy for fear of bulking up, I say pshaw! I actually slimmed down, especially in my legs. As a dancer, I had very bulky legs and calves, especially for someone only 5’2”. So that is how I stumbled into weight lifting and running. Now working out has become my passion. Lifting weights makes me feel strong and empowered. Running makes me feel accomplished.
In addition to exercise, I really love to eat. I enjoy being in the kitchen and coming up with new dishes to enjoy. Dishes that are not only healthy but that are also tasty and enjoyable, oh, and meatless.
The last thing about me you might want to know is that I LOVE the beach. The beach is the first vacation destination each year. There is nothing more relaxing than feeling the sand between my toes, feeling the warmth of the sun, and hearing sound of the waves.
So the purpose of this blog is simply to share my passion for exercise, vegetarian eating, and beach vacations. It’s not rocket science and it won’t save the world…it’s just my life.
