Exercise During a Pandemic in Winter

 

Going into it here - I've gained 10 pounds since last November. It's mostly alcohol weight, along with the fact that I stopped exercising for a long while. Also, we're home and I cook and I LIKE TO COOK so I definitely don't make the healthiest of food all the time - but I don't make things like Hamburger Helper, if we want that, then I make it from scratch. And stress.

I used to be up at 5 to do a workout video. Then I'd make myself a protein shake for breakfast, I'd meal prep my lunches, and calculate the calories with dinner. In short, I was obsessed with controlling what I was eating. And that stopped. And I feel better now. Like, I lost a stress that I didn't need.

But I also gained more stress - yay, pandemic!! I tried so hard to keep up with waking up early but I was so exhausted and just plain burnt out by 5pm. I couldn't wake up early anymore and be "on" the whole day, I needed the sleep so I stopped waking up early.

A long time ago we used to have a bike trainer. It was loud, it was awful. I didn't like it. Also, Bimmer Man used to exercise by riding his bike to work and doing classes at the YMCA.  

I mentioned getting a trainer last year because our neighbors are cyclists and they use Zwift, and again this Spring but Bimmer Man brushed it off...until he decided that he needed to workout too (can I get an "I TOLD YOU SO" here? Because I think this deserves it). I literally signed up for a Beachbody account because I can't ride my bike AND watch children at the same time so this was the only way that I could workout and exercise.

So he created a Zwift account, got a trainer, and now we're back at it. I took yesterday off for a rest day, and today is weightlifting for me, tomorrow I'll be on the trainer for at least an hour in the morning, I think - we'll see how early I can wake up! If not, I'll carve out time in the afternoon for a ride. 

It's somewhat satisfying??? It's not the same as being outside but the routes are pretty good - there's lots of hills and hill climbs (Bimmer Man just jumped right in after not biking for awhile and picked a hilly route, so he's still sore). I don't mind riding with the other virtual riders either - it's fun to pick a rider and try to pass them. I think I saw you can race too but I'm not all that competitive, and I need to ride more before I even think about it! There's some really awesome riders on the Zwift. 

So that's where we're at right now. I finally have cardio that I can do at home that's not a Beachbody HIIT workout video. 

Happy Tuesday!