I changed things up from my normal routine. I cleaned house...spring cleaned. I moved furniture, vacuumed base boards, ceilings, ceiling fans, wood shutters, polished wood furniture, cleaned rugs, scrubbed floor tile, the shower, bath tubs, sinks, and pretty much every surface in the house. I cleaned out cabinets, did 10 loads of laundry - bedding, towels, and pretty much every piece of clothing we own.
I spent a good 5-6 hours in the backyard tackling all of the get ready for Spring/Summer projects that I could handle.
My arms look like I wrestled with the neighbor's cat...nope, I took on 4 bushes taller than me...they are now cut back and ready to bloom with new growth. I squatted, I bent, I stretched, I lunged, I chopped, I moved, moved, moved.
The pool is ready, the planting beds are weeded and preened, the pots are planted, the furniture has been wiped down, the rock wall cleaned of cob webs, leaves, etc...we are ready to rock this awesome upper 70's weather.
What I learned...My body gave me important information over the weekend.
What my body told me was that it's so used to the treadmill, that it doesn't really work my muscles...it just burns calories. There is a HUGE difference.
I am sore from head to toe. Typing hurts my wrists and fingers...sitting reminds me that I have a sore ass and back...moving my neck from side to side reminds me that I have muscles there. I worked my body out. I worked out without stepping on the treadmill. This is a good thing. The same thing happened with the Wii Fit. I was sore. Really sore. I forgot what that feels like. Even though I push myself on the treadmill with interval training, etc....my body is used to it. My body knows what it needs to do on the treadmill...it does it, I call it good and that's it. My body doesn't remind me throughout the night and into the next day that it got worked.
Today I am reminded that I used muscles that I haven't used in a very long time. In a good way, not an OMG, I'm in so much pain I could kill someone way. Not only do I have a gorgeous backyard and a clean house, I know that I need to incorporate a variety of exercise into my life...or I will not achieve the results I so desperately want.
This week I am challenging myself to workouts that don't include the treadmill. I am going to break out my bike again. I'm going to use the Wii Fit. I'm going to finish pulling weeds down the side yard. I'm going to help the hub complete the garage clean out. I have a few aerobic DVD's that are now dust free after this weekend and I'm putting them into the rotation.
Let's see what 1 week away from my comfort zone does...I'm excited.
