SparkNB's Journey to Fitness

  My theme for this month (which I did start on Monday, but hadn't been able to blog) , is "Melting March", meaning melting me in the melting environment around me. I had hints of and inspiration for the thaw from others this past Saturday night full moon zoom—populated mostly by people here in the mitten of Michigan, and mostly gardeners, and some slightly colder places: the UP of MI and Quebec—and many of them mentioned seeing snowdrops (a first flower of Spring) near them. That day, our snowdrops were still under 2 feet of snow. But now I had heard of others’ first tangible sign of Spring springing in...we still had temps that I decided were too cold and icy for me to go for walks safely, especially after hurting my hip last month snow-shoveling.       February was a bit of a bust for me, on the sparking front, as it has often been: short and brutish (and brutishly cold, after a mostly mild winter), indulgent, cozy, and including resolution-busting events like fam...

  whoops1: didn't log last week's victory, so doing so now, along with this week's little victory, and whoops2: I looked up the links to the home circuit (circuit training) suggested in sparkticle https://www.sparkpeople.com/re source/fitness_articles.as p?id=194&page=2 www.sparkpeople. com/resource/fitness_artic les.asp?id=194&page=2 which were dead links...I had started a comment, but then couldn't edit it so did a 2nd comment with all the link, and so reposting here, : 1. step-ups: https://www.sparkpeople.com/re source/exercises.asp?exerc ise=25 www.sparkpeople. com/resource/exercises.asp ?exercise=25 2. ball squats: https://www.sparkpeople.com/re source/exercises.asp?exerc ise=33 www.sparkpeople. com/resource/exercises.asp ?exercise=33 3. lumbar extensions:  4. Push-ups with Swiss ball: 5. Jump rope 6. Hamstring flexion with Swiss ball: https://www.sparkpeople.com/re source/exercises.asp?exerc ise=28 www.sparkpeople. com/resource/exercises.asp ?exercise=28 7...

  whoops1: didn't log last week's victory, so doing so now, along with this week's little victory, and whoops2: I looked up the links to the home circuit (circuit training) suggested in sparkticle https://www.sparkpeople.com/re source/fitness_articles.as p?id=194&page=2 www.sparkpeople. com/resource/fitness_artic les.asp?id=194&page=2 which were dead links...I had started a comment, but then couldn't edit it so did a 2nd comment with all the link, and so reposting here, : 1. step-ups: https://www.sparkpeople.com/re source/exercises.asp?exerc ise=25 www.sparkpeople. com/resource/exercises.asp ?exercise=25 2. ball squats: https://www.sparkpeople.com/re source/exercises.asp?exerc ise=33 www.sparkpeople. com/resource/exercises.asp ?exercise=33 3. lumbar extensions: https://www.sparkpeople.com/my spark/ex/exercises.asp?ID=6 www.sparkpeople. com/myspark/ex/exercises.a sp?ID=6 4. Push-ups with Swiss ball:https://www.sparkpeople.c om/resource/exercises.asp? exercise=39 ...

  Victory -3.7lbs, Week 1*: 5%Wint21 was my headline last week, so this is nice! Further, I'm seeing a little non-scale victory in terms of clothing (looser) and skin (same)...good things! Gives me motivation to keep going. Had lost some in the autumn... Oth, it's re-losing the same weight I gained, in Nov & Dec., after losing earlier in the fall. But soon...I will be hitting new lower numbers on this weight loss journey soon. Down almost my whole goal for January of 10 pounds (7.5 in the past 2 weeks, 1.5 before 5%wint21 challenge started, so loss of 9.0 so far)...so 2021, other than the dumb-asses' insurrection, is pretty good, for me. Today, even in covid news...hospitalizations, tests, and even daily deaths is finally down just a tad. Hopefully we can get vaccines set up and going (my 80+ folks had their first ones last week!) for everyone soon, before the virus mutates too much & get it tamped down! Then I, and most everyone, can get back into a 'normal...

  In my 5% group, the q of the day was: fav exercise? My answer was Hiking edges out all others; luckily there's a trailhead, 4 houses down, but I don't do it much when it's too cold or esp. when icy (both now). I also do some low impact aerobics, also stationary bikes (sometimes road bikes, but I've had several broken bones and haven't done it in years, though it was my main form of transport at one point, and occasionally did a commute of 15 miles each way). In normal times, I more recently used to like the elliptical when I had access to one at a gym, also ran on the treadmill, and have done my shinsplints worth of road running; also trampolines, dancing, weights and yoga; I also used to own a house with a pool and swam hundreds of laps a day most days for a few years (didn't really help with loss of weight, but I didn't gain much then, which was a victory.) WAY back I was on the track team (slow, mid-distance) and a figure skater, gymnast, and ballerina....