*Lindsay’s Note: The following is part three in a multi part series by Rebekka Utermohlen on her 2015 Fitness Journey.
I love that my goal is to no longer be zombie bait, but in the weeks since January 1st I have not put any actionable goals in place. I have been more active, but not in any measurable sense. I attempted a’ Tone It Up’ whole body workout video and finished half of it – my stamina isn’t up to the whole video yet. I also physically ‘ran’ my errands one morning. This is a task that I’ll be doing more often sinceI live only a mile and a half away from a CVS. Being without toothpaste was just the motivation I needed to get moving.
But all these moments of being ‘more active’ sadly aren’t amounting to anything, and I’m not exercising frequently enough to improve my stamina. A friend of mine, who is also fitness challenged, has started couch to 5k or C25K. She encouraged me to look into the program since it starts off really slow, and now going onto her third week, it’s kept her motivated. I downloaded the app and when it said I was just walking the first 5 minutes, I knew this would be my jam. I’m proud to report I have completed Day One, which is 20 minutes of jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds. I know to those physically fit this must sound like a joke, but 15 minutes in I was feeling the burn. My heart goes into shock when it’s worked out. My chest hurt and jaw gets tight. I don’t know why this happens, but I kept pushing because it didn’t feel alarming. I won’t lie either. During one of the 60 seconds spurts of jogging, I almost stopped and started to walk. But since the app tells you when to walk and jog, I reminded myself relief is coming soon. It’s only sixty seconds – keep going – jog Bekka!
Building up my stamina is an ultimate goal, but I need those mini goals that will get me to the big one. So I’m going to stick with C25K. It’s an 8 week program, and you train 3 times a week for 30-40 minutes. I need the structure, the personal trainer in my pocket. I’ll also be exploring other exercise methods, but this is a good base for me to have. It has actionable goals built into it, marking off the days and showing me my progress. I’m excited to commit to this program, and have a way to measure my fitness success.
Have you ever tried couch to 5k? What is one of your mini goals to help you reach the big one?
[…] chicken and sipping on cocktails. February I remained pretty fit, but after my birthday I abandoned Couch 2 5k (C25K) because I was distracted by life. Then I went to Austin for SXSW and recently returned from two […]