Heather Thurmeier

This year I’ve done a lot of reevaluating and reorganizing of my time. I always feel so busy writing, editing, promoting, planning, etc. that I don’t feel like I have any extra time left in my schedule for anything else. While my kids are at school, that’s my writing time. How could I take time out of that dedicated ‘me’ time to go and do something besides writing—something ultimately for… me?

Over the last couple of months, I’ve decided to make a better effort to include some exercise into my day.

The fact is, writing is a very sedentary job and when I’m in the zone, I can spend hours just sitting and typing. But I know that’s not good for my health. So after literally years of my friend bugging me to try Cross Fit with her, I finally did. And I didn’t hate it!

Turns out, Cross Fit doesn’t suck. I’m still not sure I love it. I mean, really, love is a big word. But I like it a lot. Am I ready to make a yearly contractual agreement with my box (that’s what you call a Cross Fit gym. See, I’m even learning the lingo!)? I don’t know. It’s not them, it’s me. I’m commitment phobic. But maybe I can make a 3-month commitment. After all, I’ve been technically going there for 4 months already!

And surprisingly, I don’t completely suck at Cross Fit either! I always thought you had to be some kind of athlete to do it, but turns out anyone can. No seriously. You can scale the WOD (workout!) to your fitness level. So I can workout along side my friend who’s been doing it for years and not die. Imagine that!

Deadlifting 125 pounds!!!! Never knew I could do that!

Me, working my muscles.

Along with Cross Fit, because as much as I love it, I can’t do it everyday, I’ve also started jogging. And by jogging, I mean a mix of walking and very slowly jogging around my neighborhood for 30 minutes. I basically always feel like I’m going to die. My streets are deceptively hilly and hard to jog up. Now I’ve learned to walk up the hard ones and jog back down them. Much easier and I still sweat like crazy. I’ve even talked my two little munchkins into jogging with me this summer! They are great partners. Their little legs mean they jog at the same slow pace I do. LOL.

After jogging with my two little munchkins.

And while it doesn’t sound like a workout, I also started horseback riding. Let me tell you, after a 30 minute lesson, I’m sweating like crazy. Between the heat of the summer, squeezing my legs hard enough to make my horse actually listen to me, and trying to remember to breathe while also remembering all the other things I’m supposed to do, I’ve definitely had a workout!

Overall, I’m probably exercising 3-4 days a week now, on a good week. I’m hoping that once the kids go back to school, I’ll be to work out in some way everyday as part of my daily routine. I’m hoping that it will help me get and stay healthy so all the hours I spend sitting and writing aren’t a problem anymore.

So, what do you do to get and stay healthy? Do you find it hard to work it into your daily schedule or have you figured out the trick to making it happen for you?