Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Autumn Leaves - and a Fitness Aha! Moment

I love this time of year: all the leaves are yellow and orange and red, the air is crisp, and it smells so good.

Inspired by all of Nature's loveliness, I dressed myself in fall colours today:
There's something about when I wear pants that makes me want to pose like one of Charlie's Angels. I got this jacket in a thrift store last spring and it's been too warm to wear it until now (it's a thick wool).

Check out the Equestrian Knee-Hi Boot Socks (so they are called by Sox Trot - wow, there are some fab patterns!):
It almost makes me wish the pants were cropped. L's reaction to them was, "Uh....no. Those are a joke, right? You didn't actually wear those?" Ha!

The stuff:
My awesome shoes, and a close-up of the groovy patterns on the knee-highs.

The jewelry: A reproduction Viking pendant, and some mixed amber and bronze-y things.

My "aha!" fitness moment today:

I have pathetic upper body strength, especially since I had to stop going to aikido. I find weights dull, gyms claustrophobic, and I'm lazy as heck. Knowing that the mighty push-up is the "goddess" of upper body workouts, I thought, "There must be a way that I can use this to get stronger arms."

So here's what I'm going to do: I drink a lot of water. I mean a LOT, easily over 2 liters a day (about 2/3 of it in the form of herbal teas). So...I pee a lot. My idea is to do 10 push-ups off either my desk at work or the countertop at home...every time I go to the bathroom.

Push-ups on the floor...I'm not strong enough. Against the wall - too easy! But doing them off a mid-height surface? Yeah, that's just about right - and I can feel it after 10. And it only takes about 20 seconds to do 10.

I can't commit to a half-hour workout, but 20 seconds a pop? Sure!

And you know what? I did SIXTY (60) push-ups today! If I can keep this up for a week, or a month or a couple of months, I bet I'll have great upper body strength! I will do them for a week and post a picture of my arms and shoulders next Tuesday.

I think it's brilliant. Let's see how long I last.

Jacket (Lux, thrifted), top (Planet), pants (Mac & Jac), knee highs (Sox Trot), shoes (Luichiny), pendant (gift from L), necklace and earrings (Plum).

15 comments:

  1. That jacket is FABULOUS!! How do you not want to wear it every day? I would!

    Your push-ups idea is very clever. Stick with it!

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  2. I just started with a push-up routine, too! Keep us posted on how it goes.

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  3. LOVE the socks!

    And good for you with the new pushup routine. Keep us posted on how it goes. Sometimes I do lunges down the hall on my way to the bathroom, but I kept getting busted by coworkers. LOL.

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  4. I'm glad that you bought that jacket. It looks great! I've been getting a lot of wear out of the skirts that I bought that day.

    E

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  5. Love Love the shoes and soxs. You wear the most amazing things.

    Ann

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  6. I love patterned socks. Those ones are super-cool! Sometimes I wonder if I can actually pull off wild patterns, but now I can see it's totally doable!

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  7. Kristen, I bought it during warm weather, so it just hasn't been cool enough for it. Don't worry, you'll see more of it! I did 50 pushups today (so far), thanks!

    Sal, I will! Part of my motivation is the accountability of posting it here. Good work on your own.

    Thanks, Tina! Ha! I laughed at your lunges down the hall. I've got all my coworkers trying this too.

    Thanks, Elaine! That was a fun shopping trip.

    Ann (are you the Ann I know?), thanks. I can't resist a really pointy toe.

    Sheryln, I am just starting to acquire a taste for long socks (I blame Cat). You should definitely try them! Love the new icon pic, by the way - you look lovely!

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  8. That's a very clever idea for forcing yourself to work on your arms more!

    I used to find weights dull until I started taking a fitness class that involves repetitive exercises with very light weights, always mixing up the routines. It's helped me figure out what I can do on my own at home if I have a pair of 2.5 to 5 pound weights handy.

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  9. Thanks, Kari - I thought so too!

    That works as well. Good for you!

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  10. wow wow Sheila
    I love what you did with the shoes and socks!!!!
    I feel terrible reading your post, i have nightmares where is exercise!

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  11. Thankd, Lorena! Aw, don't be afraid of exercise - it's not that bad. :)

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  12. That's a great idea! I bet it'll work...and I may try it for myself.

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  13. The socks are so so awesome. I want them to wear with my Missoni-esque dress.

    I like your pushup idea. At first, I thought I couldn't do it at work because I'd be too embarassed, but maybe I'd actually inspire the people around me!

    My swim coach makes us do pushups BEFORE our swim workouts. Totally sadistic.

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  14. Thanks, Kasmira! Maybe that would be just a bit too much similar patterns? :-P

    Try it! My coworkers tease me about it, but in a nice way. Yuck, nasty coach!

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