Good Weather= jogging weather

It’s January and I feel somewhat guilty about being so happy that the winter has been incredibly light here in Philadelphia.  Is it pure luck or maybe the doings of Global Warming? I really hope that it’s just a random warm winter…

I did my undergraduate degree in the East Coast and every year (no exception), we always had below zero winters.  I am from Los Angeles, California where below zero weather just doesn’t happen.  It’s unheard of.  What? Who?  When?  Uh!  I was so nervous about coming back to the East Coast because of the weather but alas all is warm. Lol  

And specially warm enough to take a nice jog every now and then.  I love running.  In high school running was everything to me.  I ran cross country, track and snuck in a few marathons.  I ate, dreamt, and breathed that sport.  Unfortunately, I fractured my knees and had to stop running competitively after only a few years of running.  I received physical therapy and had different medical procedures to cure my knees but I was banned from competitive running.  It was a huge blow to not just my running career but my ego as well.

I stopped running and then I went through an entire “sport withdrawal” moment.  My body literally ached (mostly my back) because it needed to run.  I went from running 12 to 15 miles a day to nothing.  As I got older I began to sort of just accept the idea that I will never run competitively again.  I then began to look for other ways to keep myself healthy.  And this launched my crusade for “the next best sport”. Lol  It has been a great process :D!

I will list some types of workouts that I found very helpful.  I am not a doctor so I am not saying that these type of workouts work for everyone.  They worked for me.  And so this is why I am posting them in my blog.  Everyone has a different body.  Always consult with your doctor about using any type of exercising routine.  I am not endorsing any of the workouts and I am not responsible if anyone tries them and gets hurt (because I am not recommending them).  These are just a few of the workouts that worked (or did not work) for me. 

PILATES

I think that this was a great workout to tone the body.  I wasn’t in love with this type of workout though.  I didn’t like how it was shaping my body.  I think that I also didn’t like Pilates because a lot of the positions were hard on my knees.  Again, I might be bias because this is the first workout that I tried right after I sort of “recuperated” from my knee injuries.  I didn’t find it very pleasant.  But a lot of other girls did!  So I guess it depends.

CREW

As an undergrad I joined Crew (woke up at 4 in the morning …).  I liked the people and the fact that everyone was very dedicated to this one sport.  Rowing was a good experience.  But again, I didn’t like that it was getting rid of the fatty tissue around my hips (which I personally like).  So I dropped it after I completed the semester.  We had a workout in the morning and then again in the afternoon.  EVERYONE was very tone and had muscle etc.  But this was not what I was looking for…

YOGA

I LOVE Yoga.  It increased my flexibility and strength.  I became tone.  And I could feel how it just shook a lot of stress off of me.  I haven’t done yoga in a while because I’m busy but I do miss it.  It helped me focus more in school etc.  Yoga not just works your physical but also your mind and “soul” (If anyone can believe me. Lol).  The yoga video that I found the most helpful for me was a video called “Yoga for Health” by Jenny Cornero.  I recently saw that it was added to Netflix.  Yeiiii!!

P90X

This is a great workout video.  It’s an intense workout.  I think that there are about 11-12 videos.  Each works out a different part of your body.  It’s quite an intensive workout.  I do it when I feel like I want to be challenged.  Lol  I actually really like this video.  It combines yoga, kempo, cardio and others to give you incredible workouts.  These workouts tone and strengthen you.

ZUMBA

Yes please!  I love zumba.  It’s a really “friendly” workout.  What I love the most of is that you exercise but it doesn’t even feel like if you’re exercising.  It’s like “a night out”.  The music is great and the people are fun.  NOBODY actually gets all of the steps of the workout but it’s fun to try and to see that everyone else is struggling with you.  Zumba is like the “desert” of workouts. 

I will rate other types of exercises in other journal entries.  For the moment, I am still looking forward to maybe going for a light jog tomorrow.  The above workouts are great but running is where my heart is at. J