Exercise Helpers

I struggled for years to exercise consistently, even though I knew I felt better physically and mentally when I did. When I turned 40, I knew it was “now or never.” I did better than I had before, though I dreaded every moment. Last year, in the midst of writing, graduating another child, and launching my first published book, I let exercise slide for the first time in nearly 4 years. I hated how I felt. When I plunged back in last October, it apparently “took.” This time, exercise has become a lifestyle instead of a duty.

But lately even that lifestyle has taken a bit of a hit. It hasn’t come to a complete halt, but I’ve definitely been missing a day here and there, struggling to find time to fit in even a half hour of some kind of exercise. That’s when I come to depend on my “at home” helpers: my DVD player and my Wii. These are my lifelines to exercise when I can’t work in a trip to the gym.

Leslie Sansone DVDs pulled me back into exercise all those years ago. She has long and short walks which can be done lightly or with extreme intensity. These cardio walks encompass four different movements (walking, kicks, knee lifts and side steps) and they also add in arm movements to get an entire body workout in a short amount of time. Here are some of my Leslie Sansome favorites:

When I want to focus on toning or have less than a half hour free, I turn on the Wii. EA sports has a program called Active that I love!

I can choose from many different workout types and lengths as well as easy or hard levels. I started out not able to do a whole “easy” workout and now the “hard” ones are no big deal.

With the help of DVDs and the Wii, even in the chaos that is May I’ve managed to maintain my lifestyle of exercise. And every little bit of focused movement makes a difference in how I feel and how much more I can get done in the remaining hours of my day.

Do you have any great exercise tips or products for those busy seasons? I’d love to hear them!