exercise

As Easy As Riding a Bike

The group of friends I run with decided we should do more cross training (we should). It was decided we would add bike riding to our routine. I’m not a fan of bikes ever since I was twelve and I rode into a fence and flipped over on my bike. It doesn’t help that I grew up on a busy road. To keep me safe my parents painted a white line at the end of the driveway that I was not allowed to ride passed. That meant my biking basically consisted of riding around in circles in the driveway, which made biking dull and made me afraid of riding on the road with traffic. So I pretty much haven’t touched a bike in over seventeen years. I don’t even own one.

For this adventure I borrowed an old bike from my parents. The rear tire needs to be inflated before every ride. There are gears which I’ve […]

As Easy As Riding a BikeMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:29-04:00

Exercise All Around The House

If in our busy worlds you are going to make time to fit exercise in, one thing to do is to put reminders around and make it easy. Of course scheduling time for workouts (and then doing them) is important, but in addition sneaking in fitness throughout the day is beneficial. I live in a house where I have a full studio downstairs, but sometimes, quite pathetically, that is just too far away. If I’m really going to do a stretch that I know my body needs every day I need it to be even easier. So I have items to remind me at my desk, in the bedroom and in the living room.

I keep foam rollers and yoga blocks in my bedroom so I can stretch easily or foam before or after I hop in the shower. And I keep a ball at my desk so that I can stand up and do some occasional exercises when the mood hits me. I also have a smaller ball for self massage. I have a yoga mat, flexband, and stability ball in my living room. I will admit, I use these the least. When I go to the […]

Exercise All Around The HouseMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:30-04:00

Is Exercise Killing Me?

Last week I was frustrated by an article headline I saw somewhere on the Internet. It read “Is Exercise Killing You?” The topic of this new study on exercise was also discussed (thankfully very responsibly) on The View.

So, is exercise killing you? The article I actually found on the topic published in the New York Times was called: “For Some, Exercise May Increase Heart Risk.” A much less fear mongering header which always makes me happy.

The answer is a resounding NO. Exercise is not killing people. The study currently getting a lot of attention found that for 90% of the population exercise has benefits for the heart, lungs and body. But it turns out that for 10% of the population exercise may increase blood pressure and cholesterol. There was no shown increased risk of heart attack of this small group of the population.

I hope the article doesn’t give people an excuse not to exercise. “What if I’m one of the ten percent?” The best thing to do is to get a baseline from your doctor before starting an exercise program. And check in a few months later to compare. Exercise […]

Is Exercise Killing Me?Maggie Downie2017-10-25T15:49:54-04:00

Final Word On the Maggie Downie Challenge

So it’s been a full year since I started my challenge to get in the best shape of my life. And I have to admit I don’t feel like I was successful. Technically I only completed three out of four original challenges and I didn’t really change the way I eat, which I think will be key in my ultimate goal of getting into the best shape of my life. (I may not have been successful, but I’m not giving up.)

If you asked me in the fall if I had succeeded my answer would have been yes. I felt strong, my body felt good. I was five pounds lighter than I am now. I wasn’t eating great, but I was willing to excuse it because I was exercising so much, doing a lot of cross training and felt good about my health.

Final Word On the Maggie Downie ChallengeMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:33-04:00

The Final Challenge: Letting Go

Okay—I don’t have one. I think I’m going to have to let it go. At this point I literally have one month to come up with something.

The best laid plans, I guess. What do they say? Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans?

On the one hand, it seems ridiculous that I couldn’t come up with four challenges throughout the year. And it’s not that I didn’t. I ran the Ragnar, two half-marathons, hiked the Grand Canyon. There are four right there, but I wanted them spaced out seasonally and I didn’t want them all to involve running.

Still, I learned a few things. Having physical challenges that have activities with set dates really helps keep me stay motivated to stick to a workout routine. Having other people working to the same goal really helps me too. But I also learned that after three seasons of having a challenge planned, my body and mind were both tired and in need of a break.

So for next year, I’m already planning on doing a different Ragnar race and another half marathon. We’ll see what other challenge come about as […]

The Final Challenge: Letting GoMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:36-04:00