Every year around my birthday I get a little…strange. I don’t particularly like the thought of “ageing”.  I am OK with getting older, but “ageing” is a whole different ball game.

Around this time of year when the new number starts rolling up on me, I like to challenge myself to crazy things.  Some years I give something up, some years I add something in. I mainly do this for two reasons:
  1. To see if I can actually stick to it
  2. To remind myself that I am the master of my choices -- both good and bad.
This time around I chose to add cardio to my work out regime; 30 minutes a day from the time this thought popped in my head on May 7th, until my 48th birthday on June 17th.
Truth bomb: I originally thought I would do 48 minutes until my 48th birthday. Then at 29 minutes in on the first day, I  realized that 30 minutes was QUITE ENOUGH.

I train 3-4 times per week and have been doing so for many years, although I am not excessive in any way. I train regularly, thoughtfully and use my energy levels to dictate the intensity. That said, I am not a “cardio” person and usually only do it when I have a trip coming up and need to get “vacation ready”.

As my birthday crazies started to creep in, I wanted to see how the added cardio would affect my body composition, energy levels and willpower.

After 42 days and 1260 minutes of cardio, here is what I learned:

1. I am still not (and probably never will be) a 100% cardio loving person. But, over the last 42 days I did a bunch of different things and I do have some favourites.

Stairmill: As far as cardio equipment goes, the Stairmill is probably my favourite machine. I feel like I am doing a little extra leg and booty building on this machine and I was super sweaty without a lot of impact!

Spin bike: We have one in my condo gym but I much prefer hitting up 6IX CYCLE so Owner (and my dear friend) Julie Harris can blast the perfect mix to get me through the workout.

Running: Oddly enough…I didn’t hate it.  I mainly did intervals of incline walking, a jog and short sprints.  But still, I prefer interval training in the form of a conditioning type workout like Alvin's ‘burn’ class at Myodetox Performance.

 

2. It really didn’t impact my body composition.  I already eat well (hello, I am my own customer. Shameless plug for EAT TRAIN LIVE). But who are we kidding here, I do love some potato chips.  After 42 days I lost a couple pounds, but that was never my goal.  I have always found that tightening up my diet (i.e. eating fewer Lays Regular chips -- aka the best chips ever invented) and focusing on my resistance programming has always yielded the best results for me . I am currently working with my trainer 3 days per week and I am a moderate eater…everything in moderation, and this works for my lifestyle and workload. I can add in an additional workout when I have the time and energy and always have some wiggle room to add or remove food based on my current aesthetic desire.

 

3. I have time *who knew?!* I somehow managed to find  an extra 30 minutes every day for the last 42 days to just get it done. Knowing it was a ‘must’ and not merely an option made it easier to find the time. I will continue using this method of “must do” to make time to get other things done. 

If I can find 30 minutes to do cardio (something I am not remotely fond of) surely I can find 30 minutes to work on something important to me like my business, recipe creation, doing something I love or just taking a walk to clear my head.  Whatever it is I can “never find the time” to do, I definitely have time to do it…except laundry…I never have time for that. Hate it!

 

4. Lastly, I realized that when I set my mind to something I can do it.  I told myself I could and I did. I didn’t give myself an opportunity to talk myself out of the  challenge. I said I would do it, I committed to it and I did it and that’s a great feeling!


I did 30 minutes of cardio but I challenge you to do 30 minutes of movement, mindfulness or self-love, something that will have a positive impact on your mind, body and soul. Just pick a number of days and do it.


PS. how smart was Nike with this slogan?!

Will I continue to do cardio? Yes. I did it today and will do it a few times per week because I really do love to sweat. It’s great for cardiovascular health and to be honest, I watch horror movies and want to be able to run just long enough to save my life.

EAT RIGHT TRAIN SMART LIVE WELL

Lonie

CPT, PN, Founder EAT TRAIN LIVE

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