In my 20s I regularly ran 10 miles at a time. These days, though, I mostly get my exercise through (1) power walking with my dogs and (2) lifting light weights every other day. I also loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove to swim and rollerblade, but I do those things mostly for casual fun and not for exercise.

I totally hear ya on the power walking - I've been power-walking more than I've been running lately. It works more areas in the body than running does and it has less strain on the knees and heart. I swimming, rollerblading too (which you already know ) - and of course weigh-lifting is a key element in exercise.

You should try Cardio-Kickboxing...it's a lot of fun .

That does sound fun. I think one of my sisters took a class in that once.

It's a kickass class (pardon the pun) but it's also a lot of fun to take. It's great for working out stress and calories .

You easily burn about 800 calories (minimum) in one hour depending on the level of intensity - sort of like Spinning manages to do .

Wow! That's a decent amount of calories!

Definitely worth the effort you put into it .

BTW - If you've never jogged/power walked up-hill backwards you should give it a try...it works wonders for the calves, the hamstrings and the glutes .

That does sound worthwhile, although it's hard enough for me to keep two dogs and two leashes straight going FORWARD. lol.

Okay important note: For this exercise leave the pooches at your casa .

I LOVE working out. I workout 6 or 7 days a week.

I go to 3 1hour step classes/week
1 1hr cardio kickboxing class
And then on the other days I either run on the treadmill or ride the bike for an hour.

My problem is weights. I hate lifting weights with a passion! I'm a cardio junkie!

I love step classes! I haven't gone to one since I left Korea though. But there were so much fun. I got a kick out of watching newbies try to learn the steps once you put it all together.

I've played Dance Dance Revolution since 2003, and it's the best, most fun exercise I've ever gotten.
I also ride my bike, play softball, rollerblade, swim in the summer, walk, and hike on the trails at my local park.
I love exercising.
I've never been to a gym, but I've always been really healthy because I do "fun" activities that also happen to be good exercise.

Well, I just wanted to share some good news! For the past 4 months, I've been going to training classes to become a group fitness instructor. I had my audition a few weeks ago, and I found out this week that I made it!!!

I'm brand new at this, so I'm going to be team teaching with a more experienced instructor for a while and then I'll eventually get my own class. I'm planning on teaching step! I'm really excited!

That makes 3 jobs for me...yikes! My FT job, eBay, and now a fitness instructor!

How awesome for you, Ohno!!
Congratulations on making it to a fitness instructor.


This thread reminds me that I need to start exercising more.

Wow OhNo!!! Congrats

I agree Fryl, I feel like I should go workout now

Congrats, ONYD!

And now I'm reminded that I need to exercise more too. I have some light weights, but never get around to using them.

Well, I've been exercising a lot more recently. For the past 2 1/2 wks., I've been doing a regimen for 45 min.-1 hr. an evening. It includes light weights, crunches, & various aerobic exercises. I've noticed that I tend to prefer leg exercises the most.

And as I've been reading this thread, I've noticed the word "cardio" comes up quite frequently. It's a word I've heard a lot, but don't really quite understand. Could someone clarify the term for me a little bit more?