I Work Out in Public

I work out, in public places.
I work out, in public space.
I work out, to public faces.
I work out, in public.

To your regular gym addict, working out in public is a breeze. Sometimes even a must. But to those of us, (myself to be exact) who have been out of the workout loop due to work and other things, working out in public can be a dreary task. So I searched for another way. Sunday afternoon on May 30th 2015, I had the sudden urge to run. I've never ran before in my life, not in school, not for sports, not for anything. (No not even for my life. Knock on wood!) But that Sunday, I wanted to do it. I wanted to run. It was raining, which in my opinion was a good thing because I didn't want to be seen. 

If you have ever seen those funny GIF's where they show how a person thinks they're running compared to how they're actually running... well, I'm that person. So I piled on the clothes, (it was still a bit chilly in May) tied my running shoes tight, and drove to my favorite park in town. It was cold, wet and vacant. It was perfect.

I parked the car, got out, and took off!

For a whole 10 minutes...

I was winded, in pain and tired. I rested against a tree, trying desperately to catch my breath. At that moment my phone decided right then was a good time to ask for authorization to update my "S Health". I didn't know what this was. Since I was in no way able to continue running, (or walking for that matter) I researched a little. I learned that this application was a workout tool all in one. I had a personal trainer available to me all this time. With access to checking my heart rate, workout programs, pedometer, logging exercise, meals etc. I couldn't believe, for almost 2 years I've had this phone, and I never even explored this application!

Considering I was going no where fast, I decided I may as well give one of the programs a listen. I started off with the "Jogging Coach" with voice cues. 

Dear God did that woman work me out!! 

If you have never used S Health workouts before, here's what the Jogging Coach does:

1) It starts with a 2-3 minute warm up for about .20 miles.

2) It gradually increases your speed after measured distance is reached using voice cues as a positive reinforcement to maintain your pace.

3) It measures your speed per mile ran and advises whether to "speed up" or "slow down" to reach pace target. (She tells me to "try a little harder" a lot)

4) At half way point you ease into a steady jog (approx 3.7 miles/hr) and you remain at that pace for 5 minutes. (In that moment it feels like forever!!)

5) Then gradually your brought back down to a brisk walk, which lowers to a slow consistent walk lasting about 2-3 minutes for .16 miles as your cool down.

I did that routine daily for 2 weeks. But after further exploring the app I found another program called "Baby steps to 5k", so I decided to challenge myself. June 12th I started the first workout for this program, the outline is to run 3 times a week ONLY, and to run the portion of the miles given, starting with a warm up and ending with a cool down. I did not know this. I thought, like the jogging coach, that I would be provided voice cues. This was not the case.

So for the first 3 weeks I had been walking the 5K challenge, thinking that's what I should be doing and then doing the jogging coach afterwards since I wasn't feeling fulfilled after the 5K. I decided to do some research and realized I should have been running, (or at least trying to run) the whole way through from the warm up to the cool down! Fortunately I had been doubling up the workouts thus far and had built my stamina so when I attempted to run the whole way through at the start of week 4, I shocked myself greatly to find that I could comfortably run 2.37 miles at a rather quick pace, AND keep that pace for the duration of the program. I am now at week 8 and running 3.19 miles in just under 30 minutes! But I noticed that I was only working out my cardio, and that the rest of my body wasn't getting any loving. So the past two run days I started a little program after the run, just some simple calisthenics exercises; sit ups, push ups, squats, jumping jacks... that sort of thing.

That's when it hit me. In between reps doing my sit ups, I watched as cars, full of people, pass me by as I stare from my grassy patch where I preformed my workout. And I reflected over the past 10 weeks since I started my weekly routine, that not only have I stuck to it, but my body began to ask for it. And, despite my fears and anxiety, I did it all in public.

Until next time!

Be Fun. Be Happy. Be You.

Lot's of love,

Jax

xox