On Thursday night, I decided I would give jogging a try. So, yesterday morning, off I went!

As I’ve mentioned, I am definitely not a jogger, but a walker. For the sake of my body – and especially my lungs – I decided to start off slowly, so I did three repetitions of the following cycle: 6 minutes walking and 1.5 minutes jogging/running.

Originally, I had intended to do more than three repetitions, but by the time I was done with my third 1.5 minutes of jogging/running, I felt like my legs were about to give out or that I would faint… or maybe both in quick succession? So I took it easy and walked the rest of my four-mile course.

Still, I felt very good about myself yesterday. Using my entire body to exercise and feeling out of breath… the feeling is exhilarating. And feeling physically tired?! WOW. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve felt physically tired before, of course, but it has been a long while since I’ve felt like collapsing on the floor and not moving at all. Lately, I’ve been more mentally tired than physically tired, unfortunately… Even after my step machine workouts, the level of tiredness is incomparable.

Fast forward to Saturday, 4:05 in the morning: I am lying in bed, feeling like I had just fallen asleep when I have, in fact, been asleep for a little under two hours. I hear my upstairs neighbor’s heavy steps and his music and think, “What the heck is he doing? Partying all by himself?” I move my legs and notice they are stiff… and sore. “Huh,” I murmur before falling asleep again.

My legs – especially my thighs – are so sore today. And I must say, I love it. Okay, it probably means I should warm up more before exercising, but I’m very pleased that my thighs are sore. My thighs are my problem area, I am definitely a pear shape.

I will give jogging a try again tomorrow morning, and I’ll let you know how it goes!

P.S. – On another note about this morning: The negative co-worker I have mentioned in a previous post called me at 10 AM. Seeing that I fell asleep around 2:30 AM or so, I was still asleep at 10 AM. In other words, she woke me up on a bloody Saturday morning! I was startled at first, thinking it was my alarm, and that I was late for something. When my hand finally found my cellphone, I looked at the screen through half-shut eyes, saw her name, and put the phone down at the same time. I tried to fall asleep again but, of course, I couldn’t. This may be just me, but unless it’s absolutely necessary, I never call friends (let alone those I don’t know very well, as I should be considered by her) on Saturday/Sunday/holiday mornings. I do this because I assume that, like me, they value the mornings when they get to sleep in and just relax.
Anyway, she left me a voice message. I listened to it a while ago, and it’s so loaded with negativity – not her words, but the tone of her voice and… just the energy I feel it emits. Call me crazy, but it’s impossible not to feel it. Ugh. Guess I’ll call her back now.

First, let me explain the reason for my decision:

This morning, as I always do Thursday through Sunday, I was exercising at home on my step machine while watching “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” – very cute movie, by the way. Well, I know my machine can make very loud “thump” noises when the step hits the ground, so I usually place a rug under the steps to cushion the impact. This morning was no different – I was exercising with a folded rug under the steps.

However.

About 37 minutes into my exercise, I heard three distinct, angry, loud THUDS from the apartment above me. Occasionally, I will hear my upstairs neighbor dragging his furniture (?), walking, etc., and I pay him no mind, but this time, the noise sounded like it was directed specifically at me.

So I stopped.

And then I got angry.

And then I sympathized with him.

And then I decided I should probably learn how to jog.

When I first began my lifestyle change, I walked briskly every morning. But when the weather began to change and the air became a bit too chilly for my lungs, I decided to move my exercise indoors and bring my step machine back to life. Not to mention I started to become a little scared by a strange man I encountered almost every day during my walk.

Though it’s now mid-October, the weather is slightly warmer for some odd reason, so I guess I should take advantage of it and allow my neighbor to sleep in on weekdays? (I swear, though… What is up with him? The man is apparently in his 30s, and he sleeps until noon. Aaand he is up until 3 or 4 in the morning. No, I’m not a stalker – I just happen to know because he enjoys playing his loud rock music until 3 or 4 in the morning, thus awaking me. Does he have a life?)

OK. I am watching the news while I write this post, and the weatherman has just pleasantly informed me that the weather is quite nice now, but we should “expect a change tonight and tomorrow.”

Anyway, I was never much of a jogger or a runner – I was always a walker. In my high school years, we sometimes had to run 1 km around the soccer field for P.E. class, and guess who was almost always among the three or four girls to finish? Yup… Moi.

Still, it’s not too late to become a jogger! I am, after all, only 22-years-old. I’ll start slowly, of course, and see how it goes. I will keep you updated through my blog!

Being the complicated person that I am, however, I have a bit of trouble with more than the physical part of jogging. I never know where to carry my keys so that they don’t jingle, I feel unsafe without my cell phone, I don’t have an armband for my iPod and never know how to carry it with me, I hate feeling the sun burning my skin even though I wear sunscreen, and I could go on and on forever… I would most definitely appreciate suggestions. The first time I went out for a brisk weight loss walk, I took my entire purse with me – no kidding.

Anyway, the journey begins… tomorrow!

The Everlast for Her Pilates Twist Board with Resistance Tubing.

I have never been a big fan of the gym atmosphere – I prefer to exercise in the comfort and privacy of my own home. So, I am always on the lookout for any piece of equipment that will help me tone and that won’t occupy too much space in my tiny studio apartment.

When I first saw the Everlast Twist Board, my first thoughts were, “What a fun-looking thing!”

But I also thought, “I wonder if it works?” Many of the reviews on Amazon mentioned how fun the twist board is, but only a few made reference to noticeable, effective results.

According to Everlast, the twist board with resistance tubing supposedly strengthens your deltoids, triceps, obliques, inner thighs, hips, calves, biceps, back, and shoulders. Sounds like a complete workout, huh?

Well, I decided to give it a try and ordered one earlier this week – for $10.96, there isn’t much to lose – and it just arrived today! So far, I’ve spent about 15 fun minutes twisting on it and only did a few lateral raises, but I can feel my upper body ache already. A good sign, perhaps?

I have to say, I love being able to feel active instead of sitting on my bum while watching television. One piece of advice, though: This twist board may be a bit small for larger persons. I am 5′0″ and I wear size 5 shoes, so the board’s diameter is perfect for me.

Anyway, I’m planning to use the twist board at least four times per week… After a month or so, I’ll post my results here, so check back soon!

(If you own/use a twist board, please feel free to leave me your comments below! I would love to hear from you.)