Northwest Woman

You know you live in Washington State when you get an umbrella as your five-year award for state service, I mused. Born and raised in Lacey, Washington, I occasionally wonder why I kept coming back here in between my globe trotting adventures.

Sinus infections and pollen allergies couldn’t keep me away. I love the outdoors here in the Great Northwest-running and biking on the Western Chehalis trail, taking my dog to the park, hiking in the woods, snowboarding, and taking weekend trips to the Ocean. Unfortunately, there is too often predictable weather forecast of partly cloudy with a slight chance of rain.

So if I’m not always up for going jogging in the rain, how does one stay fit and not go insane? .If you’re tired of the rain and bored of the same old gym routine, perhaps my tips will help you.

First, I believe that fitness has to be combined with good nutrition. I remember about five years ago when I had to go to the Co-Op to get good organic foods. Nowadays, it doesn’t matter what grocery store you go to-Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC-all of them have an organic section.

From free range chicken to fresh produce, I like to eat as close to “all natural” as possible. Though I have abandoned my former Vegetarian ways of my early twenties, I still have a tendency towards pre-made organic Vegetarian dishes (i.e., Amy’s frozen selections have always been a plus). Protein is important to my body sculpting efforts, so I get my protein mostly from hardboiled egg-whites, free-range chicken, cottage cheese and protein shakes.

I prep my meals on the weekends and take them in small baggies or plastic containers to eat throughout the day at work. I try to eat 5-6 small meals a day. I used to eat at my desk, but found myself more refreshed and ready to re-focus on my work if I get up and walk around, and then snack in my cafeteria or break room.

Fitness can be difficult when you prefer to be outdoors than in a gym. I admit, I’m a nit-picky never satisfied gym-hopper. I hate sharing a squat rack or working into other people’s weight sets. The times I like to go to the gym happen to be everyone else’s favorite time too.

Though I used to kid myself that I’m a morning person, I’ve finally come to accept that it’s a futile effort. I still try and will be consistent for up to a few weeks, but ultimately, I give up.

To stay motivated in working out, I’ve found that planning my training around upcoming sports has been my best motivator. I do this by seasons. Fall is the time I used to be in track and cross-country in high school and college; so I still tend to get more into running around that time. Winter is the time I’ve recently picked up snowboarding; other winter fun I look forward to is snow-shoeing.

Spring, for me, is a good time to get more serious about kickboxing because it’s an indoor sport I can do while the weather continues to pour down on us. Summer is when I daydream about past adventures of three day fifty mile bike rides over of the San Juan Islands or canoeing for three days down Black River.

I try to make my daily lifestyle as active as possible. I’ve pretty much worked desk jobs for the past ten years, so it’s required some creativity at work as well. From walking and running stairs to walking on breaks with co-workers, I’ve found that it keeps me more energized and looking more forward to my real workouts.

To also help me stay motivated, I allow myself to intentionally workout at home. I practice my kickboxing punch and kick combos on my girlie Wave master. I combine plyometrics with other anaerobic techniques, typically doing 20-30 minute routines that are in 3 minute intervals.

I’ll arrange pillows on the floor with a couple feet of space in between, and use this as an obstacle course. For three minutes, I’ll jump in between pillows with both feet together, jumping as high as I can, and then at the end of the course, drop down and do a push-up, and then jump back up and punch or kick my Wave master. I’ll rest for a few minutes, walking around or-if I’m in better shape-do bicycle crunches or push-ups, and then do another fast-paced workout.

I play music to match the workout. For example, I love to listen to Van Halen’s “Jump” while doing jumping jacks or jumping in place with my hands over my head. Or, I’ll put in Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” while I hula hoop. Don’t laugh, if you can hula hoop, then try this for a nice ab workout: Every 3 seconds of the song, drop your hips down into a Jennifer Grey “dirty dancing” style move and then pull back up. Focus on your abs and by the end of the song, you’ll feel a nice burn.

There are really so many things you can do for just a few minutes at a time. I just keep challenging myself with something new each time. I have an old brown chase lounge that is about the same height as a boxing ring. I jump up and down with both feet for as long as I can, and then when too winded, I climb it like I’m climbing stairs.

I also have adjustable dumbbells at home so I can still do some weight routines if I can’t make it to the gym or the roads are too bad. I don’t have a weight bench, so I use a balance ball in its place, which also forces me to work my core while doing basic chest press movements.

When the weather clears up or it’s not raining too hard, I like to walk my dog to the park and play with him on the playground. From step-ups to attempting pull-ups (that’s one thing I still haven’t mastered yet… but I’m working on it!), whether you take children or a dog, it’s a great place with wide open possibilities for a creative workout.

Well, there you have it, my “secrets” of staying fit and healthy around here despite the rainy weather. I hope I have inspired you or at least given you some fresh ideas of how you can spice up your routines.