Just a few

Some of the few RAFs and RAKs I have been doing have had a lot to do with this little guy. I got him 9 days ago as an early Christmas present from my roommate. His name is Dash and he certainly has been named appropriately. He takes walks in the morning and at night. But I cannot count those for random acts of fitness, however I will occasionally take him out and go for a quick little walk around the neighborhood just for fun. I have also taken him to campus and he helps me do RAKs by finding other peoples gum on the ground and in the bushes and many other locations. he finds them and I throw them away in the trash can. :) Other things I have been doing are making my roommate's bed when she doesn't have time. I also went over to my parent's house today and swept their floor and help them figure out their new Mac. It truly is a different machine than a PC. I also have done some sets of pushups and sit-ups and squats every now and again. I also picked up a knee race for my mom as well as am designing a rehabilitation program for her and my dad to strengthen their knees that they have had surgery on. I am keeping a tally and will report the final total at the end of the month but these are just a few so far.

Hula Hooping and Hopping

I pulled out the Hula Hoop today and did some backwards and on top of the Bosu!  Then Regan has this toy called the Busy Bee Hopper.  It circles a rod around its base and you are expected to jump over it as it rotates around.  Yep, I did it with the girls.

Thank goodness for little kids!  They keep me RAF-ing regularly!

RAF & RAK

Somehow the RAKs come easier than the RAFs. However I'm working on them. So far I have written a thank-you note and sent it in the mail. I got the little gifts wrapped and took them to Dupters. I gave some caramels to Katrina when she came to pick up the turkey to cook for the Ward Christmas party. I took Dad's wallet down to the dentist's when he forgot it. We went visiting teaching and I took goodies to all of them, even Norma whose visiting teachers we aren't. I walked extra far when I went grocery shopping on Wednesday. I got up during the commercials last night when I watched TV and walked around. I parked at the other end of the parking lot when I went to GESA today. I am now going to go in and write another thank-you note and maybe two. It's a start anyway. I'm only doing this because Santa is watching and Sharon is breathing down my neck. What's everyone else doing?

Mom

Random Act of Kindness

One of my latest RAKs:  I cleaned up some kid's hot chocolate spill at the school's holiday party.  I just happened to be right there when it happened and decided to be the one to run to the bathroom to grab some towels before the mess got out of hand.  I figure it could've just as easily been one of my kids doing the spilling!

This qualifies, right?  What are you guys doing?  Keep track and earn lots of points!

December Challenge

This month is way to hectic to do our voting for the winner, right?  We will do that in January when things calm down. 

Instead, I am issuing a standard monthly challenge to get us through the holidays more healthily and to give some of you one more chance to rack up enough points for a T-shirt.  (Remember, you have to get earn 10 to qualify!)

Challenge:

Random Acts of Fitness and Kindness

You earn one (1) point for each Act that you do.

Examples of RAFs:

(You can read my blog http://www.lazytrainer.blogspot.com/ for some ideas.)

• 100 body squats throughout the day.  (Break into sets of 20 or so)
• 100 pushups...
• 5 minutes of hula hooping.
• Add 10 more trips up your staircase than you normally do during the day.
• Jumping jacks or crunches or lunges or marching in place, or all of these... during commercial breaks.

Examples of RAKs:

• Let someone merge into traffic.
• Compliment somebody.
• Send someone a note in the mail.
• Pick up some litter that isn't yours.
• Deliver a little gift anonymously to a neighbor.

I know there are more/better ideas out there... please share some!

It's a busy time of year, so sometimes things just have to be fit in quickly and randomly, but let's not completely abandon our good deeds - fitness and otherwise! - in the rush and stress of the season.

Back for more

Hey look who finally decided to report. I want to say that I have been following Sharon's posts and even occasionally doing the challenges. Alas, reporting is a whole other story.

But this month I have had great success and could not resist reporting. I almost forgot about the bottle rockets Thanksgiving activity. Not the activity itself, but that it qualified. I did lose 8 pounds in 3 days during thanksgiving thanks to the stomach flu. And I am pleased to report that after over a week since recovering I have only gained 4 of them back. Three of those on the day after Thanksgiving.

I have recently incorporated a shoulder/upper back workout into my weekly routine and the neck stretching has become routine as well. I usually get in a quick stretch before the workout but I have been doing it the neck stretches every morning in the shower. The hotness of the water on my neck as I stretch is a delightful combination. Great way to start the day.

That's my report. WhitebreadToast in the house!

Report for November

Okay, I did the stretching exercises for the maximum amount of days. In fact, I like them so am continuing to do them. However, I did not do any family activity. I stayed in and helped Lynn make ornaments. However, Dad, Devin, Asa and Eli went over to the school and shot off bottle rockets. I should have walked over with them. I exercised as much as I could but alas, I fell short of my desired goal for the month of November.

I did get a reply from Vicki in regards to Sketchers Shape-up shoes. She says she has a pair that she wears while performing her nursing duties. She is constantly on her feet. It has helped eliminate her lower back pain and tired feet. She did comment that she doesn't wear them to exercise in. I seriously think I will consider buying a pair. At least I will look at them.

Love, Mom

Loosey Goosey

Boy did I LOVE this challenge. I didn't realize how tight my neck was and I had never come across that stretch before now. I did 12 of the days. I need to check my email more often so that I know when a new post is up, or I would have had more. Especially because my neck is now thanking me. I get headaches every so often and these stretches really helped when I felt one coming on. My roommate also gets headaches so I still need to share this gem with her. Thank you for this. Oh and I dragged Mom, Dad, and Ali to go play Bocce ball with me after thanksgiving dinner so that we didn't succumb to our food comas before we burned off a few calories. Nothing tells you that you ate too much like bending over every 30 seconds to pick up your ball and feeling your stomach scream in agony that it is getting too much pressure exerted on it from both the inside and out. Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving!

Report

Thanks for the reminder Sharon.
I did the neck stretch quit a few times because it helps so much with my tight shoulder and neck muscles. (stress)
I am also proud to report that we did exercise over the holidays also. We played Boccee (sp) ball on Thanksgiving then Friday Ali, Karlie, Jeff, and I played Wii fit for about 3 hours. (If you want to see something funny, you should see me run that obstacle course.) Haha. There was someone who is slightly older than me who looked even funnier. We wont name him, but the laughing was almost as much of a workout as the running and jumping.
Oh the fun you can have with family, we are so blessed.

November Report

OK.  Report in, everyone!  I only scored 2 points for my stretching.  My excuse is that it's such a good stretch that it benefits me for many days, so, even though I encourage daily stretching, just getting it in when you can will be beneficial, as well.

I also scored a point for doing something active with my family over the Thanksgiving holiday.  We actually did more than one thing.  Thanksgiving day we hiked to some Indian petroglyphs (sp?) and on Saturday we participated in the Johnson Golden Sneaker Challenge (pictures will be coming soon!).

So, three points for me in November, how many for you?!?