Monday, September 1, 2008

Fitness Assessment

Well, it has been almost two years since I truly did any physical activity. I worked out a lot before our wedding to get slim and trim for the dress, but after our honeymoon, finding out we were pregnant and the nausea that came with the reflux of the pregnancy, I haven't done more than take walks since. We even sold my bike to help with debts and buy furniture for Rylen. Once Rylen was born and my arthritis flared, physical activity really slowed down. But now it is time to kick it back into high... well, medium gear. I told Robby that I wanted him to come up with a plan for me to get back the muscle I have lost through all of this. Arthritis really causes the muscles to atrophy, so I needed to build it back up. My hope is that this will alleviate the rest of the joint pains that I have had. More blood flow through the body and more muscle to support the joints.

Well, what a better day to put my body through this challenge than on Labor Day. After Rylen woke up this morning and received his first meal of the day, I took my weight and BMI (106.2/19.8) on our scale and Robby did some calipers and measuring. We then headed out to Klein High School for the rest of the Assessment. We did make a short stop at Randalls for me to do my blood pressure which was 99/61. Low, but not too low.

Once we arrived at the track, I did a slow one lap jog and then stretched. I really realized at this point how tight my whole body has become! Then the 1 mile run! I was truly expecting a horrible time and was pleasantly surprised with a 10:43 mile. Not too bad for two years off! I only had a couple of times that my heart rate got to 180 and I had to slow down a bit, but my average was 170. A little high, but time and dedication will improve this. Next were situps and the flexibility test. My situps were 39 in one minute and my abs were BURNING! The flexibility... well, i could still reach past my heels, so we'll consider it a decent result.

So, all in all, not too bad. We have a starting point and boy did it feel good to be physically active again. I can't wait for my workout plan. I'm ready!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good for you! I am one of those once I get going, I DO NOT want to stop. My biggest challenge is staying on track when life interrupts me. When I go out of town or have company, it is hard to stay on the exercise track. For some reason it takes me awhile to get back into the groove. Maybe it is called a 5 month old...=0)!!!!

Hang in there and I think you have an awesome starting point!!!!