I'm told that shifting up the types of exercise we do is good for a few reasons. For one thing, muscles seem to respond better to a varied work out, and also it keeps us interested. If those things are true, it's a good idea. So I've been trying to keep my work outs interesting and varied.

This week I tried 2 new types of work outs. For Cardio I tried Cardio Dance (Bollywood style) and I really enjoyed that. I couldn't do everything in the 16 minute video, but I did about 12 minutes worth, and the 14 minute video was a bit more my speed, but there were still a couple moves I couldn't do so I just bounced in a slightly crouched position whenever they were doing the things I couldn't, worked the same muscles, and maybe some day I'll be able to move up to what they do in the video. I might be embarressed to try it if I was with other people, but at home by myself it was fine. Patch was playing Xbox in the other room when I was doing the work out and she asked me what the "wierd noises" were at one point. I guess she could hear me grumbling about the ones that were too difficult for me, but I just kept doing what I could do, and I'm pretty proud of how well I did.

The other new exercise I've been trying is the beginner's pilates videos. There are 2, and man do they work your core and legs. I used those on strength days, tho I suppose it's a bit cardio, a bit strength. Not sure what it counts as, but it definitely works my muscles, so I count it as strength training. I also did some strength training on the Wii that I hadn't done before, and did pretty well all things considered. It definitely kept things interesting this week so far. And I'm looking forward to trying more. I haven't ridden my trike at all since I haven't been feeling well enough to get up at 5 when it's cool enough, but I have still been getting 20 to 30 minutes of exercise a day, so I'm happy with that.

They say if you do something for 21 days in a row it becomes habit so I've been working on building a new morning habit. I'm making sure to get 10 to 15 minutes each morning and then I meditate for about 15 minutes with a guided meditation challenge I joined from the chopra institute. You can join the 21 day challenge too if you want here: chopracentermeditation.com And now I'm going to start checking the family calendar every day after mediation. Those 3 things together seem like a good start to the day. So far, I'm really enjoying the 10 to 15 minutes of yoga and pilates I've been doing in the morning and the 15 minute meditations. As it becomes more of a habit, I've started going to bed earlier and waking up earlier without my alarm even. I still don't manage to wake up at 5AM without an alarm, but 6:30 is a good time for me. Maybe eventually I'll get my body clock used to getting up even earlier and I won't need an alarm again, because waking up to an alarm is jarring and doesn't lead to me wanting to work out and meditate.

Overall, I'm happy with how things are going. Getting half my work out done first thing in the morning means I'm more likely to reach my 20 to 30 minute a day goal. I'm grateful to those who recommended getting in a scheduled work out and making it a habit!

How are you doing with your work out routine? Are you shaking things up or sticking to what you know?