This week's living the good life challenge is blogging daily for the next week about a healthy new habit that I wish to develop. So, what is that new healthy habit? Exercising on a regular, if not daily, basis. I think I can do this. I know I can do this.

Now, I say regular basis (for me, a goal of at least 5 days a week) since there will be days like yesterday where I don't get home until 8:30/9pm...and for me, that's too late to workout. But, I did get in 15 minutes of walking...brisk walking, too. Walking with a purpose. That counts, right?

But with that habit, I need to be consistent with getting up on time each morning, and not hitting that snooze bar for two hours (yes, 2 hours). If I get up on time (5am), I am at work by 7, home by 5. That gives me 4 hours in the evening before I crawl in bed to read then go to sleep. That's 1/4 of my evening, and if I do it when I first get home, I can be successful in getting a full hour in before my tummy tells me it's time for dinner.

With spring coming up, walking will become important, too. You see, I have a chubby puppy who needs to lose a good 10 lbs to be back at his healthy weight. And he needs more walks than what the 20 minutes the dog walker gives him in the middle of the day. I'm quite lucky that I have several greenway trails right out my back door, if not within easy walking distance. Sam and I used to make those walks on a daily basis, and I lost quite a bit of weight doing that. But, with a squirrel and Sam's low to the ground stance, and seriously injured knees, I quit walking two summers ago. Last summer was too hot for both of us (he's quite furry, too). So, it is time to quit making excuses and get the two of us out on the trails again, especially with Spring quickly approaching.

I also won that XBox 360 with Kinect and have fallen in love with Zumba. Last weekend I over did it and injured my knee. This weekend, the knee is feeling better and I'm planning on doing it again, but not overdoing it. I plan on resting a little in between each session. And being a little more conservative with spreading my extra time of exercise on the weekends out instead of all at once.

So, with that, today and tomorrow: 30 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes of BL Ultimate, 45 minutes Zumba Rush, and 30 minutes Zumba Core. I think I can handle that today and tomorrow.

Then, the rest of the week, 15 minutes on treadmill, 15 minutes BL Ultimate, and 30 minutes Zumba Rush. By breaking it up I think it will make it seem easier to do. I may try to get to the gym a couple of days and do 30 minutes on the bike and 30 minutes of strength training. Building muscle helps burn calories, too.

So, with that...building a healthy, consistent exercise routine is my goal with my new healthy habit.