Moving Around

As someone who exercises approximately 5 days a week, I feel like I move around a lot.  But, after reading Janetha's post and new challenge for the month of May, I realized that I'm actually more sedentary than I like to admit.

Sure, I exercise for about 1 hour each day...but, that's one hour out of 24!  If I look at an actual day, I spend a lot of time sitting down:

Work = 8 hours at a computer/desk or in meetings.  Sure, I walk around some, but a lot of my time is spent sitting down.

Home = After preparing dinner, we sit and eat for about 30 - 40 minutes.  Then after cleaning up, I sit with the kids and help Amelia with her homework and color/draw/write the ABC's with Ben.  After that, we relax as a family and then it's time to get the kids ready for bed.  Once they're ready, we all lay in bed together and read, and then each kid goes to bed.  I lay with Ben while he (and sometimes I) falls asleep.  After that, I head downstairs, where Paul and I clean up and pack lunches for the next day.  Then, we spend the rest of the night sitting on the couch working on our computers/talking/watching TV.  After that, we go to bed.

So, when you look at an actual day, I don't move a lot.  On the weekends we move much more because we're constantly on the go and we like to do active/physical things as a family.  But, five out of seven days, I spend a lot of time sitting.

I know it's healthy and essential to move around a lot, which is why I'm so excited about Janetha's May challenge.  Instead of getting more exercise, Janetha wants us to move more throughout the day.  Here's what she says in her post:

i want you to move more in may, too! each day, i would like you to comment on the move more in may challenge page telling me how you moved that day OUTSIDE OF YOUR OFFICIAL DAILY WORKOUT.  yes, that’s right, we aren’t counting our workouts for this challenge.  that’s the whole point—we are already moving during our workouts. this is for all the other moves of the day.  be creative. try something different.


Janetha is actually giving prizes each week, which is an added incentive! 

My plans include getting up from my desk at least once an hour and walking from my office on the 5th floor to the first floor.  I also plan to take a walk at lunch time to stretch my legs, get my blood flowing and enjoy some great conversation with co-workers I rarely see.  I also want to start walking the dog as a family in the evenings and start playing in the backyard more after dinner.  Now that's it's getting warmer and nicer, this will be very easy to do.

If you think you need to move more, head over to Janetha's blog and read about her challenge.  I think we could all add a little more movement to our days!