Remember the Tortoise won the RACE!!!
Our philosophy of life is succinctly summarized in a book called “Younger Next Year” The authors base the book on 7 principles: exercise 6 days a week the rest of your life, do serious aerobic 4 days a week the rest of your life, do serious strength training 2 days a week the rest of your life, spend less than you make, quit eating crap, care, connect and commit. Doesn’t that sound great in theory? In practice this can be easier for some people (my husband) than others… (myself). This post is going to focus on the staying active part. Research has shown a correlation between active and sedentary life styles and I will have Keith write a blog about that in the future. However, for now… lets talk about activity.
Like most couples, this means different things to each of us. Keith is definitely the more “active” than me if the word active is defined as calorie burning activities. A typical day at our stationary home would include; Peleton bike, lifting weights and utilizing body weight training, TRX, power walks, lap swimming, playing pickleball and he BIKES EVERYWHERE. All this on a DAILY BASIS! He easily hikes for hours….uphill! Bikes -70 miles and is ready for more and easily adapts to the scorching heat and humidity as well as cold. A typical camping routine would include a 3-6 mile walk early in the morning on trails or park roads, biking on park roads or surrounding area and kayaking. Time permitting this would be repeated. He loves being active and most of the time he will have his earbuds on and be listening to non fiction books and medical lectures. Do I think he is amazing? Yes, and he is a positive influence on my own behavior.
I (Pamela) stay active too. My definition is slightly different than Keith’s. When home, I do yoga about 5 times a week at the YMCA, play pickleball singles with Keith daily, occasionally bike and power walk. My exercise level is much lower when we are home than camping. At our home base, I see clients in my job as a Certified Rolfer® ( nutshell description–>Series or individual sessions of functional Anatomy based manual therapy to promote good posture and alignment) and enjoy cleaning, organizing and puttering around the house… this is ALL considered “activity” in the world of wellness. This is something we will address in our blog posts… making it work with different energy levels, ideas of what “active” means and how this all relates to having a good relationship when it is just the TWO of us. While camping I prefer the perfect weather scenario…..70 degrees, sunny and cool. You will find me doing a big hike, long bike ride, kayaking and fishing AFTER I have had a leisurely morning coffee and puttered around the RV. If you throw in a destination lunch or shopping expedition I will double my mileage… yes, I can be bribed. I have noticed that unlike Keith, i am more motivated by extrinsic factors. I own it and I use this knowledge to push myself out of my comfort level.
Future articles will address how couples can have fun when they have different ideas of what “Active” means and how we stay SANE and in love with each other and life living in a small space.
Go out and PLAY!