HIIT me baby, one more time.

I haven't wanted to put this out there (or buy new clothes) until I thought I was fully committed, but I have an announcement.

I'm no longer just donating to the gym. We are now in a relationship.

For some reason, it took trying exercise as a reprieve for anxiety for me to really get into it, and wouldn't you know -- it works! If only someone would conduct some research or write an article on this or something. ;-)

I'm limited to a certain type of bike at the gym because of a foot impediment, so really getting a good workout was taking more time and some creativity...until I tried HIIT. High-intensity interval training is not newj -- it has been around for ages -- but I just learned about it in the past year.

The idea is to alternate intense bursts of exercise with shorter periods of rest, then repeat.

The result? I definitely get a more intense workout using this method. I sweat more, my heart rate gets much higher, I'm able to burn more calories in one sitting, and I just feel the overall burn. It's like getting a better bang for your buck, without dedicating any more time to that exercise.

So how do you get started?

I'm sure there are much more structured and beneficial approaches, but I literally just searched for HIIT in the App Store and found a free timer.

The one I selected has you warm up for 10 seconds (yellow-gold timer), go at a normal rate for a certain period (green timer), then gives you a window of time to exercise at an intense rate (red timer). If you're using earbuds or want to look at something else on your phone while working out, the timer will run in the background and alert you to the next phase with a traditional kitchen timer sound. On the bike, I like to have the timer up on my screen so I can keep track of which intensity to exercise at while still focusing on audiobooks or podcasts.

Do you have experience with HIIT or other resources that might help? I'd love to hear about it!

HIIT and I have been connecting for a few months now, so I'm thinking this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Putting It Out There.

I recently read somewhere that if one blogs about a goal and the process they're taking to get there, accountability is higher and success is more likely. So here I go.

I need to lose weight. And I guess, embarrassing and odd (for me) as it is, I'm going to blog about it.

I'm not excited about the blogging-about-it part, though I generally love to write about anything. (Or so I thought.) I am, however, excited about the journey and the end result. I truly believe the term "joy in the journey" isn't just a nice book title. If we don't find joy in our journeys, where will find it? Processes are part of what make us who we are, and I'm actually looking forward to the process. Interesting and new for me.

So, here goes. I'm trying to be realistic, so my goal is to lose 2 pounds per week. I'll blog next Monday evening or Tuesday about my progress.

Wish me luck! And lots of celery!

Energy.

In my humble opinion (or, IMHO, to those of you acronym-savvy readers), energy is a very strange thing.

For instance, it is currently 2:25am, and I am buzzing with it. Ok, so I had a fun day. I was productive at work, got to mix business with pleasure (went to New Orleans for a vendor meeting and got to hear my favorite band and hang out with a best friend), and feel good about life. But for real. 2:25am. No medical assistance, just me, as flittery as a butterfly, hopping around and getting things done. (I know. You're jealous you're not my neighbor. Anyway...)

Also, there's the tiny (pun intended) subject of calories. Much to my surprise as an adult whose metabolism has clearly slowed (and a former student who clearly has zero memory rentention), calories are supposed to equal energy (?).

For me, calories generally equal fat rolls. So what's up with that? I mean, sure, if I consume less, I guess I feel more energetic since there's less of me to move. But if I consume more, I feel the overwhelming urge to crawl into the fetal position and nap on the couch for 7 straight hours. Which really makes zero sense. More energy = more energy, right? Wrong.

And then we move onto the "youth is wasted on the young" theory. If I watch my nephew for an hour, I am sort of jazzed, but if I watch him for 3 hours, I am wiped out.

The nephew is 6. The aunt is 33 1/2.

He wakes up ready to go, does not understand the concept of caffeine, and has not, to my knowledge, developed a taste for coffee. Two of his first words were "Go!" and "Play!," and that's pretty much the gist of what we still talk about.

"Hey Bekah. When you gonna come to Alabama so we can play again? I have some Wii games that you'll have to work really hard at. You'll love 'em!"

"Happy birthday, Aunt Bekah. Did you get any fun toys?  Oh... You got some cards and phone calls and a picture? Well....that's nice. At least people called you because they love you. Happy birthday." 

"Aunt Bekah, this big bouncy ball that I play with every time I come here.... What do you do with it? I mean, when I'm not here? EXERCISE? Oh. You don't ever roll it down your stairs for fun when I'm not here? Oh..." 

"You know, if you take a nap, we won't get to play as long. Really. I have all KINDS of cool army men to play with. You don't wanna miss this." 

"My teacher? Um, well, yeah, she's nice and all. But kindergarten is a LOT of hard work. The best part is play time. Huh? Yeah, we do math. But better than math is P.E. And recess. We can PLAY then. Yep, I did good on that test, but guess what else I'm best at? Climbing that jungle gym you saw in the playground. And the TALLEST POLE out there. I slide down it. I'm not scared at ALL."

And exercise, speaking of. It's supposed to give you energy, yes? Well, I can occasionally get the oft-rumored runner's high, but not always. (Why not always?) And if I exercise in the morning (like is constantly insinuated all responsible adults should do), I'm zapped the heck out by 3pm. No lie. If I exercise after work -- 6pm-ish -- I'm good till 10 or 11, and can go to bed at normal time, like a normal person. But if I exercise later -- 9pm or so -- game over. I'm up all night. Sometimes.

So you can see how energy is a conundrum for me.

I'm not really blogging about this to get any answers, though if you have them, feel free to share. I'm sort of typing all this out because I feel I'm jittery at now nearly 3am for no reason at all, and I might as well do something semi-productive with my time.

So, in summary, here are my thoughts:

• Calories are not defined correctly.
• Calories are mean.
• I will never get the calorie = energy thing.
• Youth IS wasted on the young.
• ....Except it's super-fun watching my nephew enjoy his youth.
• ....Unless he's waking me up with it.
• Exercise is clearly out to get me.
• Those who exercise early in the morning have issues.
• I do not.
• I could go on forever but must make myself stop.
• ....Because NO ONE else is awake right now.

Hmmpfh. So. I just yawned. How 'bout that.