Awards:
Contemporary Troubadour gave me the Inspiration Award and I’m very flattered. As I don’t consider myself very inspiring.
The rules are as follows:
- Put the logo of the award (above) on your blog if you can make it work with your format.
- Link to the person from whom you received the award.
- Nominate seven or more blogs.
- Put the links of those blogs on your blog.
- Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.
So, I nominate:
Katie at Minor Revisions
Aunt Becky at Mommy Wants Vodka
Julie at Disgruntled Julie
Ambivalent Academic at Ambivalent Academic
Science Girl at Curiosity Killed the Cat
Academic at Journeys of an Academic
EcoGeoFemme at The Happy Scientist
Exercise Times:
When do you all exercise? In the morning? Evening? Lunchtime? I’m trying to fit it in, but I seem to have a problem with all the available times. If I exercised in the Morning, I’d have to get up at 5:30 am and I’m not a morning person. Lunchtime interferes with experiments. Evenings, well, I’m exhausted and it’s dark out. Hence, I’m turning to the wisdom of the internets. Plus, if I see how you all overcome the excuses, it’ll encourage me to do the same (and it’ll refute all my so-called reasons to not exercise).
Scenes from the Home Front:
Dr. Man and I are sitting on the couch last night getting ready to watch a movie (Robots, by the way. It was very cute and I enjoyed it.). I get up to pour a glass of wine. I come back and realize that Dr. Man is gone. He’s been sick so I figure he’s going to go get tissues or take medicine or something. He comes back and sits on the couch, cupping something close to his face. I’m afraid he’s going to be sick until I realize that he’s taking deep breaths of something. Suddenly, I realize what he’s doing and I ask, “Sweetie are you huffing the Vick’s VapoRub?” He cuts his eyes over to me and mutters, “And so what if I am?”, and breathes in deep again.
I also have a hard time fitting exercise in. Have sometimes gotten up very early to go out and jog in the dark, but current living area isn’t very conducive to that, especially in winter. I’ve taken to doing it most often right after work, which means around 5:30, on other days sometimes in the afternoon. And I haven’t been that good about it, but gettting better.
Nice award! Do they really want you to put it in the header? That would be disturbing to me.
I find I exercise best right before lunch, say 11am. I don’t know much about the steps of your experiments but is there a point where you might have 30 mins between steps?
I’d love to exercise first thing in the morning but have low energy then, I can only accomplished morning exercise if I’m meeting a friend.
For after work exercise, is there a gym at school? Or fitness classes?
Good luck.
Thanks! I'm flattered.
I currently don't exercise. When it's nice enough we take long brisk walks in the evening. By nice enough, I mean >25F and ice on <25% of sidewalk surfaces. Winter sucks here.
Isn't huffing the purpose of VapoRub? I've never used the stuff, actually. But we got this little pillow filled with mint and stuff that you microwave and then put on your chest. The minty smell is supposed to clear out your nose when you're sick. Like VapoRub, I guess, but all natural. I haven't had a cold since we got it, but I"ll be sure to report on its effect.
Thank you, Amanda – I’m so flattered you thought of me!
Fitting in exercise has been hard for me lately. I keep thinking if I can force myself into a routine, I’ll do better. But when feeling like I work and sleep (and apply canine eye drops), it’s hard to stay motivated and create that habit.
Thank you so much for the award!
It has been easiest for me to fit the exercise in in the mornings since my lab functions on a late schedule (it is not uncommon to not get out of a meeting till 8pm or so, so if I were to leave workouts till evening, I would never make it). But I find that if I also have morning meetings, I skip the workouts on those days. So, maybe you can look for variations in your schedule? Say, the days you can come in later or get out earlier? Because you only really need to schedule a work out on 2 work days (assuming weekends are easier to schedule things on).
I have always been semi-active – I dance in a dance company, but that’s only 2 nights a week (Friday for 2 hours, and Sunday for 3).
However, I have never “gone to the gym”. I started going at the beginning of this year (senior year of my undergrad). I did this for two reasons. First, I noticed from some of my bathing suit pictures that am starting to get visibly out of shape (BMI=22.8). Second, I figured that I need to start doing something active to feel good during this stressful year. Also, I could not run more than 20 m or so to save my life before being out of breath. Dance is a stop/go activity, but I did not have enough lung capacity/cardio fitness to run.
Currently, I have added 2 gym trips to my days, as well as indoor rock-climbing (as a social/athletic event with some friends).
I am currently able to run a 12-minute mile (for only the one mile, mind), have a BMI of 20.5, and am hoping to run a 5k this spring.
I go to the student athlete gym in the mornings. That way, I see all the machines being used properly by training athletes, and just repeat what I see. At our gym, the key is to arrive at around 7:15, to sign up for cardio machines before the 7:30 rush.
I find that every day I go to the gym, I feel basically invincible. Because experiments fail very reliably, it’s good to start the day off with an accomplishment. The fact that you went to the gym is already a big fat checkmark for the day – and even if everything else goes wrong, you have something that was successfully completed.
I have some classes during the day, and am usually too impatient to get home at the end of the day, so the morning is best.
Finally, I’ll share a gross-but-useful trick I use. To guarantee that I do not skip the gym, I don’t wash my hair the night before. This way, I have to choose between going to the lab with greasy hair, or going to the gym.
Finding exercise time really sucks. I’ve found that the only way I can do it regularly is late afternoon (e.g, between 3-5pm) but that means balancing my days so I go in early and can fit it in….
I had the same problem – could never find an appropriate time to make it to the gym. What I have ended up doing is a free cardio class at the gym, meets twice a week 6-7pm. Since it’s a class, I make myself go. It’s also at the end of the day, so I’m usually ready to head home anyway.
Any way you do it, good luck to you!
Finding one set time to exercise that fits with my irregular schedule hasn’t worked this semester, so I usually try to fit it in wherever it fits (before lunch preferred, but sometimes it ends up after). In my case, I caved and bought a used elliptical at a deep discount, so I don’t have to make myself presentable for the gym (can literally roll out of bed, throw on a T-shirt, and have at the machine). Most of my classes that I teach and attend are in the afternoon and evening, so I record all the TV shows I want to follow onto my ancient little VCR to watch in the morning while I’m working out. Makes it more bearable.
early morning isn’t my thing either. i’m just too enthusiastic about sleeping later especially when it’s cold. i try and fit in outdoor runs in the afternoon, but i live in a city and won’t go after dark…this is a big problem in winter! during my master’s work, we got together a group to do afternoon group runs around 4pm, that way we were accountable and less likely to just not go. for a long time we had a group of us who would do an afternoon workout class at the school gym (again at 4). that seems to be the best time for me to go, you don’t have to worry about going back to lab all sweaty (no one’s really gonna care that late) and you have a reason to make the experiment workout earlier/later/adjust the down time so you can exercise. i just have to find a group here at my current uni.
good luck!
Funny you ask about the exercise. I’ve been pondering the exact same thing and was just about to post it as a question the other day.
I’m not good at fitting in exercise at all, but tend to lean towards an early morning schedule because of the sense of accomplishment and then it actually gets done. For me it’s easier to let it slide later in the day, when I’m more tempted to do other things.
I’m not doing the early morning routine right now because I can’t make myself get up and out before 7am when it’s dark and cold outside. Instead I try to fit in a run right after I get home or to do something in the evening after dinner. Both ways are difficult. Right after work means I have to get home early enough to be able to run before I get superhungry and want to start cooking dinner. Save exercise for too late and I get lazy or occupied with other things and can’t drag myself out of the house.
Before work, for me – but it’s tough at the moment as the roads only really become frost and/or slush-free enough for cycling at about 8, which is too late for me to cycle to the gym before work. There’s something about taking the bus that just switches off the desire for exercise (and sometimes for life in general, depending on the overcrowding situation), so I’m having to go after work, which I hate.
I find the key thing is to make it a part of your schedule, like it’s an important meeting that you are inflexible on, or to make it an integral part of something else, say your commute. Life is so much better with exercise in it – and I get so much more done.
Amanda! Thanks so much for the award – I’m flattered. I will get around to posting it at mine in the near future.
I am not a morning person either but it’s really the best time for me to exercise for all the reasons you mention…I try to get up early enough for a run at least three days a week. Going to bed a little earlier the night before makes it easier. It also helps that DnagerDog knows that my alarm means I should be out of bed. He supplements the alarm clock with cold-nose-in-the-small-of-the-back, which tends to wake me up in a hurry. He looks forward to his morning run much more than I do and his enthusiasm is a strong motivator. Do you take your dog running? If you can make yourself do it for a week, I can assure you that your dog will encourage you to keep up the morning run habit. It’s almost as good as having a friend to commit to.
Silver Fox: I don’t think that they want you to put it in the header. That, too, would be a bit disturbing. I’m just not that great at html and that’s what blogger did for me.
Jennie: What do you do for a shower? That’s my biggest problem. Both gyms on campus would be a workout just to reach them. However, I work in a lab connected to a hospital… there has to be showers there, right?
EGF: Well, technically, you’re supposed to smear it on your chest and gently breathe it in. Not huff it like a teenager trying to get high on whiteout 🙂
post-doc: Motivation is the hardest bit for me to come by. It’s hard to stick to a routine.
Science Girl: Our lab is definitely a early morning one. If we’re (and by we I mean Advisor) still around at 6pm that’s pretty late for us.
Labness: I hadn’t thought about hitting the gym on the way in. I could get Dr. Man to drop me off there. I’ll have to think about that. And useful tip! I’d definitely hit the gym.
Psycgirl: That may end up being key for me. Just making sure I get my stuff done so I can exercise in the late afternoon.
Miss Outlier: Not a bad plan. Classes at the end of the day may solve the shower problem.
Contemporary Troubadour: That’s what always drives me crazy about the elliptical or treadmill at the gym. I always get bored and I have no desire to watch whatever happens to be on MTV at the time.
Quiet and Small Adventures: Me too. I love sleep. I am a champion sleeper. Maybe I could organize a running group. I’d be much less likely to skip out then.
Saxifraga: That’s my problem with right after work. I’m starving! And then, by the time I eat it’s too late. Maybe I should invest in snack food?
Cath: The cold seems to be putting a damper on a lot of people’s exercise plans. I’ll be glad when it’s spring!
Wayfarer Scientista: Life always seems more manageable with exercise in it, too.
AA: Cold-nose-in-the-back is a surefire way to wake me up. Unfortunately, with the cold weather, the Dixie Dog looks at me like I’m crazy when I get out from underneath the covers in the morning. So, I don’t think she’ll be much help in that department. 😉
I’ve got no good suggestions right now, but I wanted to thank you profusely for this award. I needed an ickle smile like this in the worst possible way.
So happy to know you.
I am totally late to the game here (crap week, just trying to catch up on some blogs now), but I just wanted to say thanks for the award! 🙂 I hardly consider myself to be inspiring.
Also, hope that you start feeling better soon! Being sick is a total bummer. 🙁 Sending healthy thoughts and a bowl of good Jewish chicken noodle soup your way!