Walking in Winter

I had such a stressful day at work today dealing with the stupid, I knew I had to come home and do some sort of workout to try to pump out some of that negative energy.  I know, I know, I never thought I'd be the one wanting to exercise, rushing home to do so in fact.  Let me tell you, I am really missing having a cat to cuddle when I get home, as they say petting an animal is a good way to lower your stress levels as well.  But in order to burn some calories and keep up with my commitment to myself to work out at least 120 minutes a week, I've got to do a bit more than petting a cat.

As much as I love swimming, I am trying to vary my workouts so at least once a week, I do a 30 minute walking tape.  Here in Canada, walking in winter can be brrr cold and also whoopsy daisy dangerous with icy, slippery conditions so walking indoors is a safer alternative.  Some people do mall walking.  I haven't tried that yet but I have had great success with a couple of exercise DVD's.

One I just received for Xmas from Santa.  It's called "5 Day Fit Weight Loss" and it's put out by Gaiam.  There are 5 different half hour exercise sessions on this DVD.  Budokon (whatever that is, haven't tried that one yet), Walking, Dancer's Body Workout (tried that one once but couldn't follow the choreography in the warmup - yikes! Will try it again at some point), Cardio Burn Yoga (maybe) and Cardio Burn Sculpt. I just skimmed through this last one after today's workout and I think I'll try it next time.  It looks kind of cool from an exercise point of view, I think my body might be able to handle it, plus it is set in a meadow in a valley surrounded by a mountain range, if you can believe it!  You can find a clip from that workout session here  (check this out) so you can see what I mean about those mountains in the background - beautiful.  Sounds like the dubbed language is Italian, what do you think? :)

The Walking portion of this DVD features a woman named Debbie Rocker.  I really like the way she talks during the workout.  There is nothing worse than trying to work out listening to someone whose voice or mannerisms irritate you (two words - Richard Simmons!!).  She is very encouraging as the workout progresses and I like the way she leads you through interval training - intense for 20 to 30 seconds, then a cool down at a lesser intensity.  But man, those 20 seconds of intensity can really make your muscles burn sometimes - wow!  It feels good to push yourself though.  Plus they have someone working out at a modified level, which is important for those times when you're not feeling like going at it 100% percent.  They also have pretty outdoor setting for this session, it's a stone patio overlooking a valley, somewhere in California, I'm guessing, so there's a bit of view to admire while you walk.

Here's a little excerpt from one of her videos (so you can see what I mean about that scenic view):



The other walking workouts I love are done by Leslie Sansone.  I have several of her "Walk Away the Pounds" tapes and DVDs.  Again,she's not irritating to listen to and it helps to hear someone say, "keep going, you can do it" while you're sweating and pushing through a workout.  Leslie's tapes are structured for either one, two, three or four miles, which equates to 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes.  She also has one of her group members demonstrating a modified level.

Here's a peek at one of Leslie's workouts:



So if you are looking for a way to exercise indoors, I would recommend either of these two instructors for walking workouts. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know!