Janae Says...

For the past several years, I’ve set up a birthday dinner for myself where I invite many of my favorite people so we can catch up. Nothing makes me feel more loved than to know that people went out of their way to come to a birthday celebration for me. And to see all these awesome people gathered around just for me is so fun. I love my people.  But this year, I just didn't really want to deal with it or set anything up. I also maybe didn't want to celebrate going into my late 20s. Not super excited about it. Even though I didn't do one big dinner, I got the chance to celebrate my birthday with several different people in different environments, one-on-one. On my birth day, I got flowers delivered to me just before leaving work. They were from Patrick. He came over to my apartment while I was working out in the complex gym. He had presents and everything set up for me on the table. He got me a German chocolate cake. He had a present wrapped in a really cute ba...

Today's post is coming to you from my couch. That's right. My couch--where I opted to plant my butt instead of exercising today. For reasons you probably would prefer not to hear, I am not working out today. It sufficeth me to say that I do not feel well, and my body needs a break.  So here are my thoughts on commitments and why I allow myself to take breaks.  I have figured out the way my brain works with requirements. Let me give you some examples:  - I love reading, unless I have to.  - I love eating healthy, unless I have to. - I love exercising, unless I have to. I learned that if I decide to cut things out, or put rules on myself, I instantly want to rebel. A teacher at my school last year decided to issue monthly health goals and challenges to the faculty. You'd be entered in drawings if you participated, and receive special prizes if you were a top contender. I won several drawings and did really well with his challenges. But one of ...

I've seen a chiropractor three times in the past three weeks. I had x-rays done on Thursday. He asked me to come back today (Tuesday) to talk about them and the direction we are going to go. Don't worry though, guys, it's good news! /sarcasm I only have an excessive lower spinal curve, causing my neck to lose its own curve. Here's how a neck should look... But mine looks more like the middle one here... And the loss of the curve in my neck is causing tendons in my neck to calcify. (This is why my neck always hurts.) And the straightness in my neck means it's not moving optimally, causing the beginning signs of arthritis in several of my vertebrae. And my neck's tendency to go straight could cause me to have a hunch neck if I don't address it. My pelvic bone is also crooked (both front to back and up and down), which has caused my spine to go crooked to make the rest of my body feel straight. And my crooked spine has caused the tendons...

Let's talk about "those days." You know what days I'm talking about. Maybe it was a day when you woke up late, and ran behind on everything else. Maybe it was a day where you dropped something not two but three times in a row. Maybe a bird aimed for your car post-meal. Maybe you slept with your neck turned too far and pinched a nerve, putting you in lots of pain for the whole day. Or if you're lucky, it could be several of those things. Let's review the workout edition of "one of those days." Perhaps you brought your gym bag, but left your headphones (or insert any number of items, such as a towel, hair tie, or water bottle) at home. Maybe the equipment you wanted to use is taken. Or maybe the apartment gym with only one treadmill has been taken by an infrequent exerciser when you are usually there at that time. Heaven forbid your phone or iPod dies, leaving you without any music--or Pandora goes crazy. Maybe the rain or snow has taken your...

It's late. And I want to go to bed. But I also really want to write this blog. So it'll be a quick one, I hope. If you haven't already been introduced, I wanted you to meet Tabata. I met Tabata about two summers ago. I've seen it since on exercise blogs (including the one I use daily), and in my Fitness magazine. Tabata is a great short workout, or a great addition to any existing workout you might do. It's simple, really. It's 4 minutes of exercises, with patterns of 20 seconds of work, and 10 seconds of rest. Here's a video to explain it. Watching this was the first time I learned about it. My favorite thing about these intervals is that you can switch the 20 seconds of work to any form of cardio. Jumping jacks, plank jacks, burpees, mountain climbers, high knees, butt kickers, skaters, jump rope, and the list goes on. Today I did my three sets of exercises as prescribed at http://hiitmamas.blogspot.com/. But as I mentioned a few weeks ...