A Subzero Workout

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I promised myself that no matter what, I would make the frigid trek over to the apartment complex workout room in the morning. I hadn't worked out for the past two days (I did have "surgery" after all... and it's been freakin' freezing!) and knew it would soon start affecting my mood if I didn't get my blood pumping a bit. In order to ensure success, I even followed the time-proven approach of sleeping in my workout clothes. I reminded myself of how cool it would be to tell people that I worked out on the coldest day of the year (it better be!).

I woke up at 4:30 AM (on my own, which is cool) and thought, "perhaps I should check the temperature. These are after all 'dangerously cold' temperatures. Heck, the schools are even closed due to the 'bitter cold'."

-15 F (with a wind chill of about -30 F or -34 C)

"That's cold. In fact, I think that definitely qualifies as dangerously cold. I might freeze to death. It is worth it for a workout?" I determined it was not.

Hence, I decided I would devise my own workout routine at the apartment. I started with five minutes of marching with high knees and swinging arms. I felt like I was back in my daycare teacher days: "Let's march, march, march, march!" As this didn't get my blood flowing as much as I had hoped, I switched to jumping jacks. Oh yes, jumping jacks always do the trick. Five minutes later, I figured I had enough of a warm-up and decided to move on. Squats, lunges, other physical therapy leg exercises for my knee... Then on to abs including a couple of planks and finally some stretching. I looked at the time and realized I had actually managed to work out for 30 minutes! It felt good.

Now, I'm eating my post-workout meal consisting of an english muffin with sliced boiled eggs, fresh dill, and a touch of Swedish caviar along with a bowl of Kefir with organic granola and raisins. If there's one thing I learned from my mom, it is this: Eat well and eat food you like. Life is too short to eat boring or distasteful food. And after a good workout, it tastes even better!

Stay warm...