Now that we're alllll out for summer, hopefully (please, don't tell me there are still some of you out there still teaching!), we should all have the time to start an exercise routine. Summer is a great time to start. My best advice I can give you is start doing something you enjoy and do it at the time you would do it even if you were in school. Go ahead, imagine you were still busy as ever teaching, and think of a time you could squeeze in fitness. If you start now, then you won't have an excuse to stop when school starts back because you would already have the perfect time slot picked out! I've been taking my bike everywhere with me lately. If it's there, strapped onto my car, then I can't use the excuse, "Oh, well, I forgot my bike at home." Also, keep an extra set of workout clothes and shoes in your car or in your school room. You'll be oh so glad you did! Takes away every excuse and set yourself up for having to exercise! Trust me, at first you'll be angry that you're so prepared. Then, that anger will slowly subside as you discover that you are a sexy beast capable of so much! :) 

Now, to what I was going to post about. WALKING! I know there a lot of people that roll their eyes and have all sorts of jokes about running. "I only run if something's chasing me, blah, blah." I run and I like it, but I can enjoy a good walk, too. As a matter of fact, I just bought myself a pedometer this week. The average person should try to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Well, it's summer and when I read that I felt like a slob. 10,000 steps!? That really is a lot! I walked less than 8,000 the first day I had my little pedometer! I love wearing it, though, and it has encouraged me to take a break from all my other summer activities and chores and go for a little walk. I'm happy to say that last two days I've gone over 12,000 steps! WOOT! Don't laugh, it doesn't take much to excite me.

I love changing up my workouts. If I don't I get bored and don't do them. And if I don't workout, I feel fat and lazy. And if I feel fat and lazy, I get cranky and when I get cranky, well... we all know what happens when we're cranky at home! So how about some walking workout ideas?! I found this great one I'll be hanging onto next time I get in a workout rut! It's from Fitness Magazine, called the Fat-Burning Walking Workout. It takes you through five days of walking and how you can change up each walk. At the end of the slide show are strength training moves to help you tone as you burn. A win, win! Go ahead, get your walk on and strut your stuff!