I had a cold this week. I didn’t do much…let alone workout.

I think I skipped the workout I had scheduled for Monday. I thought it best to rest.

Tuesday I just went walking with the baby buggy. Nothing special to note in terms of fitness. I did, however, meet a few other English-speaking mums at the bi-weekly meetup at Starbuck’s. That was pretty fab. I am no longer isolated.

Wednesday. I think I stayed in again. To rest up. I didn’t want to miss my new workout buddy in the Parc.

Thursday, I met Hazel (an au pair from New Zealand) in the Parc de Milan. We did a light version of the lower body workout. It was our first time, so we just wanted to get started.

It worked! I could feel my thighs and glutes the next day! (and the day after that!) I’ll need to make sure I add stretching to the workouts.

Today, Sunday, we went for a bit of a walk in Valais. There were some hills and I noticed my heart rate increase–so I’m going to count it as a light workout.

This week, I planned upper body on Monday. Lower body on Thursday. And another full body (if I have time) either Saturday or Sunday morning.

I am expecting to see some results in March.

I have figured out I can’t blog everyday about my fitness. I can barely move (I think Baby has dropped–but not exited) and I am  just not doing that much. Today, if you count washing cupboard doors and dusting door jams, we went for a meander down by the lake and I did 10 minutes of arm exercises with my workout elastics.

The other day, Ludo turned on the television and there was a group of senior women doing exercises with the workout elastics.

No comment.

Today, I looked in iTunes for some motivation. I downloaded some podcasts:

• Podcasts for running
• Podrunner Intervals
• Fit Music
• The Fitness Boost

I’ll see how they workout (ha, pun intended).

I can’t do much for the next few weeks–but I am already scoping out new running shoes.

This year is a brand new year ! To me, that means a brand new blog!! To quote Dr. Suess:

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where you’ll go.
Oh the places you’ll go.

This year I’ve decided yukonjen.com will be my fitness blog. I’ve had a bit of a struggle the past year being fit et en forme…but that is mostly because of the pregnancy. (No. Baby hasn’t arrived yet. I’ll let you know when he does. -1 and counting!!) Here’s a pic from yesterday:

I was quite tired all the time and just had no desire to exercise (until—surprisingly enough–quite recently).

And at this moment, I am 9 months plus one day pregnant. (I know it’s not that scientific–Baby will arrive when he decides to arrive–but honestly, it is time. Viens voir petit.)

So I wait. I sleep. I walk a bit each day and I try to imagine a schedule for myself after he does arrive and I get comfortable in my new role.

This year, I have a few priorities: my new family, my health, the health of my family.  I am sure I have more, but health is what I’ve been thinking about lately.

Just before Christmas, I ordered myself and my friend a subscription to Clean Eating magazine and this book:

As well, totally unsolicited, my sister sent me this book for my Christmas present:

Nutritionally, I think we are off to a good start.

I originally decided to get fit when I was 32. One February, I was invited to go downhill skiing with my friends Carol and Jimmy. Both days, I was completely knackered by lunch. They, however, skied circles around me both in the difficulty of runs and in the duration of the day. I was impressed. I was 32, they were 55.

After that weekend, I resolved that when I was 55, I was going to kick a 32-year-old butt…so I started getting in shape. Carol and Jimmy helped me realize that fitness is not an option. It is a lifestyle.

Other than improving my muscle tone, I have made three fitness goals so far for this year. There is a 20 km race in Lausanne on 30 April 2011. I looked at my calendar. I can target 10 kms at the end of February, 15 kms at the end of March, and 20 kms at the end of April. I have to wait for Baby to come before I can start training for that though. Wish me luck!

Given that I have not been exercising AT ALL during this pregnancy, I’ve also been trying to figure out how to get fit — a bit at a time. I know from before that I can’t set myself goals that I know I won’t achieve–set myself up to fail, so-to-speak.

So, my daily goal at this moment (9 months + 1 day pregnant), is to go for a walk a minimum of 45 minutes and do 10 minutes of light movements–just to get into practice of exercising again. I will gradually increase that time somehow, but I didn’t want to set unattainable goals and fail.

In my light movements, I don’t use weights, just my body weight (which is 79 kilos or 176 lbs at the moment).  I think that is enough. I do push ups on the dining room table top–there is no way I could do real push ups at the moment.  I do arm flies (bend elbows, raise arms to shoulder height, repeat, and hold). I do a few sets of pilés and squats (I like to think that might help the baby drop). I am going to buy myself an exercise elastic or resistance band to start working my upper back and shoulders.

Also, for our Christmas present, we bought an Apple TV box. I can stream fitness podcasts–so I am excited about that. It’s great for getting new ideas and staying motivated. On that note. Here are my stats as of 01 Jan 2011 (it’s a bit extreme because there is still a baby there, but I’ll bet I’ll feel incredible about my progress in a month or so :

When I was in Whitehorse last December, I went to a bootcamp four times a week for 50 minutes a day. I saw immediate results. I was so pleased.

Now it’s June, and my main workout problem is motivation. I lack personal motivation. It’s always a struggle for me to get to the gym and do any sort of workout on my own. When it comes to working out, I am inherently lazy. Inherently lazy, that is, until I find some sort of motivation.

A few years ago when I was working at Turin, the gym I belonged to partnered people as workout buddies. I found a workout buddy (her name was Melanie) and the rest was history. We got together twice a week to discuss goals and plan workouts. Then, we worked out.

Working out with a workout buddy definitely worked for me. That, combined with the fact I ate less in the evening (just protein and fibre) was the most successful fitness program I’ve put myself on.

I joined (corrected–we joined) a gym here in Lausanne in February. I thought being part of a gym and having classes and a personal schedule would be motivation enough. But, I sort of lost interest (and motivation) in the last month or two.

Today is a different day. Yesterday, I planned a lower body workout. Today, I got up and did it. I’m so pleased with myself. It’s a good start. Anyway. For your reference (and mine), here is what I did for my workout today:

Warm up:

• Walked 15 minutes down to park.
• Arrived at park and walked around the part once. Did windmill arm rotations all  the way.
• 5 sun salutations (from yoga)

Set 1: Repeat set for a total of three times.

• Lunge backwards, high-kick forward. 10 each leg.
• Pile squat and reach up. 15 reps.
• Bent over windmills. 15 each side.
• Repeat set two more times.

Set 2: Repeat set for a total of three times.

• Walking lunges. 20 steps in one direction.
• Star pose, side leg lift and squat. 20 each side.
• Squat and reach. 20 each side.
• Repeat set two more times.

Set 3: Repeat set for a total of three times.

• One legged dead lift into twig pose.
• Reverse plank.
• Charleston step lunges.
• Repeat set two more times.

Set 4: Stretch and strengthen. Hold each pose for a few breaths and relax.

• Downward dog.
• Stand on one leg, squat slightly. Place left foot over right knee. Bend down into a glute stretch.
• Warrior 2 pose to triangle.

Walk home.