Well with this blog I am going to admit that I’m writing it at the encouragement of some other friends of mine who are much wiser in the realm of social media etc. than I am. They pointed out that some of my followers on this twitter account might be interested to learn more about upcoming run especially since exercise does tie directly to some space stuff. I’m not sure whether you all really want to know about this or not but I thought I’d give it a shot. (I do generally do my best to not post too much that’s not truly space stuff.) Here’s to hoping I don’t lose too many followers! For those of you who want pure space stuff, don’t worry, in just 2 weeks I promise this line of tweets will end!
So there I was… minding my own business…. Oh wait that’s a different story 😉 Let’s see how to begin this one… I know – with something space!
Do you have any idea how long ISS astronauts work out every single day? 2 hours! Every. Single. Day! It is absolutely essential for their health that they do so. I won’t get into the nitty gritty here (because I think many of you already know all this) but micro-gravity wreaks havoc on your muscle and bones so without exercise your body would be a total mess! (Yes that is a technical term!)
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/teachingfromspace/dayinthelife/exercise-adil-index.html
Quick version of types of workouts is that they spend half their time doing resistance exercise and half of it doing cardio. I could go into much more detail (and perhaps I will in a future blog) but for this one that info will suffice. I remember, during my days of being an Ops Plan Flight Controller in MCC, thinking that in some ways it sure would be nice to be SCHEDULED for exercise every day. Because let’s face it, most of us lack the time and/or motivation to work out some days.
So here’s where I diverge from space a bit… I’m a firm believer that a healthy body helps make a sharp mind. Don’t get me wrong – there any many days when the last thing I want to do is exercise (and it’s certainly not to say that I exercise every day because believe me – I don’t!) but I also know that my mind feels sluggish if I am not keeping my body healthy and fit. So while I certainly don’t work out as much as the astronauts on ISS, I do my best to work out several times a week.
So back to that lack of motivation thing – I am signed up to run the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in DC on April 28th and to say I haven’t trained is an understatement. It’s been too cold for me to run outside and I am not a fan of the treadmill. But not only have I signed up for the run, 2 very special young ladies have signed up to run this with me and they will be traveling in from the West Coast to do so, as such, I’ve got to get myself motivated! So each day I’ve been posting to my personal Facebook page some sort of picture that I find motivational. Surprisingly, it is sort of helping! Shall I share those with you too? Here are the first 2 days of pictures:
The signs I saw in the Gallery Place Metro in DC this past week and My Running Shoes- As you can tell I like colorful 🙂
So let me ask you – what do YOU do to keep your mind and body at its healthiest? Do you Train Like An Astronaut? https://www.space.com/22714-train-like-an-astronaut-nasa-s-physical-fitness-program-video.html You may not have 2 hours a day to workout like the astronauts but who on Earth does?! Motivation comes in many forms so perhaps you can find something to motivate you…
