35 Great Exercise Ideas

So as I have stated in earlier blogs I am on a diet.  I was thinking earlier about free ways that  I could exercise and that got me in research mode.  This is what I came up with.  I thought that I would share it here so that someone else might be able to benefit from it also.  So here's 35 somewhat cheap exercise ideas for the Lake shore area in Michigan:

1. Walk the boardwalk
2. Ride your bike on the bike trails in Spring Lake, Ferrysburg and Grand Haven
3. Buy a Wii and a Wii Fit and use it daily
4. Walk the Lakes Mall
5. Walk the trails at Hoffmaster State Park
6. Buy some roller blades and take them to the state park or the board walk
7. Join the YMCA
8. During the winter Ski and Luge at Muskegon State Park
9. Ski and Snowboard at Mulligans Hollow
10. Go to the closest park and play basketball with a Friend
11. Play tennis with a Friend
12. Yoga
13. Pilate's
14. Go swimming
15. Walk the beach
16. Beach volleyball
17. Running
18. Housework
19. Clean your car
20. Play with your kids
21. Jump rope
22. Buy a hula hoop and use it
23. Buy a dance video and learn the dance
24. Go shopping
25. Walk your dog
26. Sit ups
27. Strength training on machines
28. Join a baseball or softball team
29. Take the stairs instead of the elevator
30. Stair climbing
31. Play with the children, take them to the park
32. Yard work
33. Planks and Wall-sits, squats
34. Sprints at your local track
35. Chin-ups on a monkey bar



Six Months Smoke Free

Wow, I can not believe that in less than twenty four hours I will be half a year smoke free.  I never thought that I would make it past the first week, let alone the first day.  Now I hardly ever even think about smoking, and when I do think about it, it is only a passing craving and nothing serious.  I really believe that I will never pick up another cigarette as long as I live now, and that feels fantastic!  I can say honestly I am a non smoker.  So here are some things that I enjoy most about being a non smoker.
1.  I can go into a restaurant or a movie and not worry about how long I will have to go without a cigarette.  I can just enjoy my time with whomever I am with and be fully present in the current situation.  Cravings do not ruin the fun that I am trying to have, or determine where I will go.

2.  I smell better.  I do not smell like a ashtray.

3.  I can smell other things better.  Can also be a curse sometimes though because I can smell smokers and they smell bad.  No offense if you smoke but I never realized how bad I smelled until I quit smoking.  That alone is enough to make me never want to pick up another cigarette.

4.  I do not get winded when I exercise or clean like I used to.  My stamina is better.

5.  I have my singing voice back.  I can hit high notes again.  And when I wake up in the morning I do not sound like a man for the first couple of hours.

6.  When I get sick I do not cough my brains out.  I still have a stuffy nose and cough occasionally.  But I don't have the hacking cough that I used to have.

7.  My car, my clothes, and my house don't smell like an ashtray.  And all the Christmas gifts that I gave away this year did not reek of cigarettes.

These are the things that I love about being a non-smoker.