May 23rd, 2006 - Biking and other exercise
I’m riding my bike to work again! Now that the rain stopped, it’s still a bit chilly in the mornings but it is nice enough to ride. I am wearing my knee brace when riding. (I injured my knee riding last September and had to stop riding earlier than planned in the fall. It hurts now and again when doing heavy exercise, so I am nervous about reinjuring it.)
Speaking of exercise, at the end of the month I will be starting at least two exercise classes through the university. Due to the Healthy Titans 2010 program*, half the normal registration cost is covered. This brings it to $25 (for any/all classes), which is very affordable. T/Th 6:30-7:15 is Pilates. Wed 11:45-12:30 is Yoga. (I wish Yoga were twice a week instead.) They also have a structured lunchtime walking program that I might join on M/F, but I’m not sure. I really like my lunch times–usually I read but in the summer I often bike home. However, I don’t walk much now since I bike instead so it might be nice. I also like the idea of having some socializing time with others, since I don’t do that much. I’ve been very interested in pilates and yoga classes, but they typically cost $2 or $3 per class, which always seemed too expensive to me. You also paid per class (you could buy a punch card or just pay when you came); I was afraid that would deter me from attending. A one-time fee is more likely to get me to attend because the fee per class goes down each time I show up!
* I thought I’d written about this, but I can’t find the posts. Our university is working on a healthy living project that might ultimately reduce our insurance premiums. It started with a health assessment for up to 200 people. I was one of the first to sign up! (Eric joked that maybe I should wait and only be in the second group in a year where they’ll start doing comparisons since I’m probably likely to score quite well.) It included BMI, cholestoral, and other tests I can’t recall. This was done through a local healthcare group. We were also offered a physical fitness assessment–which was done by students in the kinesiology and health department (which I think is totally cool to invovle them in projects like this!). For participating in that, we also got a free pedometer (which also has a radio and ear phones). This next step is to offer half price registration for the exercise classes and weight room. Also, supervisors are supposed to allow their workers time off work to have the assessments done or attend classes (I’m certain on the former but less sure on the latter).