the complexity of your life compared to your workout preferences?

[Carol_is_fit]

I've been a nurse for 18 years, and up until May I worked in your "traditional" hospital nursing job in ICU. Now, I work for an insurance company doing medical records review and training the claim reps and management on medically-related issues. It's a wonderful job and I love it!! Has my workout preference changed because of it? No ... not really. I've thought about this for a couple of days, and I can't really say my preference has changed. My commitment to working out certainly has, because this has been a drastic lifestyle change for me!

I sit a lot more, I type a lot more (like now! LOL!), and I have more of a routine now. I used to work 2 or 3 12-hour nights a week, and it always varied. I would workout during the day whenever I could, and usually not work on the days after I had been up all night (and all day the day before usually!!). I averaged 4.5 days a week. Now, I get up around 4:30 or 5:00 on school mornings and workout. I take my daughter to school or to the bus stop, and I go to work! I also workout on weekends. It took me about three months to get used to working out so early, and I now feel fine doing it.

So ... I guess my own conclusion is that changing jobs didn't really change my preference, but it definitely changed my life and my workout routine. I gained some weight at first with the new job, and I believe it was simply because I was sitting more and my body was just getting used to a new routine. I know if I didn't get up and workout in the mornings, I would find a million excuses not to in the evenings.

Interesting thread!!

Carol

[Debbie S.]

Originally Posted by SharonNYC

Susan, I think in your situation part of the lure of the outdoors is having some time to yourself -- your house is your mental workplace and you need to leave the building for your lunch break.

Sharon, I never thought of it this way, but you're right. I homeschooled both of my children for the majority of their school years and the first thing I did every morning before they woke up, was run. I'm lucky because the trails are right across the street. Allowing myself this time made me a much better mom and teacher. An hour and a half was spent in the gym mid afternoon where they did their school work until I was done with my strength workout, then it was their PE, which was usually spent swimming in the pool.

[Messe]

Originally Posted by Peggy T

I wonder if part of this has to do with how much tolerance a person has for frustration (or newness/change). I am VERY easily frustrated and tend to like sameness. So, I just can't handle choreography.

In my case, I think it has to do with an unwillingness to replace one form of frustration with another. Choreography doesn't come easily for me--I'm so left-handed that I sometimes have to stop and think which way is right and which way is left (don't get me started on north-south-east-west :rolleyes: ). I'd rather keep things simple and focus on form, range of motion, calming my mind, etc. so I'll be ready for the next round of challenges (and frustrations) the next day.

[fuzzie]

Originally Posted by Celia M

I too have one of those intense kinds of jobs, that doesn't end when I leave the office, and where the buck stops with me (i.e. endless strategy and details).

But I think that's exactly why I like complex cardio. I need to keep my brain engaged in my workout so I can really block out the other stuff. If I do the simple, "turn off your brain" kinds of tapes, my mind starts to wander to the other work and life details I need to attend to.

This reflects how I feel. I am currently finishing my Ph.D. and my dissertation is on my mind 24/7 (I even dream that I read research papers! ). Complex cardio is one of the rare ways I can escape, although I can sometimes achieve the same type of "flow" experience from a very intense yet relatively simple workout. For instance, P90X Plyometrics is pretty easy to follow but the intensity requires all my focus and the moves change often enough that I cannot zone out.

[Sandi M]

I have been doing the same job (software engineering) since I started working out in 1993. I have always liked fairly complicated choreography, and have always hated running/biking. I need to keep my mind engaged, and when I do, the time flies. If I let my mind wander, the time DRAGS.

Sandi M

[Jane C]

I'm an assistant attorney general in the Environmental Protection Bureau of my State's AG office. I cannot begin to tell you how challenging, and complicated, my job is. Everyone around me is a total *brain*. In the last month, I spoke to a large audience, at an event taped for public radio, about our office's global warming suit against major utilities, submitted comments on an international agreement and state compact regarding Great Lakes water diversion, testified before the county legislature about why they should adopt neighborhood notification requirements for pesticide applications, submitted a twenty-page legal memorandum about oil well closure requirements...

This is not a cake walk for me. Trust me. Every morning I'm like "yikes!" :rolleyes:

I also take care of my uncle, who lives with me and my husband - and our six animals.

I think my renewed yoga obsession is a response to my job. I believe yoga is among the most complicated kinds of body work - that's my experience. At the same time -its very simple. Everythng gets reduced to its essence.

I love complex choreo - but I think that's a product of my low-boredom threshold

[AcademiaNut]

For me, it's not a question of how much of my brain is engaged in my work. I'm surrounded by total brains -and also emotional infants. And sometimes those are the same people. But never me, of course. I'm a model of calm, and rationalism, and maturity. (whoops... I think my nose is growing!) I think my workout choices are more a function of my tolerance for stimulation -which varies over time.

I LIKE things busy and even a little chaotic and intellectually stimulating, with too many things going on at once. But even so, there's a point that's too far. Some little thing will tip me over the edge into a tailspin of chaos and over-stimulation. On those days, my idea of a workout is yoga nidra. Hanging around sprawled over a bolster is pretty much the limit of what I can do. But most days, my workouts are a parallel to the rest of my life. Sometimes I swim, sometimes I run, sometimes I do step. I do a lot of yoga and a little bit of weights. I complain about chaos, but if I really wanted things to be different, I'd change them.

Andrea

[DHKWriter]

I don't think this is that cut-and-dried and a lot will have to do with how well you learn complex choreo. There are those who love it but don't pick it up well; they are willing to spend lengthy periods of time learning a new routine because they know in the end, they'll have some really fun cardio to work with. Then there are those who have a better ability to pick it up, for whom it is not an exercise in frustration. If you're in the latter group, I don't think what else is going on in your life is going to matter a whole lot because it's not so much about working your brain, but keeping it engaged a bit during the workout. I'd say I'm in the latter group, my job is not all that stressful most months, but even when it was at it's worst, I still loved my complex choreo because I found it fun, not frustrating. That said, there are days when a nice interval workout feels just fine, too.

Donna K

[Sarah O.]

This is a little different but I used to work in a very high-stress academic environment, where I had to deal with the media and sound utterly informed and authoritative...even when (most of the time) I didn't feel that way at all! After a long day in the office, I loved coming home and popping in a Firm tape because they were so...girly! Everything about them...the clothes, the makeup, the hair, the music, the moves...was so different from my workday atmosphere and I loved that. Completely took me out of my head and back into my body.

Now that I'm freelance, I find myself wanting to get outside as much as possible and turning more to yoga. Still, I do love my (old) Firm tapes.

[ErinF]

I'm also a homeschooling mom. I'm also a complex choreography glutton. I find that my preferences for workout complexity and length has a lot to do with my stress level. I do tend to pick up complex choreography quickly though, so it isn't stressful to learn new stuff. As long as the cuing is good, it's stress-relieving. I adore Patrick ( It breaks my heart that I couldn't afford any of his new workouts. ), but on high stress days I just don't have the mental focus to follow his choreography. I need a workout that is fun and complex, but with somewhat better cuing that Patrick offers. Obviously right after I've had my babies I need shorter workouts, but I still want the choreography. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Keli Roberts, but could NOT tolerate her CIA because it was just waaaaay to basic. I was bored silly! I was so sad, because I love her and really wanted to like it.

Anyone who has ever had to outsmart a toddler knows that SAHM is a brain-intensive occupation! Don't even get me started on managing hormonal teen girls! ( If my 12-year-old doesn't start her periods soon, I'm thinking of becoming a hermit! :rolleyes: )