In my last post I pledged to go for at least one walk, or exercise ONCE while in my hometown for three days. It’s only day 1, but so far doing ANYTHING outside may be problematic as it hasn’t stopped raining.

My brother and I drove here late yesterday afternoon / early evening and it rained non-stop on the trip. Fortunately, though we were in my car and knowing of my hatred of driving (despite my lovely car) my brother drove… so I just had to sit and watch the falling rain and disappearing road for the nearly-4 hours it took us to get here.

After a yummy welcome home dinner (my mum made MY favourite) and some red wine, chit chat and TV; before going to bed I told mum I’d get up early for a walk… weather permitting.

Because we woke to rain, the weather wasn’t exactly permitting anything… or cooperating at all.  The picture to the left shows part of the waterlogged front yard – and yes, that is a gnome. On purpose!

I should note that this weather which is expected to last a few days is problematic for a number of reasons, other than my promised walk. One of the reasons my brother was coming home was to do a few things around the house for my mum – although the list was a bit lot longer than expected (and some jobs on the whiteboard below are clearly doable by yours truly!)

Apparently I’m on umbrella-holding duty while my brother replaces the letterbox for mum (a priority for her given that the old one is sitting atop a rotting post!).

Obviously I’ll wait out the weather, hoping for a dry spell which allows me to go for a wander, but it occurred to me that if I was really serious about my exercise, I wouldn’t let the lack of gym or inclement weather hold me back. There are HEAPS of inside options – even if I’m not in my own place (where I have not-recently-used weights, a jogging trampoline, fitball and the like!). I’ve done enough gym and pilates classes to know that a homemade circuit with nil equipment and limited space is highly doable. I don’t even need weights given I have my own (hefty) bodyweight to work with.

Even I know that working those big muscle groups (via lunges, squats and the like) with some dips and pushups etcetera would actually give me a whole body workout and challenge me cardiovascularly if I move quickly between exercises.

Of course knowing and doing are entirely different things. I don’t feel quite desperate enough to frolic about my mother’s lounge room or step up and down her stairs. And… I have done 4 workouts this week already – including an unexpected circuit class, which confirmed my worry that my fitness had decreased a bit recently!

So, I won’t die in a ditch if I don’t get a workout in over these three days. In reality, given the 80/20 or 70/30 diet / exercise ratio of importance I probably need to focus more on my food.

So far, however, I’m doing okay and staying away from my danger food, though THIS (left) hasn’t helped (AND it’s my favourite – caramello!!!). My brother left it out after eating some last night and I wrapped it up and put it back in the fridge without licking my fingers or snorting the chocolate crumbs. Yay me! Hopefully my willpower muscle will remain on over coming days.

Wish me luck!

What’s your rainy day workout?