3 Workouts For Bookworms

Warning this week’s post is not for fitness fanatics. This is a post for bookworms who want to get fit and have their books too!

This post is also a reminder that working out does not mean you have to kill yourself each and every day. I think sometimes we forget that working out is suppose to be relaxing ,working out is suppose to be fun, and most of all your workout should bring you joy not pain so that you stick with it (although I will let you in on a little secret sometimes I like the painful workouts because they really challenge me; but I am weird like that).

Winter time is my least favorite season for working out. I love outdoor workouts but cold temperatures and my lungs do not agree. Thirty minutes of cold air and I am barking like seal for a week; Not fun.

To make indoor workouts more fun, I take as many group fitness classes at my local Y as I can but those can sometimes be hard to fit around the kids activities  or when they need me available for homeschooling.

This leaves me with the dreaded cardio machines. I hate treadmills so much I refer to them as dread mills and I am not all that much fonder of stationary bikes. I get frustrated because the scenery never changes and my running partner will tell you I am very big on scenery; she puts up with countless porch accessory critiques every summer.

So to endure these winter cardio workouts I mix in pleasure to decrease my boredom. My pleasure, reading.

Here are 3 workouts for BookWorms

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The dread mill sprint read sprint workout

For the first ¼ mile of this workout read while walking at a leisurely pace, then put down that book and crank that baby up to the fastest pace (walking or running)  you can manage and hold it for ½ a mile , for the last ¼ mile return it to the fastest speed you can walk and read at. Repeat at least twice, although personally I like to do it at least 4 times so that I get to read several chapters.

The stationary bike reading fest workout

I am not very good at taking things easy on my cross training days like most running schedules tell you to, so what I have started doing is bringing a book to the gym with me on my easy days and reading as I bike. I bike for 30 minutes and get several chapters read.

Finish and end with the best workout

On days when I know I should do a longer dread mill run, I read for 10 minutes at the beginning, run for 40 minutes and then read for 10 minutes at the end.

Some of you might be wondering, do people stare? Nope, in fact since I started bringing my book I have noticed several other gym members doing the same thing.

Others might be wondering do I get a good workout this way? Yes I do, I am always sweating by the end, so much in fact the sometimes I have to towel off my head so I don’t drip on the pages of my book while I am reading during cool down.

So bookworms you can become a gym rat! Grab your book and start pressing some paper weight.

If your not a bookworm take this to heart; workouts don’t have to be boring, get creative and spice up your workout to better suit your personality.