Juneathon Day 14: Supermarket Slimnastics

Finding it hard to fit your Juneathon activity into your busy lifestyle? Me too. In fact, today I found it so difficult, at one point I had convinced myself that I had failed and hadn't actually managed to do any exercise at all. I couldn't believe it. Surely this couldn't be right; after all, in January I managed to run every single day even when I had to fight my way through the thick, deep snow!

'You've failed' said little Pessimistimagathon on my left shoulder.
'Don't listen to that witch' said teeny Optimistimagathon on my right shoulder, 'She's no idea what she's talking about; you've not failed... you don't fail... you don't even know the meaning of the word, you couldn't...'
'Of course you've failed.' rudely interrupted Pessimistiagathon. 'You've not done any exercise today; so you've certainly not succeeded have you?'

Certainly, this was a dilemma; desperately, I wanted to believe the lovely Optimistimagathon flitting happily and positively at my right hand side. Her enthusiasm and determination for my success was truly inspiring, something I just didn't want to ignore. Yet, at the same time, I knew it to be true. I had done no exercise at all, I still hadn't completed my work, I could hardly take time out for a jaunt around the park, when there were more serious, pressing matters.

'I could go out now...' I told myself, looking at the failing light outside the window. I stood up to give myself a closer look. Moston looked the same as usual: The vicious looking dog ravaging its ball in the park, the ominous gang of 'hench hoodies' 'hanging' menacingly at the park gates, the swaying gait of the old man as he crossed the field clutching desperately to his can of 'Red Stripe' fighting to remain upright....
'Hmmm... maybe not then' I reflected. 'Oh well, time to admit it then. Clearly, I've...'

'No! Wait!' Cried Optimistimagathon, very cunningly interrupting my thought process at just the right moment,
'I've got it!' You HAVE exercised today. In fact you spent at least 20 minutes doing so.

Quickly, I thought back over my day: I'd driven to work - no exercise there; walked around school - can that really count as exercise? unlikely; I'd driven to the supermarket - nope, still can't see it; I'd walked around the supermarket...

'That's it... that's the one! Your workout at the supermarket!' Exclaimed Optimistimagathon.

Really? Can it be true? Can I really count my trip to the supermarket as exercise? I mused. I pondered. I deliberated. And yes! Lo and behold of course I could! And here are the reasons:

1. I walked around the supermarket at a constant and steady pace for 20 minutes;
2. As I walked, I used a resistance device, more commonly referred to as a basket, to tone my arms and add extra difficulty to my overall cardio workout;
3. As the workout progressed, I added weight to my resistance device, thus increasing the difficulty and intensity of my workout;
4. During my workout, at regular intervals, I added squats to condition and tone, intensified also by the increasing weight of the resistance device;
5. At the end of the workout, I cooled down by transferring the weights from one device to another, finishing the workout with a brisk walk back to the car.

All of which, I think you'll find, creates a perfect session of Supermarket Slimnastics. Excellent. And, if you're in any doubt as to how you can work a Supermarket Slimnastic Session into your daily Juneathon schedule, then take a quick look at this brief video for more ideas on working out in your local supermarket:

Working Out At the Supermarket by 5minFitness

Activity: Supermarket Slimnastics
Distance: Must be at least a mile around all those aisles!
Time: 20 minutes
Feeling: very hungry by the end of it!