Pandemic living: How’s your health?

Is anyone else addicted to their fitness tracker? For me, it’s the Apple Watch. Since I’ve started eating and working out more frequently, I’m obsessed with closing my exercise ring. For those who don’t have the watch, there’s a move ring, exercise ring and a stand ring. Closing all three takes plenty of work, depending on your day.

\Early in the pandemic, when I better get moving! everything was shut down, it was easy. Remember those days? Literally nothing else to do? Summer came, then it was a bit trickier because things opened up a bit and, of course, we had some nice weather. To complete the exercise ring, I need to get thirty minutes of active calories. Easy. To advance the move ring, I need about an hour’s worth of movement calories, not quite as easy to achieve, but not hard by any stretch. Just walk around for about an hour.

The stand ring is a bit tricker. I need to be standing for a couple minutes or so during each of 12 hours of the day. The stand ring sounds like the easiest ring to move, but it isn’t!

Working in the office, I have to interrupt my concentration, get up and move each hour. On a lazy day, or if I’m reading a book, you guessed it – get up and move each hour. Relaxing on the couch does not move the stand ring.

Lately, though, this has become an all-consuming goal: Fill the rings. My two brothers and I follow each other’s progress on the watch. Of course, as the eldest brother, I feel it is my job to fill the rings — all of them — before they do. Luckily, I’m an early riser and get my initial workout in before breakfast. Then, if I don’t have the rings filled, I have plenty of time to add another quick workout.

With travel volleyball and with more businesses opening up, it’s not always an early morning cut-and-dried workout. If you’re really a ring-filling freak like me, you have to get creative and find non-conventional locations for a walk or workout. Steps in the convention center between games.

Workout apps in the hotel, in any space you can find, especially if the workout machines there aren’t working. I’ve even walked staircases to fill those rings. But, with all my madness, I’m getting healthier. I’ve been eating well and the workouts help balance any unhealthy decisions I’m making.

I’m getting stronger and I have a lot of energy. I’m feeling great. Thank you rings. With spring coming, find your rings to fill. Come up with a goal and get to it. If you have little brothers, it’s good to have a goal and when you fill all of the rings before they do, let them know via text.

That’s something else you can do on the Apple Watch.

Enjoy the issue!