Parking Spot Competition

 Have you ever been in the car with a parking space competitor?  That’s the kind of person that accelerates into the parking lot to squeeze into a front space then shouts “who is the man!!”  

 You can hear the tension in their voice as you miss a hot spot.  Every shopping trip is an opportunity to win.  This person in my life is my husband and he has a pile of brothers and we have sons who all love the game.  Every time I drive and park at the back it the same gasping sound.  “How can you pass up all those GREAT spots?”

 Its simple, I’m not much of the gym type, too busy.  The gym has its place.  Going twice a week helped me finally shed that last 5 pounds that I struggled with.  It has also helped me regain enough muscle to play old lady soccer and beat my husband up the hill on a bike for the first time.  However exercising outside is always more fun.

 So why the parking lot hike?  Its part of my exercise regime.  Park in the back, only buy what you can carry without the cart and carry it back.  Except for a weekly trip to the grocery store, with two teenage sons to feed I do grab a cart.

 Here are other wacky exercise routines I have:

• The laundry marathon; up and down the stairs on purpose, the more the better.
• The inconvenient bathroom: the upstairs bathroom instead of the bathroom with a shorter walk.
• The work commute: another walk from the back of the lot, or a bike ride on a good day.
• Soccer Mom: slip into walking shoes or running shoes and run while I wait for them to play, instead of driving home and back.
• Date night: a walk after an appetizer for dinner or even better a bike ride then a snack.
• Morning calisthenics:  exercise rubber bands for home weight lifting, some sit ups, push ups, balance on one leg and leg lifts, less than 10 minutes in all.
• Big ball television: sitting on an exercise ball while watching television for a few minutes every day.  Also called “core strengthening”.
• Ten minutes with my husband:  Time for the kids to do the dishes and we walk around the block.

My more normal exercises include walking or jogging around the block, bike riding or swimming.  The exercise habit is easier to stick with some variety.

 The trick is so do more every day, not just 2 or 3 times a week.  It adds up.  My husband may never understand me, but at least he tolerates me.  He is the lifetime winner for the parking space game, I’ve lost more than just a game, I’ve lost pounds too.