The DDR Experiment

Since Josh and I got married, we have both been completely slack in the way of exercising. Now, for those of you who know (or have merely seen) Josh, I know you must be thinking that's a bit strange. Why would HE need to exercise? Well, some select people in the world, my husband included, have the metabolism most of us can only dream of. He eats all the time (or at least a lot more than I do), and can eat anything he wants... healthy food, normal food, junk food, dessert food... and he still maintains his slim, 30X34 pants-size figure. (For those of who who don't know about guys' pants sizes, 30" is the circumference of his waist, 34" is how long the pants are. They don't actually make 30x34s because nobody else on the face of this planet is that tall and that skinny. So he buys 32x34s - when he can find them.) Now, I don't see a problem with that, but I guess he wants to gain some weight. Go figure. That said, the ONLY way for Josh to gain weight, is to work out.

I, on the other hand, am just facing the issues more typical of most women/people. I'm not particularly worried about my weight (though I wouldn't argue if a few pounds came off). In fact, I'm straight up "average" according to this BMI calculator (I'm in the 48th percentile). However, I used to be very active, and especially during these winter months, I feel the difference it has on my body. I feel so sluggish all the time. I'm constantly tired/exhausted, I often don't want to do things after work, and I simply feel a bit blah most of the time. Add to this that I now sit at a desk almost all day long, and it's clear I need to do something - especially as spring is going to be here in another month or two and I won't be able to get outside and do the things I want to be able to do in my current inactive state.

So. I'm starting my DDR exercise plan. Yes, DDR as in Dance Dance Revolution... the arcade game. It's been available for home gaming systems for a while, and a couple months back we found DDR Universe on sale at Toys 'R Us for $9.99 (a sweet deal). We then picked up this dance mat at Best Buy for $20.99, plus I think $4 for a 2-year product replacement program (they'll give us a new mat if anything stops working over the next 2 years - then restart the warranty again). So, I now have my own home gym (cardio, at least) at an investment of about $35. Given that we don't really have the space in our budget to join a gym (or even the YMCA) right now, I'm pretty happy with the deal. And now I'm starting on my workout regimen (my first "workout" was last night). I'm not going to be crazy about it, but my goal is to do it 3-4 times a week for at least 30-45 minutes. This also means I'm going to try getting up a little earlier to get in to work a little earlier, so I can have time to do this before dinner/other activities most evenings.

While there are still very few people who know about this website, it's still going to be my "accountability". After all, it's publicly documented, right? Right. And who knows, in the end, maybe I'll be like this guy who trained for a marathon playing DDR... well, ok, I don't know how realistic that is, but at the very least, I won't completely suck at DDR anymore and I'll be a happier person. I can settle for those.