Sometimes in the morning I go for a short run, maybe about 15 or 20 minutes max. I never believed I would start running again, but because my Bender Ball gave me the confidence in myself that I could actually change my appearance, weight and the way I feel about myself, I decided to really take the plunge and start a more intensive work-out routine. And I am so glad I did. Especially now, it is so nice to be outdoors observing how the seasons are changing. Since I sit in an office all day long, my morning run really brings some fresh air, good smells and interesting sights into my life. And just think, I have my Bender Ball to thank for making me realize what my real potential was.

A friend of mine told me the other day that his doctor says he has high cholesterol and needs to loose some weight. My friend came to me for advice, he told me, because he can see that I have been keeping fit lately and he wanted to know how I do it.

Of course I told him all about my Bender Ball, and how I work out with it before I go to work in the morning, and at my lunch break, and very often before I go to bed. I explained to him that since it only requires about 5-10 minutes of a work-out at each time, it is easy to find the time to work-out. I also explained that using the Bender Ball is easy and fun, and it puts much less of a strain on the back while much more efficiently strengthening all those important abdominal muscles in the front. He was impressed and said he is thinking about getting a Bender Ball.

I’m breathing a sigh of relief today!  Last week, I let you in on my Valentine’s Day plans.  I explained that I was going to get my wife a second Bender Ball so that she would have one to leave at the office, and that I was going to get her some hand weights.

Now, not every woman would appreciate exercise equipment for a gift, because she might take it the wrong way.  But, my wife and I exercise together a lot and she knows that I have her best interest at heart.  And she loved the gifts!  She thought that it was very thoughtful of me to get her a second Bender Ball. This way, she can have one at home and one at work, and she won’t have to think about bringing it from place to place.  And, she thought that the weight were creative, although she actually wanted ankle weights and not hand weights.  So, we are going to return the weights and try to find ankle ones instead.

Overall, it was a creative and thoughtful gift - and I succeeded once again.  Let’s hear it for good Valentine’s Day gifts!

I know that Valentine’s Day is coming up (note to guys - pay attention!) and that my wife is going to expect a gift of some sort.  So, I started thinking about what I could get her.  Now, some people would say that buying her exercise equipment sends the wrong message.  It tells her that I think she’s fat - or that I think she should exercise more.  Now, I hear you, and I do give a warning to anyone who thinks that his girl would get this impression that they shouldn’t go this route.

But, I happen to know my wife quite well after all of these years, and I’m going to surprise her with a new bender ball and with some hand weights.  She has been using her bender ball so much that I think she’d appreciate an extra one.  And, I was thinking, since she likes to bring it to work, this would allow her to have two of them. Then, she can leave one bender ball at home and have another one for work.

We walk together a lot, and I think she’ll enjoy having some hand weights to add to the routine.

I hope she likes my ideas!

I left off on my last post at our family dinners, which are great, and I recommend it if you can arrange it. I know some people use their dining room tables as a storage space or a work space like a desk, but we are careful to keep the table cleared off so we can sit down to eat together without first having to organize everything that’s on the table. After dinner the kids do their homework, talk to their friends on the phone or whatever kids do in the evenings. My wife and I sometimes watch T.V., or, if there is nothing that interests us, we’ll take out our Bender Balls and do a few crunches before bed. If the weather is good we might even go for another walk together. I usually feel good about my day, and find this routine a great way to stay connected with my wife and kids, and work in a nice amount of exercise without too much trouble.

So the holidays are behind us, and so is New Years with all those resolutions. Now the winter has set in and we are back to our usual routine. This is what my day is like: I get up early and do a 10 minute workout with my Bender Ball. Then I bring in the paper and have a cup of coffee. I bought a new coffee maker, which I’ll tell you about in another post, but it’s amazing. My wife gets about now and wakes up the kids. I help her get the kids breakfast, and she usually makes their lunches. The kids are out the door by 8 to catch their bus to school, and then my wife and I leave for work. We both bring our Bender Balls to work. I usually get in one 10 minute workout during my lunch break. I think my wife also works out during her lunch break, but sometimes, if she gets to work early enough, she does her Bender Ball workout before she sits down at her desk. My wife told me she prefers this because she feels energized from her workout, and really ready for her work day, which is mostly sitting at a desk. The rest of the day is spent working, and then we both leave at about 5pm.

I was having coffee with a few of my buddies the other day, and I couldn’t help but laugh.  There we were, at the beginning of the new year, talking about exercise and hopes for the new year.  They wondered why I was laughing.  I’ve known these guys for probably close to 30 years, and every single year we talk about the same things!  We always spend January talking about our New Year’s resolutions, about our new gym memberships, about our excitement about getting fit, etc.

And then what happens?  By February, we’ve forgotten all about our resolutions and we are meeting for a few beers and a slice of cake.  I laughed this year because I’ve finally broken from the pattern! Thanks to my bender ball, I’ve started losing my beer gut and feeling so much better about myself.  And that made me get a gym membership and the whole thing has made me feel 100% better.  And I told my buddies that I didn’t even put exercise as one of my New Year’s resolutions - because exercise, and using the bender ball, are simply part of my daily life now.  I don’t even think about them, and I know that they won’t be pushed aside, as my friends’ resolutions will be.

Poor guys.  Let’s hear it for my fitness and my bender ball!

Of course, we all make New Year’s resolutions.  Who doesn’t?  What amazed me this year was that my New Year’s resolution didn’t include getting fit!  For years and years I’ve always had “Lose 20 pounds” and “Work on My Stomach” at the top of my list.  Why aren’t they there this year?  Well, you’ve probably guessed already.  My Bender Ball has saved my New Year’s resolution list!

Now that I’m feeling great and getting in shape everyday, I simply don’t feel like I need to have that on my New Year’s resolution list anymore.  Now, I will admit that I’ve thought of placing it there anyway, since I know that I’ll be able to cross that one off!  But, that’s sort of cheating, isn’t it, to place something on your list knowing that you will be able to cross it off?

So, now that I had that spot available on my New Year’s resolution list, it was a bit difficult to decide how to fill it.  You know when you always know there is something that you need to do?  It’s weird, because of my bender ball, to know that I don’t need to achieve that thing anymore.

Not to worry, of course.  I found plenty of other things that need to be done this year!

Another challenging aspect of the upcoming winter are those crazy holidays we have at the end of November and December.  But with my Bender Ball always on hand, I don’t need to obsess about controlling my eating like I used to in past years.

Let me tell you a true story about one Thanksgiving my wife and I spent with her aunt Phyllis and Uncle George.  At that time Phyllis and George had three children, the youngest being a darling six year old girl named Stefanie. There were about 10 guests all together, and we had just finished the most amazing meal of a wonderful roasted Turkey with all the trimmings, and then some. We were all feeling quite engorged when the table was cleared and it was time for dessert. I don’t know how Phyllis was able to get up from the table to serve the pumpkin pie, but I know I couldn’t move off of my chair without the help of a forklift.  But Phyllis went into the kitchen, and she called Stefanie in to help her serve. Stefanie brought out the first slice of pie and respectfully handed it to her father, George. George said thnk you and then politely passed the plate to the person next to him. Stefanie registered a slightly surprised look on her face, but dutifully returned to the kitchen to get the next slice. She returned once again and handed the plate to her father. And her father once again passed the serving over to the next person. Slightly more perturbed, but undaunted, the confused girl went back to the kitchen for the next piece of pie.  She once again handed the plate to her Dad, and her Dad once again passed it on. This was just too much for Stefanie, and she burst out, explaining to her father that, “Dad, its not use. Mom is cutting every piece the exact same size!”

I sure wish I had known about Bender Ball back then, because I think I gained about five pounds at that one meal alone. I am sure happy that this year I can fight back with my Bender Ball and some great crunching action.

It’s hard to believe the summer is already over and we are looking straight into the face of winter once again. I find winter the most challenging of seasons to stay in shape. The days are shorter and colder which means less time to be outside, walking or jogging or biking, which I do try and do a few times each week, at least when the weather is good.  Places I would’ve walked to on a nice autumn day in September of October I will drive to on a cold day in November.

What I can look forward to as far as my exercising regimen is concerned is just as much time with my Bender Ball as I had in summer and spring. Since I can exercise with my Bender Ball anytime and anyplace, I don’t need to run to the gym in bad weather, and I can even take my Bender Ball with me to work if I have a few free minutes to squeeze in some crunches.