June- “Try Something New for 30 Days”

You may have noticed that I am (finally) writing about my June “Try Something New for 30 Days” as August is (sadly) winding down.

When I designated June as my month to try new physical activities, the timing seemed perfect. Summer was emerging and I planned on having lots of time to engage in these exciting activities.  Hannah and I brainstormed an optimistic list of possible experiences from routine running to more adventurous paddle boarding.

June 1st I was ready!  I found a terrific yoga for runners video on the Runner’s World website and jumped right in. I was surprised that the poses felt relatively easy (i.e. I could do them) and I immediately knew the stretches I got from the session would be incredbly beneficial to my running.

Next day, I did an online Pilates routine.

Although this really wasn’t new it was different from running. I have been using Pilates for strength training for over a year, particularly during the winter on days when it was difficult to get outside.  I had been amazed with how toned and strong I felt during the time when I was doing Pilates almost daily.  However, recently I had done very little so it felt good to be doing this type of activity again.

I did a little weight work out-literally.

Then I began to venture into truly new activities. I googled hula hoop videos and gave that a whirl (pun intended).

Ditto for a barre workout. I loved it!

Some of the activities I did with others, including basketball,

darts,

croquet,

and mini golf.

Mike is very serious about his mini golf.

We even upgraded to real golf-well, the driving range.

I was happy that some of the tips my dad had given me when I was a teenager had stayed with me and I even hit a few good shots.

As June ended I continued to be hopeful that I would check a few more activities off of my list.  I did get to add boogie boarding when we tried it on our vacation in the Outer Banks.

However, summer has whizzed by, as it always does and I still have many activities on my list that do not have a check by them.  While I am sad that the summer is evaporating, the list will remain on my fridge and I look forward to continuing to check off more and more new activities as time goes by. And I know that I will also be incorporating a number of the activities I tried in June into more of my everyday life.