Blog Challenge - Day 5

The first order of business: Thank you all for stopping by to read my blogs. It's SO nice to see my SparkFriends, along with a few new faces. Your interest and enthusiasm is infectious!

To recap: www.sparkpeople.com/mypa
ge_public_journal.asp?id=D
OGLADY13

5. What demotivates you and takes you off your fitness and health goals?

Gads, what doesn't? OK, that's an exaggeration. I joke that I workout in the morning, because my excuses are notorious for oversleeping.



My demotivation stems mostly from my own limitations, perceived or otherwise. Injuries; bleh! Arthritis pain; yer killin' me! The floor is too far today; ugh, why is aging such a PITA (and everywhere else)?!

But then I realize that I feel SO much worse when I don't do ANYthing. Even a short walk tends to loosen me up and make it all easier. In fact, it's my secret weapon; since I walk to the Y, I'm already on my way to the day's workout.

Yeah, the 2-4 flights of stairs once I'm there are rough, but I do 'em!



Let's get up to date on a few other things, shall we?

Here's the machine I tried today at the Y: www.octanefitness
.com/products/standing-ell
ipticals/lateralx/

Holy Hips, Batman! It's much like the feeling from a long row, wobble-y hips and all. I kept it easy and short, since it was new. I had been curious to try it and knew there would be fewer spectators around to witness my flailing effort.

Since my trainer, my PT and my knee doctor all stress lateral strength in my knees, I gotta wonder if this would be a good thing to put in the mix.



And the studying is going well (I hope the link is working today):
asem.org/asemweb-
emprofessional.html
FYI, I already have the AEM certification, as an output of my graduate degree.
www.stcloudstate.
edu/mem/

There are 11 domains to cover, and I'm mid-way through the sixth (I'm not doing them in order, for those of you following along at home). I've got a four-pronged approach to studying:
- The Engineering Management Body of Knowledge (EMBOK), a beast of a technical study guide
- The PEM Practice Test Guide, which contains 5-10 questions on each domain. ASIDE: The test will have 20 questions on nine domains, 10 questions on the other two domains.
- Online test prep/review via Udemy; pretty dry stuff, but it reinforces what will likely be covered on the test
- Making flash cards; yes, some of us still do things with pen and index cards. I think of this as my portable study materials, and will likely start living with them every waking minute in the coming weeks.

Goal is to take (AND PASS!) the exam in the first or second week of December. THIS. IS. DO-ABLE!

And then I can have fun again, LOL. It's been a lot more manageable than first imagined. The Hubster is a great source of support, particularly since he'll be taking the test at a later date. I think he covets my flash cards, tee hee.



Happy New Week, SparkFriends. Try something fun this week, even if it's a bit naughty!