Burning calories and getting the blood pumping

Workouts, sweat sessions, HIIT WAD, Yoga, Pilates, Barre.

What do you do to get the blood pumping? I'll admit I REALLY want to try running but, well, I'm a bit intimidated. I talked to a friend about it and told her I just really didn't know how to get started. She looked at me sideways and squinted at me for a minute "You just RUN!" she said. Yes, I know but, I don't want to do it the wrong way. Maybe it's the flashbacks that I have from junior high phys ed. The mile long run we had to do. And they would time us and write down our time. I remember side stitches, gasping for air and hiding behind the girls softball dugout to stop and catch my breath (hiding from the PE teachers). So many people do it though and they run these fun looking marathons that have glitter and colors and even chocolate is involved! Sign me up! Then I hear these horror stories of people losing toenails and their feet being in really bad shape and I think MEH.

Growing up I was always active. I took Dance for 8 years, I was a cheerleader for three and once I graduated, I had no clue how I was going to stay fit so I just didn't do a thing. Once I was married, I found these videos called The Firm. I fell in love! I became a bit obsessive compulsive working out for about 90 minutes every other day. I was in the best shape since high school! Then, I got pregnant and although I wanted to stay fit and walk and exercise, I found that I was so exhausted, I never made the time to do it. Once my son was born, it took me about 3 years to finally get serious and back on track. I found a newer version of The Firm and then moved into a Kettle bell series that really helped get me back into shape. A couple of years ago I woke up to workout and suffered a pretty large panic attack. I stopped working out altogether for about a year. I took some time to focus on rest and my writing but fell into some terrible habits stemmed from stress and I turned into an emotional eater. I've since gotten back on track and I now utilize a few channels on YouTube to get my workouts in each day. I workout between 5-6 days a week. I mix my cardio and strength training and do a day or two of just weights. My workouts typically last between twenty and thirty minutes. I wake up early and get it done because I'm afraid if I wait until after work, I'll have justified an excuse to not do it. The hubs and I work in the same building and plan our breaks at the same time. When the weather is nice, we walk twice each day for about ten minutes. Sometimes, we'll go for a walk in our neighborhood later in the evening with our son and dog.

I've never had a gym membership, I've never had a workout buddy besides the hubs. Sometimes I get intrigued by the gym and all of the fancy equipment and classes they offer but, right now I'm content with my online buddies and DVD's. What happens when our Internet is on the fritz? I'm glad you asked! I have a couple of workouts I saved in a file on my tablet. Sometimes I just kick a little music on and follow my sets.

It's nice for a change.

How do you get your blood pumping? What works for you?