Monday, November 30, 2015

We are Health Partners

Who we are
Health Partners is a circle of women striving to make health a priority and fitness a habit through walking, biking, and other fun physical activities. It is one of the "social responsibility" arms of Healthier Picks, LLC © 2015. The idea of getting together with other women to motivate each other to get active had always been on my mind, especially after baby #3, and mid-late 2015 seemed to be when real action finally followed my thoughts and ideas. The group has been going strong for all of 4 weeks!!! This excites me, not only because we've managed to be consistent, but because come rain, shine, or wet weather, the Health Partners show up. We've had attendance vary from 3 to 7 ladies on any given day.


Why Sundays?
It had to be a weekend! Saturday or Sunday. We settled on Sunday only because it seemed to be the most convenient day for our very first activity. It also had to be early enough for me, and I'm sure many of the ladies in the group, to be able to sneak out of the house while the hubby and kiddos are still fast asleep. That means leaving home by 7 or 730 am, depending on where the day takes us, in order to meet-up by 8 am.


Activity selections
The original idea was to engage in activities that are free-of-cost, and fun. To me, this meant walking trails (walk-for-health) and riding my bike (bike-for-health). With the changing weather, we have now incorporated indoor activities and continue to look to creative ways to stay active.


Summary of activities
2015-1108: Bike-for-health on Mt. Vernon trails, Virginia. These ladies went hard...we did a hardy 5 miles on the hilly trail. There were numerous bike hiccups here and there, but we were determined to make the very best out of the great weather. Mental note...we need to educate ourselves on bike maintenance.


2015-1115: Walk-for-health at the National Harbor. The view was breathtaking. I am so grateful that the Health Partners did not let the coolness of the weather discourage us. We walked, and jogged, and had some great conversation exchanging notes on motherhood, careers, and just being plain human beings.



2015-1122: Walk- & bike-for health on Paint Branch trails. I've been biking this trail all summer long and only on this ride was I challenged to "cross the street" to see what was on the other side. Let me tell you, I am so glad I crossed the street! The creek we ran into was gorgeous, to say the least. Challenges...that's one major benefit of the Health Partners that I hold dear to my heart.



2015-1129: Cardio-for-health with Coach Tracey at her Oxon Hill studio. This was such a fun activity. It rained cats & dogs outside, so I was glad to be indoors with the Health Partners. Coach Tracey first put us through the wringer with her infused cardio workout...we survived, so it wasn't so bad, plus it was FUN! We ended the "fun fit" session with some belly dancing, which I thought was such a nice sweet reward.