Volunteer Work = Great Exercise
Thursday my husband and I volunteered to help pass out food for a county organization. We both grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the armory at 7:45 am. We weren’t sure what to expect but were looking forward to helping in some way.
Wow…talk about a great workout. We spent almost 4 hours loading 30 pounds sacks of food off the floor into a grocery cart and then taking the cart to a client’s car and unloading it. Depending on the family size, they got either two or four bags. Up and down….back and forth…wow…I could really feel it in my legs and my shoulders after a couple of hours.
I forgot to bring my pedometer so I’m not sure how far I walked. I wore a pair of cheap tennis shoes with no support. My feet started hurting after a couple of hours. The hard concrete really takes a toll on my feet. Next month I’m wearing a good pair of shoes. I usually wear cobbie cobblers…they are great.
I really enjoyed helping this organization. This was the best workout I’ve had in a long time. I woke up Friday morning with sore arms, sore shoulders, and sore legs. I wonder how many calories I burned. I’ve never been sore after working out at the gym. I guess it goes to show I don’t push myself hard enough on the machines.
I met some nice workers as well as nice participants. People were so genuine. I heard some heart-wrenching life stories from a few of the clients. I sympathized with them and put them in my prayers.
This day was not only a great workout on my weight loss journey but an eye-opener to the despair felt my so many in this community. I hope my words of encouragement and prayers help.
(I retired from the post office. This postage stamp says it all.)
March 16th, 2008 at 1:20 am
The best way to put down weight quickly is to have a tough competitor competing with you. The best choice can be a younger person as he will give a feeling of jealousy which will help you a lot.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Hi,
I worked for the post office also for 5 years.
You would think that all that walking would keep you thin. But the more I walked, the more I seemed to eat.
But If you are going to try losing weight walking it is great to be able doing it as a volunteer.
Best Wishes,
Thomas R.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
oh what a splendid idea.. gyms may work for some people sometimes, but they’re hopeless compared to this idea!
October 14th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Hi, I enjoyed reading about how volunteering turned into an amazing experience and a great workout all at the same time. Recently I have been reading this new book by an author named Dr. Linda Bacon, The book is called “Health at Every Size, The Surprising Truth About Your Weight”. This book talks about, how we can be healthy no matter how skinny or fat we are. Amongst many other things, the book talks about how we should make sure we incorporate exercise into our lives, but she stresses that the exercise should be activities that make us happy. When I read your blog, I immediately thought about this book and how the focus of exercise should be related to fun. I absolutely hate going to the gym and have recently been thinking of ways to get excesice and have fun all at the same time. I think I will try to find some sort of volunteer service for myself. Thanks!
I also disagree with the person commenting about competing with someone to loose weight. This sounds highly unproductive. The book I’m reading talks so much about the weight lose issue and how we are doing harm to ourselves by participating in these activities. I highly recommend checking out this book. It may have some amazing ideas for you, about how to stay healthy.
Nice talking to you!
keith