Today was the first day back to school. Granted, I didn't have to teach today, but I still got up early and went through my new routine (that included throwing a bread in the oven) to see how long it would take me to get to work. Happy to say that if it was a teaching day, I would have made it with 45 minutes before class. This morning I was also purposefully a little slow and lazy, so I was pleased with my timing.



As the start of the new semester and the end of the summer, it was time to turn to a new Excel sheet for recording my workouts. This also meant a review of the summer workout. While I was slightly less diligent (took about a week off each month) than during the semester, I completed two 30 day Wactive programs, and supplemented that with some of the pre-programed stuff for a few weeks. I also did a bit of walking in June and July.



With all that, it depressed me that my weight went up 6lbs since the end of the spring semester. Even though I've been eating a bit more bread (I bake it, I gotta eat it!), I mostly stopped drinking soda (now I only have it occasionally when eating out, very rarely at home... this is a big change from 1-3 cans a day), started drinking a lot of water, and have been eating more vegetables, fruits, and salads (yay for summer produce!). I don't feel that my eating habits were any worse than during the school year; I even started eating a little breakfast.



I also wonder where this 6lbs is. My work clothes aren't any tighter now than they were in the Spring. That makes me hopeful that the weight change was because Wactive was strengthening and building a bit of muscle. But 6lbs worth? I think the primary issue is that during the summer, I'm sitting a lot more than during the semester. Hopefully, being back to work will turn things around.



But more importantly, and why I titled this hidden benefits is because even if Wactive hasn't be helping me shed weight, it has certainly made me stronger and improved my endurance.



I left work today at 3:30 and since I rode the bus, I had three choices of where to walk to catch a bus home. Walk down the hill and take the bus that drops me a little farther from home. Walk up the hill and take the bus that drops me close to home. Walk the long way to the bus stop where two buses stop that will drop me close to home. I decided to go with the longer initial walk. When I got to the bus stop, there was no bus coming (that I could see) and it was so nice and sunny and breezy that I decided to keep walking. And I walked and walked and walked until I had walked home.



Google maps suggested that it is about 2.3 miles from school to home. By car that's about 10 minutes (including a bit of traffic and red lights). By bus (with some walking to and from bus) it is about 30-40 minutes depending on how many stops the bus makes. Walking... it took me about 50 minutes. Now, maybe 2.3 miles isn't that far, but I walked at a steady, quick pace and I didn't feel tired or sore. I didn't want to give up and stop walking. When I got home, I was a little sweaty, but I wasn't winded or wanting to collapse. So all that Wactive is paying off!



Will I start walking to work? Probably not, I don't need to show up to work sweaty. Will I walk home again? Probably, if it is another nice day!