Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Upper-Body Workout

I have friends who swear by Pilates, others who frequent Yoga salons, some who swear by going to the gym and still others who wouldn't miss their sessions with their personal trainers.

I'm a little more low-key in my exercise regimen, relying mostly on walking up and down the steep hills of our little town for an hour or so each morning, but while it's great cardio-pulmonary exercise and is slowly shrinking my derriere, it doesn't do much for the upper body, so I was delighted when East Bay Municipal Utility District came up with a new exercise to help their customers get in shape.

We have been catching the water that falls into our shower stall as the water heats and lugging it all over the house and garden to put to other uses. Our bucket is a five-gallon beauty from some big box hardware store. Because water weighs approximately 8 pounds per gallon, we are lifting about 30 pounds (we don't fill it to the top) each time we heft a bucket of water for the garden or the dishes. Isn't that great? Instead of pumping iron, we are pumping water. Who knew that EBMUD was so into the fitness craze? The bonus is that it saves water in this dry year, too. Isn't that handy?

Next time you see us, I will be ripped and My Beloved will be buffed - ready for the summer beachwear!


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5 Comments:

Blogger Kitt said...

Funny, I was just thinking yesterday that I should keep a bucket in the bath to catch that pre-shower water, then throw it off the upstairs deck into the garden.

I hadn't thought about the weight-lifting benefits, though!

Wednesday, July 02, 2008  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

Oh, silly Zoomie. Of course you are pumping water. Water comes from pumps... (Oh... Never mind.) :D
We keep a plastic bucket in our shower for the same reason.
Meet ya at the beach. I'll be the one in the thong.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a great reminder, we should all be doing this!

Wednesday, July 02, 2008  
Blogger Katie Zeller said...

Now that is a great idea! My British neighbors use dirty bathwater.... I can pass on that (they also share the bath water, I'll really pass on that - unless I'm first)

Friday, July 04, 2008  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Kitt, any way we can preserve our most precious resource in CA is worth doing!

Cookiecrumb, I will if you will! :-)

Sara, too many humans, too little water!

KatieZ, my mother tried recycling the water from her clothes washer into her garden but it eventually damaged her soil - something in the soap...

Monday, July 07, 2008  

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