The Apartment-Friendly Workout

Good Morning my friends! To kick off another week of awesome, THIS IS THE WOW! The Workout of the Week, from GoodAttitudeFood.com for the week of 5/5/19. This is The Apartment Friendly Workout.

I took last week off to get moved into my new apartment/condo that I am living in. So far my own place has been awesome! I have had to rethink my workouts a bit though. Right now I am a little out of the routine. Time to get back at it this week!

The post this week is going to highlight my new experiment. I am trying to grow a “condo/apartment veggie garden”. In addition, I am going to share with you two really cool bands I have been digging on for the music section. For the workout, I have an awesome routine modded for an apartment-friendly workout!

Growing Plants

I didn’t even really think about it much previously, but I learned today that there is a whole “thing” that exists where having plants makes people happier. People even use plants as therapy. I found several articles about it. Totally makes sense to me. Being a farmers kid in the early part of my life, I have always had a love and respect for plants.

I know the benefits of being in nature from my own experiences, so why not bring a little nature into the home too? That got me started on my “urban garden” project.

I think growing plants is a part of the human experience, but too many people have forgotten the ways. It’s not hard to grow plants. It’s natural. It will provide not only food when you plant fruits or veggies, but just growing regular plants have benefits for people.

One of my dreams is to teach “urban gardening” to people who would otherwise never know how to grow their own veggies. #somedaygoalsofgoodattitudefood.com

Check out a few articles like this one from EcoWatch.com – 7 Science-Backed Benefits of Having Plants at Home

Another article from houseplantexperts.com lists off eight benefits for growing houseplants – Benefits of Growing House Plants

Breakdown of Benefits of Indoor Plants

• Plants recycle the air and provide better indoor air quality.
• Increase humidity in the air
• Reduce airborne dust particles
• Improve mental health
• Help the immune system
• Improved learning, focus, and responsibility
• Plants make us feel well

The 20-Minute Urban Garden

The Plants

My experiment is to see if I can grow some veggies in my apartment, on the balcony. I will move them in and out of the apartment as needed. “Last frost” in Minnesota usually happens on 5/10. So the plants come in at night for another week or two yet.

I purchased a pot that had four pepper plants already started, the tag says “grows right in the pot”. Easy Button.

I also purchase two tomato plants, a bell pepper plant, and a few herb plants – sage, rosemary, thai basil, and a “salad bowl” lettuce plant. All the plants were already started. I think this will make it easier to keep them going than if I started from seed.

I got pots for the tomatoes and bell pepper, and a single pot for the herbs and lettuce to fit in. One bag of potting soil and one bag of plant fertilizer.

I transplanted all the plants, except the four peppers in one pot, into new pots.

This whole setup took me about 20 minutes to put together. That includes transplanting my Money Tree plant into a bigger pot.

I have a good feeling these plants will grow. Once they do I will have fresh herbs and veggies to enjoy. The entire setup cost me about $70.

I am going to try to keep the plants growing indoors in I can, through the winter. Not sure how that will work.

I also have a few indoor house plants, the Money Tree plant, and two other small leafy plants.

I played them all some guitar music last night! 🙂

The Music

The music this week I am sharing a playlist I made of two bands I have been digging on a lot lately. The Main Squeeze is a great band. Their guitarist WAILS! The keyboard player is awesome. Great drum beats. Funky bass lines. Aaand that singer’s awesome, soulful voice. I found these guys when I randomly clicked on their video cover of Pink Floyd’s Have a Cigar. Been hooked on this band since. Check out their YouTube page!

Band #2 is a group called Scary Pockets. I don’t know too much about them besides that they do a bunch of funk remixes to class pop music songs. Their music is just a ton of fun. Check out their YouTube page!

The Workout

**Always do a dynamic warm-up before starting a workout. I do the one from FightTips.com.

***Make sure you are healthy enough to exercise before doing any workout.

Round 1

Tabata – apartment friendly moves!

Interval timers set to 8 repetitions of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest.

I got four basic, apartment-friendly moves. They shouldn’t be too loud. Do the four for 20 seconds each, then repeat.

• Push-Ups
• Sit-ups
• Leg Lifts
• T-Push-ups

Round 2

Walking 7,000 steps. My goal is 7,000 steps every day this week. I use the Samsung Health App on my Galaxy to keep track of steps.

I am trying to figure out how to work in cardio in the new place. My spin bike is pretty loud in here. I think it shakes the walls of the people’s apartment below me. I may need to invest in a quieter bike, a road bike, or find some different go-to cardio… researching my possibilities.

If anyone knows of a really quiet spin bike, let me know!

Round 3

Tai Chi moves. 20 minutes. Jake Mace has some pretty good 20-minute workouts. Reminder, I am not doing Tai Chi stuff to become a master martial artist, I am just doing it for health benefits.

I did both of the videos below this morning. I will alternate between the two each afternoon this week. Jake Mace has some great instructional Tai Chi content. Check out his channel.

Make it a Great Week

Thank you so much for reading! Thanks to the free content providers on YouTube! Please check out the links and support the content providers!

Be happy and healthy my friends! I think it is pretty sad that people of our world and times are forgetting our relationship with plants. Plants benefit humans in amazing ways. The hero in my story has a green thumb. Maybe yours does too? Try it. Grow a plant! Plants benefit people in any setting whether a farm or the balcony of an urban condo!