Exercising with Jillian Michaels and the Call to Prayer

Living in downtown Dar is not very conducive to exercising. There is no recreational space near us. Technically there is a park across the road but it seems to be closed and locked most of the time and only used for private functions. And jogging in our neighbourhood is a combination of unsafe and impossible (also I hate jogging). So we've been forced to get a little creative in our workouts.

1. Timing- after some trial and error we've discovered that working out means getting up early in the morning (like 6 am... the horror!). It is the coolest time of the day and in the evening it can take us forever to get home, leaving everyone too wiped to do anything.

2. Equipment- We brought some resistance bands and jump ropes from home but nothing else. But we've discovered that water bottles of various sizes make excellent free hand weights and a couple towels layered together and folded up as needed make decent mats.

3. Using What You Got- So with no running routes, treadmills or elliptical we've turned to climbing stairs. There are 12 stories to the building. Guaranteed to raise your heart rate in no time.

4. Don't Disturb the Neighbours - so with all the jumping and running around in the early morning we don't want to anger anyone in the building. So I've taken to doing my workout on the balcony, that way I can jump around without worrying about the people underneath. Also it's actually kind of nice to be outside in the morning. The sunrises as I work out; Jillian Michaels voice and workout music gets mixed in with the call to prayer from the nearby mosque; not a bad way to start the day.

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