Happy Friday!! The picture above was taken yesterday during my walk with my boys (Toby (left) and Tucker). It’s SO gorgeous in Arizona right now. Highs in the 70s and nothing but sunshine! Can’t beat it!

So the dogs and I have been walking a lot – tryin’ to get in those steps (I’m on fitbit. Add me! reynoldsreport@me.com)

Which also means that I have a lot of aches and pains. Even the simplest tasks, like walking a mile or two, means my feet hurt, my legs hurt, and UGH my achilles’ tendons are SOOO painful. It takes a told on my body to carry around this extra weight. I can’t blame a calf – if I was holding up this much weight, I’d be pissed too!

So here are a few things that help me feel better and up to the task!

Calf stretcher!! This is a lifesaver! I’ve been a toe-walker my whole life, so my achilles’ tendons and calfs get SUPER tight. I step on this little baby right before my walks to help my muscles warm up. If my calfs are tight, I step up 3-4 times per day to try to loosen those babies up!

Muscle roller!! This thing is SO helpful in stretching any kind of sore muscle. I’m sure you’ve seen the big muscle rollers at the gym. But it’s tough to hoist my fat ass up to balance on those just to stretch my back or glutes. This helps a LOT when I need an extra hand in stretching!

Pillz!!! HAHA! These babies help me with my energy, mood and overall well-being. Most of those are vitamins, so don’t call intervention on me yet! Daily, I take stuff for my acid reflux (nexium – not pictured), a women’s multivitamin, B Complex vitamin, Vitamin D (twice a week), Juice Plus, Caffeine (so much better than drinking a gallon of coffee a day, and Aleve.

I also use epsom salt baths when shit gets really real. It helps relax and it’s also supposed to help with inflammation and soreness. It may be a placebo effect, but I truly feel better after an epsom salt bath.

So those are my tools of success. What do you use to help you be more active, and have more energy & less pain?