"Really? You like to exercise, but you didn't used to? Those words really give me hope!"
I've never been good at sports, I never enjoyed P.E. in school, and I never exercised in college unless it was for a class. After I had JuJu, my friend invited me to go to the gym with her. At first I had no desire and I was afraid to commit to a membership. When I did go, I felt like an outsider, like I didn't belong. I didn't have cute gym clothes or a great body, and it was hard to be there with people I didn't know. It was a dance aerobics class and the moves were fast and confusing.
It took a good month before I got the moves and felt comfortable there. Within a couple of months I actually started looking forward to going. Now, I crave it, and I miss it terribly when I can't go. When we were on our trip last month, I got really antsy a couple of times, and just needed to let off some pent-up nerves and stress by running or hiking or anything physical. We would go do something and I'd feel so much better afterwards. Exercise makes me feel good, more energy, lighter steps. It's amazing to me how much less energy I had while not exercising consistently last month.
I still have ups and downs as far as my desire to exercise goes, but I've tasted what it feels like to love it and I'm hooked.
To those of you who don't like to exercise, my thoughts:
- Buy something cute to work out in. I feel frumpy when I wear t-shirts and I look thinner in certain outfits.
- Try lots of different activities to find one that you like: sports, workout videos, walking, classes at the gym. I did yoga a couple days ago and that was interesting, in a good way. It was relaxing and challenging, and something different I can try on days when my energy is lower.
- Listen to music or books on an Ipod to distract you.
- Stop when you're not enjoying an activity and do something else: if I'm on the treadmill, I'll go lift weights for a couple of minutes. I also change up my speed and incline on the treadmill and set goals for myself: run for 30 seconds, walk for 2 minutes, repeat a couple times, for example.
- Go at your own pace. Your body can tell you if you're doing too much. In other words, don't guilt yourself into working out too hard and hating it and making your body sore and miserable. I have no problem leaving a class to go rest for a minute, if I'm working too hard.
- Start slow. This is a big one. Even though you can physically do more, you need to work up slowly. When you do too much, you feel sore and miserable and never want to exercise again, or worse, you can injure yourself. When you build slowly, you feel energized and excited to go again. Check out John's favorite beginners running program.
I asked my aerobics instructor what she says to people who don't like to work out. The first thing she said was that she wishes she could give people a magic pill to help them feel what it feels like after you've been working out for a month. You have so much more energy and feel better overall.
The other thing she talked about was how our bodies are made to run and work, and that the easiest way to avoid disease and problems in old age is to exercise and eat well. She's 54 and said she has as much energy as she had when she was 32. (So true! Exercise is just like eating and sleeping: our bodies require it to be healthy. And you can pay for the gym now, or medical bills later.)
Anyway, just my two cents. And an offer to my local friends: my gym offers a free class for someone coming for the first time. Let me know if you want to come with me and I'll be your gym buddy. I usually go Mondays and Tuesdays at 5 pm, and Saturday morning at 8 am, and then another day or two on Wed, Thur, or Fri at 5 or 6, depending on my schedule.
Happy Healthy Living!
