on exercise:

confession:

i hate to exercise. 

hate it. each new day we are given exactly 24 hours to fill with activity and meaningful relationships and sustenance and rest and frankly, exercise just isn’t that high on the “following-my-bliss” list....

my relationship with exercise has not exactly been a deep and meaningful one. 

as a teenager, i wasn’t into sports...instead, i was playing piano for the chorus..shocker, right? when i was in college i gained a bunch of weight, then lost a bunch of weight because my boyfriend, HG, was moving to florida for an internship...so i didn’t have anyone to take me out to dinner twice a week...

when i was engaged to HG, i decided to join the Y in my town. not because i cared all that much about my health..but mainly because it was an opportunity to buy some cute workout clothes, and i figured it was good preparation for my upcoming marriage. i’d soon be moving to Boca and all the Boca women that i’d met so far went to the gym. 

after i got married there were some fitness attempts, but really they were just excuses for me to, again, buy cute workout clothes. seriously! tennis skirts are adorable!! and i’m pretty sure that i could live in yoga pants for the rest of my days...

but then....

i turned 30. 

and suddenly my metabolism changed. my cute little pencil skirts got tighter and my adorable vintage cardigans didn’t seem to button the right way anymore around my tummy...

it was happening. it is still happening. 

thank goodness, my shoes still fit.

so here’s what i’ve started to do: 

first, i needed to figure out what would motivate me...because, unfortunately i’m rather shallow, and “to simply be healthier” was just not enough for me...even fitting in my current clothing isn’t enough motivation when i’m staring at a sicilian-style-meat-lovers pizza from nypd on a friday night...who cares about my clothes?? i can get NEW clothes later. the pizza is in the here and now...

so i made a chart. if you’re a chart filler-outer or a check-list person, this might work for you. i keep it right by my fridge... and simply fill out what i’ve done for the day. when i fill in the whole chart, i get a prize!!!!! (yes, i might as well have a sticker chart, just like my piano students...but positive reinforcement works, people!!!!)

i also get bored easily. so doing the same thing every day gets real old. real soon. 

so here are some exercise activities that i’m doing. i mix it up all the time. i figure, as long as i’m doing SOMETHING, it’s better than nuttin’. 

biking: i LOVE to ride my bike! as a kid growing up in the country, i spent my summers on my bike... mostly up in the woods on trails.. i love the wind on my face, the sunshine on my shoulders and the ground moving fast underneath me. pop on some florence + the machine and i can ride for miles. 

walking: i actually don’t mind walking all that much. probably, because i’ve discovered a couple of really good podcasts like “this american life”, “filmspotting” and the “mosaic audio podcast” which is from erwin mcmanus’s church in LA. it makes me feel like my head and heart are getting a workout at the same time..which makes it feel like less of a waste of my time. 

bouncing: yep. i love the bounce. that’s easy. i’ve got a little rebounder in my living room and again, can workout while i’m catching up on tivo. multi-tasking is very big in my world. 

pinterest set: ok, this one i obviously found on http:pinterest.com (the greatest website ever designed.) i’m always a little skeptical of the fitness stuff i find on there...and by skeptical i mean, completely intimidated and more than happy to stay on my sofa in my yoga pants, surfing canopy craft ideas while eating a bowl of guacamole....

but i found this workout and i like it:

50 crunches

25 leg lifts

50 bicycles

25 squats

15 sumo squats

50 calf raises

100 arm circles

15 push-ups 

50 jumping jacks

1 minute plank

again, can be done while catching up on tivo.

weights: this is always the one that HG always brings up when i complain about the tight pencil skirts and cardigans...so i did find a nice little arm workout with weights. i do 7 different lifts, 15 reps, & 3 sets of each....i think that’s how you’re supposed to say it...again, not my thing, but i do notice it’s just enough to keep my underarms from flapping in the wind while still be able to fit them in the cardigan sleeves. 

again with the tivo.

yoga: i really like yoga. it might be the only activity that would ever make me reconsider joining a gym...but yeah, that probably won’t ever happen...so instead, i’ll say that it would make me consider joining a yoga studio someday...yoga’s great because it’s low impact and quiet...and it really works your whole body. years ago i found, crazy enough, a power yoga class on tv that was actually very good..so i’ve kept the same episodes and just use those over and over again...though i think the show got cancelled. but if you get the chance, take a class. it’ll wreck you at first, but there’s a satisfaction you get when you can actually have the strength to hold  a pose without tipping over.

some days i’ll mow the lawn instead or do some landscaping, which is a great work-out too. 

doing SOMETHING is better than doing nothing.

doing SOMETHING while watching tivo is even better.