Exercise is not any great love of my life. In fact, it may not even rank up there with things that I like! Let me put this out there, I dread it and actually kind of hate it! It is not something that I actively seek out! Oh yes, I have had periods of my life where exercise played a dominant part. (Seriously, I must have been mental at that moment right?) I am also quite willing and ready to admit that when I am physically active through some form of exercise that I feel amazing and the more I do it, the less dread I feel! However, I dread starting almost each and every time! How do we manage to circumnavigate this dread? Is there a way? The answer came to me during some hiking that I did this past weekend. There ARE ways to make this much easier!
Social Hour
Make exercise your social hour. When I was attending Zumba, I worked out hard. I was a sweaty mess. It was exercise for sure. But for me, it was also a social hour. Once I started to attend I made some friends and even got some other friends to join the class. We got there early to talk. We stayed late to talk. We even started going to dinner as a group after our class. For me, the draw of the social aspect made me forget that I was heading to workout. It made it fun!
Be with Someone who does Enjoy Exercise
I didn’t want to go hiking this past weekend. I really just wanted to curl up on the couch under a blanket and read a book and watch movies! The very last thing I wanted to do was to go outside, get sweaty and hike! That was too much like……..work! My boyfriend however, had other plans! He wanted to go hiking and mushroom hunting! Morel mushrooms have a very short hunting season and the season was upon us. He really wanted to get out into the woods to go hunt mushrooms and just to move and not feel so sluggish. It had rained the night before and I didn’t want my feet wet, so I put my on trusty hiking boots (affiliate link) and headed out the door to hit a local trail to hunt mushrooms. I didn’t want to go, (remember that I wanted to stay curled up on the couch) but I went…simply because I love him and because he wanted to get outside. I went because of him but after we got going, I was there because being outside and using my muscles felt amazing!
Goals that encompass Exercise
I am one that does particularly well when I set a goal for myself. I work well with a goal and an end date in mind. I decided to run a 10k a few years back. I set the goal and I made my plan on how I was going to achieve that goal. I had my training calendar posted in a spot that I would see it just about every day. (I posted it on my desk at work....I had to stare at it 40 hours a week!). It was my goal to complete each trading day and ultimately run that race! I delighted in updating my calendar! I did the exercise because I wanted the euphoria of completing each and every training goal! So set a goal and do what it takes to complete it, knowing the satisfaction of a job well done is the reward.
Hide the Exercise
The weather was gorgeous, so we wanted to be outside. We had heard about this abandoned house near us that we had always wanted to find and check out. It was out in the woods and would require a bit of walking to find it. No worries, I was ALL IN! I once again laced up my trusty hiking boots and we set off. We parked our car and headed in the direction that we knew the house to be and we walked. Up and down paths. Through the woods and around streams we ambled, keeping our eyes open for any sight of this old abandoned house. I was hiking and not even thinking about it! I was having the time of my life! It only got better when we saw the house! It was amazing. I could barely hold myself in check as I walked toward the house. I circled that house a few times. I went all around the many acres surrounding the house. I climbed into it. I was so active….but I didn’t even think of it as a hike. I was having the time of my life and the exercise just happened! I ended up getting about 5 miles of hiking while we searched for and explored that house! The miles we hiked really crept up on me! Best 5 miles of hiking I have EVER had!
Plan your daily activities with extra steps and activity in mind
We went to the beach a few weeks ago. We arrived and parked the car on the first day we arrived. We did not get back into the car until we the day we left the beach. Why? We specifically planned to get everywhere without the aid of the car for that weekend trip. Sometimes it works out that way. We rode our bikes or walked wherever we wanted to go and we racked up mad miles on our bodies. Sometimes you can’t plan to walk everywhere, but you CAN park a bit further away. You CAN chose to not drive everywhere. You can make little changes to add a bit of activity into your life, and I promise you the change will NOT hurt!
Challenges
A few years back Jason and I wee talking and somehow we made a bet. The bet was based on who would run the most miles. We did this each week for a month or two. I hate to lose.....so I ran! I ran and ran. I was constantly checking mapmyfitness and I would groan when I would see a run appear under his name. But guess what? I would lace on my running shoes, queue my running playlist and off I would go! I wanted to win!!!!!! Posts from that time clearly show my mentality and drive to win at all costs!
Have fun
Sometimes exercise is just there, something that we know we have to do. We can’t hide it, we can’t link up with someone, we can’t do anything but just endure. How do we take away the great dread? Well, we make it fun! Download an amazing playlist of music onto your phone to listen to. If you are doing something on fitness equipment where you can watch a tv or a screen, turn on great movie or a that tv show you’ve always wanted to see. Make it more special and ONLY allow yourself to watch that program while you are exercising. If it is an amazing program, you will be DYING to get to your exercise machine just so you can watch more!
Neat clothes
Go buy some new exercise clothes! Seriously, but he clothes. Revel in their cuteness and then wear them! And yes, be proud as a peacock knowing that you are wearing something cuter than heck!!!
There are ways to make exercise easier to do. We can make it fun. We can make it social, we can hide the aspect of exercise within some activity that we want to do! We can do anything in our powers, but the real answer is just to get out there and do it! You will feel so much better physically after you do. Emotionally….well you will be so proud of yourself that you will be walking on air! The sky is the limit. Do whatever it takes to get out there and do it!!!
