Exercise.....do you dread the thought of it? If you said yes, you haven't found your mate yet. Just like you do when you date, you have to try out different activities and find what you love. What are your needs? What are your weaknesses and strengths? How can you push yourself, and how can you stay interested enough not to quit?
My Road to Obsession
When dance and cheerleading were over for me, I remember being depressed. Not sad, but actually depressed. I also wondered what I would do instead to stay active. Cheerleading and dance aren't like tennis; you can't really carry them with you through your life, unless you want to look like a weirdo in your back yard cheering for imaginary friends....I told myself I was better than that. Anyway, for a few years after high school, I didn't exercise. What was the point? I was skinny, and that's all I cared about because I was young and dumb. I always had a butt, and I was afraid of weights because I thought I would "bulk up". Not true, by the way. Anyway, I smoked a lot of cigarettes and then when I would occasionally resent the fact that I never ate anything but cereal and just smoked all day, I would go through periods where I believed that I should be healthier. They were short lived. I walked or went to the gym for periods of time, but I always got bored. I started yoga around 24 or 25 at home, and I still walked and ran, but I was in school and had other things on my mind. I was flirting with the idea, but not quite hooked. I knew one thing at the time and that was that I wanted to be outside so I wouldn't get bored. There's one problem...I got bored and I absolutely DESPISE running. I would rather do stadiums, and have, rather than to run long distances. I have always looked at runners and thought "Gosh, I wish I liked that" because they look so peaceful, but I don't. I don't feel any kind of rush when I run, I never get into a groove; it's just not my thing. It's like Spin class; I wish I liked Spin, but I don't like feeling like I have been sexually assaulted for days after my workout. I just can't do it.
After Carson and Dylan were born, Don's dad bought me an awesome jogging stroller. I mean, this was the Mack Daddy jogging stroller, and when they were two months old I started pushing them up and down Wyngate Parkway for miles at a time every day. I actually did enjoy this because it was good for the boys, I got out of the house, and it was HARD. The hills of Georgia can be brutal, and the boys were growing every day, so it became more and more challenging. I pushed them until they were 4 years old and I just couldn't muster the strength to do it anymore. They loved their stroller.
I joined LA Fitness for my 30th birthday. I really loved it because I wanted to take Pilates and yoga, and the classes were included in the membership fee, unlike the other gyms. I knew one thing about myself....I have to switch it up or I get bored. I have been hooked ever since.
You have to find what you love, and when you are bored or something is getting too easy, you have to change it up.
I used to go to Pilates two or three times a week but my favorite teacher left and I haven't been back since. Plus, I don't like doing so much ab work because my stomach is flatter without big ab muscles. It's not an area that I spend a lot of time on; I just hold my stomach tight when I do anything else.
What I Love...
These are constants in my life, but that isn't to say that I don't do other things. I do, and I switch them up, but these are my go-to's and my babies.
Yoga is the love of my life. I am freakishly flexible, so it's fun for me and I love how you can always push yourself once you have mastered something. Plus, it's not just stretching and strengthening your body. I have learned so much about balance in the body and in life, I have learned about peace and loving myself and others, and I have learned about learning to exist peacefully in a mess and listening to myself. I have to thank my great teacher, Deborah, who has taught me for three and a half years. She has taught me more than she realizes. I also go to Ember Yoga in Downtown Woodstock and I have pushed myself in temperatures that I could have sworn would have killed me. Now if I miss hot yoga, which I attend at least once a week, I swear I always get sick. It releases toxins and teaches you to breath in uncomfortable climates. If you are considering yoga, you have to try it and stick with it and learn about the practice and the history. There is so much more to it than stretching out your quads. I CANNOT stress the importance of yoga in your life. It's a part of my other workouts and without it, I am "off".
Zumba. Ahhhh Zumba. THANK YOU for letting me dance and cheer without looking weird! Thank you for allowing me to dance on a regular basis and not be forced to enter a club where alcohol is being spilled on me and penises are ramming me in the back. If you try Zumba, PLEASE buy dance shoes. I cannot stress this enough!!! You will tear your knees up and ruin your feet!!! Zumba is already very hard on your body even with dance shoes. I have weakened my ankles and gotten shin splints from taking too many classes a week. Also, hold your core. Grinding (lol) without holding your core will throw your back out. And PLEASE, give people space. Everyone will hate you for crowding. I won't move now. I just let my arms smack whoever is standing there.
Stair Master....it's also the Devil. At least, it was for me at first. This is the only machine I will touch. I walk sideways, kick my legs out, and I don't focus on speed, but form. People who lean over and hold the bars aren't getting a good workout. You're better off standing up and going slower. This is what I do when I have a lot on my mind and I want to throw headphones on and listen to music and not make any decisions about reps and weights. Usually I do it on a lazier day when I don't feel like counting, or if I can't make Zumba.
Weights...there isn't really anything I can say about this, except I have learned a lot of tricks and I have learned to LOVE it. I lift weights a few times a week. It's obviously a huge part of my workout. I also do a lot of exercises using my own body weight.
Whatever you choose, make sure you love it, and make sure you learn good form and do your research. My friend and I were talking about Crossfit, which has blown up, and we were talking about how there are some really bad gyms. There are bad gyms and bad instructors of everything, everywhere. That's why you have to really choose wisely and make sure you aren't doing something that could hurt you. It's like Zumba. I cheered and danced. I know what I am doing and sometimes a teacher will do something and I just stop. I won't do it because I know that it's bogus and she shouldn't be moving her body that specific way. But other people don't know and they could hurt themselves, and they probably do. But like I said, this can happen anywhere, that's why you have to be careful.
Tomorrow: The Domino Effect-Making Time For You
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