[For the beginning of this tale, see A metal cube of junk? That's me. ]
Daniel Levesque wisely said that nobody will stick to an exercise plan until he/she finds their true incentive and comes to enjoy it so much that they won’t give it up. My prevailing thought as I gave up my membership back four years ago now, and as I approached returning here again, was, “I’m entirely too busy and too interested in other things to spend my time exercising.”
Well, you can see where that attitude wasn’t necessarily going to keep me showing up for class on time, right?
All that has changed after a couple of months of steady attendance here. While I’m not totally head-over-heels in love with the amount of time I must spend in order for this to be effective, I am at least not getting into my car heading toward the Wellness Center feeling resentful. For the days that I do feel resentful—or just don’t feel motivated for whatever reason—I scratched out a little checklist that I can review to remind myself why I’m here.
The 10 things I don’t hate about exercise
1) My body now tells me when I’m not standing up straight and then I seem to automatically engage the appropriate muscles to make myself do so. My mother would have been so proud.
2) The hip bulges that were so prominent in my tight exercise pants seem to have gone away, mostly.
3) I no longer hate looking at myself in those full-length mirrors during classes. This is good because it was really hard to not look at myself and still learn the yoga or dance steps.
4) My right hip no longer wakes me up in the mornings with stiffness and pain.
5) The other day, I ran up the steps from the fitness floor to the reception desk without even thinking about it. I ran because it’s what my body wanted to do!
6) When I don’t exercise for a few days my body complains, as opposed to vice versa.
7) The showers and facilities in the locker room are better than what I have at home.
8) The snacks and meals in the snack cart are really cheap and have served as my lunch on more than one busy day zipping in and out to exercise class.
9) Thanks to an iPod, treadmill time means I get to study Spanish.
10) I always see somebody I know and smiling faces on the fitness floor; as a freelancer working out of her home, this kind of human contact is refreshing
There’s my Top 10 list for now. I’ll revisit this list in a few months. In the meantime, what’s on your list? Why do you stick with it? Write us here with your comments by clicking onto “Comments” just below.
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