My Views on Health: Part 2: Exercise

Finding a workout plan that works for you can be a real challenge. Like other aspects of your life (career goals, choice of friends, recreation), it helps if you fill your life with people and activities you actually enjoy. The most lamentable, miserable day-to-day tasks seem to be the ones we do out of obligation, guilt, or peer pressure, and too often exercise becomes one of them.

As a result, many people avoid exercise because they simply hate exercising—it hurts, it’s uncomfortable, it’s painful, you’re out of breath, you’re sore all week. Of course exercise should be challenging, but it shouldn’t be miserable. It took me years to figure out what kind of physical activity I’m passionate about, and now exercise is something I look forward to and make time for because I enjoy it.

What Works for Me
Because I’m not very good at structuring my own balanced workout (cardio, weights, flexibility?), I’ve found that as prerequisite number one, I need a teacher. Just like learning to play the bass, my weekly lesson lead by an experienced pro was much more productive and comprehensive than even my hours of daily practice on my own.

This also works for me because I get really bored just hopping on a machine and doing the same motion for an hour. Of course, if I miss a class for whatever reason, the machine is better than nothing at all, so I’m not averse to it—just the tedium.

So as personal training is wayyy expensive, the other option is the group class. I like being with people (in an anonymous kind of way). I mean, I really enjoyed playing lacrosse in high school. So voila: joining a gym with classes and great teachers works for me.

Prerequisite number two: it needs to be fun. I love dancing, so dance aerobics is my fav. I love music, so a workout set to music is also awesome.

So now I’m doing spin, kickboxing, Zumba/dance aerobics, and yoga classes—sometimes multiple classes per day depending on my schedule and energy level. The variety of classes challenges me in different ways, working different parts of my body, so over the course of a week I feel I’ve had a really comprehensive experience. I finally rejoined a gym a few weeks ago after a long search since we moved here and I’ve been trying to go every weekday for at least an hour—two or three if I’m up for the challenge—(although being sick has thwarted that plan a bit).

It’s working well, and I’m down about 7 pounds since the Christmas peak, and 10-11 pounds down from the post-marriage peak, although I think I’m on another plateau.

Life’s Schedule
I don’t think this is a workout schedule that works for everyone; I justify the excessive effort to go to the gym as an opportunity that may not last depending on what life throws my way. I am unemployed during the day (with sporadic gigs on weekends and evenings), so until that day job comes along (cross your fingers—I have an interview tomorrow!), I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to get back in shape and maybe shed a few more pounds while the field is ripe for harvest.

What I figure is making a commitment to exercise as long as health and circumstances allow will make for a life-long habit, and I hope to have a healthy body all my life so I can keep moving. I may not look like a model and I may not be as thin as I was in high school, but let’s get real. I’m a real woman now! I’m an adult (yikes)!

3x a Week?
The encouragement to work out 3 times a week (doctor’s orders!) for at least half an hour is the standard, right? But, hey, who said you can’t work out more than that?

A realization I just came to is that when student life comes to an end, so do a lot of opportunities for exercise. High school sports are cuh-razy! I mean, during lacrosse season at my high school we’d be strenuously exercising and running all over the field and around the neighborhood and doing pushups and situps for about three hours every day. That was the best shape I’ve ever been in in my life. (Youth be warned! School sports program shall cease to exist in your future! Plan to take control!)

No wonder teenagers are so skinny—they have the metabolism of young greek gods and have motivating sports programs. Exercise was a substantial part of my life in high school, and during lacrosse season, if I quit working after 30 minutes I would have been kicked off the team.

So while working out 3 hours a day may be unrealistic, working out every day, or more than 3 times a week for half an hour, will give you those great results sooner.

Exercise and Eating Habits
Since I LOVE TO EAT (yum yum yum yum yum), adding exercise versus cutting calories seems to be the trick for me. But what I have noticed is that working out regularly really motivates me to watch what I eat
a) so I don’t nullify my workout with junk food.
b) so I have “real” fuel that gives me positive energy to workout.
c) so I can still enjoy the occasional treat and meals I love.

Results?
Feelin’ good! Feelin’ groovy! It’s absolutely amazing how exercising regularly helps me feel better all around: I sleep better, I don’t get blue nearly as often, I have more energy through the day, I fit in my clothes better, I’m more toned, and the gray weather isn’t affecting me at all now. (Something changed in my head when I realized living here feels like England, and I LOVE the weather now! No snow! No ice! Flowers blooming in our backyard in February!)

So here’s the question:

What works for you?

Photo by stillinberlin.de.