So it’s Monday morning, my sinuses are congested, my knee is screaming at me, my hip aches from my hike yesterday and it’s time to get ready for the gym. The way I see it, I have only two choices - to go to the gym or stay home. So let’s look at both of them for a minute or two:
- I choose to stay home - I get to spend the day feeling sorry for myself, for my sinus headache, my stuffed up nose, and oh yes, my achy hip and knee. I can acknowledge that I am old and do and act like an old person. I can be crotchety and whiny and angry at the world. I can eat all of these negative emotions in the form of some processed carbohydrate like cookies or chips and feel even worse than I did when I got out of bed. Tomorrow will probably be the same since those processed foods add to my aches and pains and general grumpiness. I can start a downward cycle of negative thinking, negative self talk and making choices that do not serve my goals of leading a long and healthy life. This is what might happen if I chose to stay home from the gym.
- I choose to go to the gym - I get to limp in and hop on the elliptical and start moving slowly and carefully, warming up my muscles, getting the blood flowing through my legs and my hips and most importantly to my brain. I can modify everything I do based on how my body feels. I can stop any time I choose or continue for my regular routine. I can start thinking about how good it feels to get my body moving and the blood flowing, especially to my brain, put a smile on my face and chat with the folks I see daily starting their days out as I do. When I leave the gym I can feel better than when I walked in (it ALWAYS works) and head home to my computer and a day’s work. I can smile and chat with my husband, make any phone calls, and plan for my next outing. I can eat what I have prepped and planned and the carb monster will not be yelling at me all day since I will be happy with myself, satisfied with my workout and genuinely ready to plan some sort of next adventure. This is what might happen, and does happen when I choose to go to the gym.
It's not rocket science. Getting regular exercise, whatever your body, your doctor and your physical abilities allows is good for you. It’s good for me. I found my sweet spot with swimming, elliptical and weight lifting. It’s allowed me to add hiking and biking and beach walking to my life and not be the crotchety old hen who is always complaining or whining. I can maintain a positive attitude the majority of the time and partake of the most magnificent vistas that life has to offer to me whether they be right outside my front door, 50 miles away or thousands of miles away. By choosing ME, by just taking myself to the gym each day and doing the best that I can the entire world has become my amusement park - and guess what - I fit on ALL the rides.
So where do I go for motivation? That’s right, I go to ME to my why for doing what I do and the joy that the freedom and flexibility of getting fit and staying fit has brought me. It all started with 1 single lap in the pool.
