Exercise Dropout Anonymous
Is there the equivalent of AA for people like me who fail to follow through with an exercise program? Quentin – I confess that I’ve been a miserable failure recently when it comes to the exercises you prescribed. I had an excuse one week when I was sick as a dog. But the next week I simply chose to skip them so I could get to work and start being miserable by 7:00. (That’s just another form of sickness.)It is sort of like practicing the piano when you are a kid. You always practice when you know you have a lesson coming. But now that I have no more PT visits, I suddenly lost the reason to do my daily dozen or so.
I feel the stiffness and the inflexibility gradually returning, so something has to be done to get me back on track. My motivation has to be maintenance and improvement, not doing my homework for my next lesson.
I have managed to do a few pilates stretches each day. I think that’s because I have a set of 5 that take me no more than 10 minutes. I have an idea that what I need is a menu for all the other myriad of exercises (and yoga poses and cardio work) that allows me to customize my workout to the time I have, which is realistically always at least 20 minutes but sometimes as much as an hour. Sort of like choose one from group A, two from group B, etc.
I did a good workout this morning and rewarded myself with two pieces of bacon for all those calories burned on the elliptical machine. I could feel my muscles reluctantly giving in to the various stretches with “Oh, that again.” They haven’t completely forgotten.
Quentin is making a house call this week to check out our basement “gym” facility. Now that David and I have both been graduated from PT, it’s where we will have to hang out to do our homework. Hopefully he will be able to help me design several game plans for different amounts of time.
I really do want to be disciplined enough to pull this off and quit thinking up excuses not to exercise. It has a big impact on my physical (and mental) well-being. Hope springs eternal...
posted by Barbara at 8:42 AM
7 Comments:
You've been going through a big thing at work. Cut yourself some slack, girfriend. Then, get down on the floor and do your stretches!
Reya -- The truth is doing the stretches would better prepare me for dealing with the big thing that still looms large. When we are under stress everything tightens up and complains. Hey, I hardly need to tell you that! I'm now determined to stretch my way through this conflict. Otherwise I will end up pushing a walker around and I'm hardly ready for that at age 58!
You'll get back into it...and you're lucky to have a buddy, David, to join you. I can't do skiing or running with my David since he's just way beyond me.
Hey, when you're retired you two can just make it part of your morning routine so you get it overwith and on to doing fun stuff!! (Another reason to retire!!)
hmm...an idea for some software that needs to be written?
This is one of my own failures, doing the things that will keep my knees bending. I know what I need to do but I think I resent the fact that I cannot just walk like everyone else, that I'm daunted by stairs. Of course, it could be that I'm just in denial, lazy, or a whole slew of other things.
I might just find my own motivation through your struggle and your writing.
You people with your "real lives" always getting the way of your "PT lives"... I'll be sure to find some suitable punishment for your being merely human (or wait, that might BE the punishment...)
I'll make sure I teach you how to choose among your options: Dim Sum PT.
Hmmm... Dim sum PT, what a concept! I just have to make sure I don't order all dumplings.
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