Watching the Clock

Watching the clock, counting every second, hoping I’m almost done! I am guessing that many of you feel exactly like I do when I am exercising. Maybe not always but when I wake up in the morning to get in a workout before work, I just can’t wait for it to be over. Today, I figured out why. It’s not fun! We make a lot of excuses about why we don’t exercise. We don’t have time. We have to run with the kids. We don’t feel well. Our knees hurt. We have to work late. Yet, we all have time to watch TV or play on facebook None of those excuses are really at the root of why we aren’t exercising as much as we should be. The real problem is that it isn’t fun. If that is the case, I challenge all of you to find something that is fun. Something that won’t make you watch the clock and count the seconds until you are done.

This morning, I changed my routine and headed outside. I would have tried to run but with the hill near my house, that will have to wait a few months. This morning, I walked. I didn’t look at the clock once. I could have kept walking for hours. The fresh air energized me. I got a much better workout. For me, the trick to enjoying exercise today was moving outdoors. That may not be what you enjoy. The key is to stop suffering through workouts that you hate. If you hate walking on a treadmill, try something different. Maybe its swimming (which is actually my drug of choice). Maybe its dancing--no one said you have to stop dancing as soon as you turn 18. Maybe you like hiking, biking, basketball, kickball or tennis. Try different classes like yoga or zumba. Just find something you like to do instead of looking at exercise as just something you have to do.

While I have been exercising because I need at least 30 minutes a day to maintain my health, my goal for this summer is to find those things that I will enjoy. I am going to try as many activities as I can that I think might be fun! Physical Activity shouldn’t be work, it should be Play! I think in the end, I’ll benefit from it even more. I will share my activities with you and hope you will join me and try new things that you think might be fun too!