Morning conversation with my husband:
DH: So have you started exercising yet?
ME: Huh?
DH: What are you doing for exercise?
ME: Hmmmm.
DH: Are you exercising?
ME: To be honest, I'm too fat yet to exercise. It's painful. Give me a few weeks to lose a few more pounds. I did clean the house yesterday and I broke out into a sweat, and I had to virtually run from the parking lot into Walmart as it was so darned cold the other day. I broke a sweat and got my heart pumping and out of breath doing that. So I'm working on it.
Excuses excuses. BS, really.
I know darned well that exercise is critical. I need to get off my fat butt and get going. It's good for everything including anxiety. Seriously.
More of the conversation:
DH: Would you like a weight bench and some free weights?
ME: I asked for that a couple years ago and you said no way. (Quit the garbage, Jo...just say yes and quit playing games with the poor man!)
DH: Would you like it?
ME: Yes, I wouldn't mind doing Body For Life. I'll have to re-read it, of course, and I might need some help, but yes.
DH: Okay.
And off he went. I'm sure he's forgotten about his offer by now.
I can't rely on him getting all that stuff. I need to rely on myself to get moving.
Today's goal: Dig out my Richard Simmons tapes and dust off the Leslie Sansone DVD I bought after Christmas, pick a few of the "short" ones, set them on top of the TV, and do one. And do one tomorrow. And the day after that. And so on.
I thought I was the only one that liked the Richard Simmons tapes :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I play the same games too :)
I love Richard Simmons. He's campy. He makes exercise fun for me. He's not so serious yet he is. ??
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
At my starting weight (256.6 lbs), exercise was difficult so I started out on low-impact stuff like the elliptical machine and stationary bikes, or simply walking on the treadmill.
ReplyDeleteThere is no hard and fast rule that says you must join a high-impact aerobics class, or run on a treadmill, or do other stuff that you find painful. If it hurts your joints, don't do it. If you blow your knees or a hip out, the road to recovery will be long and difficult.
I started out slow on the elliptical, doing maybe 10 minutes at a time on the lowest setting. I lifted 3 lb weights or used the lowest setting on weight machines, and sweated and grunted my way through it! Now I can do the elliptical for an hour, I can ride a stationary bike for half an hour before my butt gets numb, I can do the stair stepper for much longer than I used to be able to, and I've even joined an hour-long weight lifting class that meets once a week. However, even after losing nearly 80 pounds, I still can't run without my knees hurting or getting shin splints.
Basically start slow, listen to your body, and remember that any exercise you do is better than no exercise at all. Push yourself, but don't hurt yourself. Also, remember that strength training with weights is essential for weight loss and good fitness...and don't worry about "bulking up". I can lift a lot of weight now and I haven't bulked up yet. Us females don't have the right hormones to get big giant muscles like men do. We'd have to lift heavy weights all day long, nearly every day, or take steroids to get bulky muscles.
Also, if you want to join a gym, don't be worried about people staring at you. I worried about that when I first started, but honestly the people who use my gym are too absorbed in their own workout or the television to pay any attention to me.
I couldn't run on a treadmill (or pavement, for that matter) to save my life.
ReplyDeleteI think you give excellent advice. I will add to it that we have to do what we like. I actually like Richard Simmons and I've always enjoyed low-impact aerobics. I don't like machines--I get too bored.
This isn't an excuse, it's a reality: I don't have time to join a gym. I don't want to, either. We have a gym here in my small town and a Curves. I was a member of Curves for awhile, but I quit because the music was too loud for me and the gal would spray the machines and clean them while I was working out and the cleaner burned my nose.
I don't think a gym would hold my interest at all. I think I'd get bored. Give me a zany, crazy Richard Simmons any day. Plus, I can do it when I want, shower after and start my day. I don't have to drive anywhere, which adds up.
I'm a homeschooling mom and a night owl. Like those who work, I have set hours. I'd rather not eat into my sleep time by having to go somewhere to work out when I can do it in the comfort of my living room.
We do have a Bow Flex. I use it on occasion. I think I would actually prefer free weights.
I'll figure it out as I go.
I do know this: Body movement is essential. And if that means I just march in place instead of doing a routine on the TV, so be it. I'l get better.