Another super dark and gray day, but oddly, I feel very alert. Go figure.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how my approach to exercise changed, first because it had to, and now because I prefer it, and I figured why not share that dollop of wisdom now, at the start of the year, when many of us are trying to get more movement in?
So off we go.
After my weird thing with my back, I couldn’t really do anything, and it took a long time to slowly build up again. To approach it, I did some stretching, and, as you probably know by now, found gentle workouts generally intended for seniors and beginners.
At first I bristled at the idea of them. But as I continued, something happened.
I realized I wasn’t using up a huge percentage of my energy for the day on my workout. I didn’t dread them. I felt energized, not drained, after them.
And because of all that, I got more activity in through the rest of the day. I’m sitting less, pacing while on the phone, walking in front of the TV while watching my Kdramas.
You don’t really need equipment either, beyond some good, supportive shoes. Maybe a mat. The rest can come or not as you need them; Marshalls often has good buys. Amazon’s options seem endless.
They have these things called “walking pads” which are like treadmills without the front part, but they look kind of dangerous to me. Instead, I just walk, sometimes moving front to back, side to side, sometimes moving at a pace more akin to a jog, especially when the show is exciting.
I mix in strength with the cardio stuff and the steps, but nothing extreme, and usually from Senior Shape, my general favorite. Pilates, Barre, some weights, some bands. Often balance work because I think that’s really important.
The workouts can be challenging but they are not exhausting. I’m feeling well overall, not hurting myself, and it’s less difficult.
It’s weird how we are often told unless we do things on hard mode they don’t count. Unless we do the very most, it doesn’t count.
But why?
And many of those voices are trying to sell us the solutions to the problems they’ve told us we have.
If we do anything this year, let’s meet ourselves where we are, and accept it. Let’s not treat our relationship with exercise like an uneasy rivalry, even if you thrive on competition, make it a team sport with yourself.
It’s not a punishment. We do not deserve to be punished. We do not need to be punished.
What we need is to give our bodies their best opportunities to function as well as they can for us.
That’s doable, right?
Have a great Wednesday.
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