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Confronting the exercise monster.
|
.. My head always ruled the day when it came to sports.
I had zero confidence and can still remember my Dad shouting from the sideline of my teen basketball games ‘Ann-Marie you gotta get tough, get in there for God’s sake’ |
 All the running I do at present is chasing Molly. |
I did some yoga, took some step aerobics classes, heck I even joined a gym (in a moment of madness, I say).
I went all out for a few weeks and then nothing, I’d stop going. My head well in control, telling me that I wasn’t enjoying it and that it wasn’t working.
So I’d cave in, however I’d still pay the membership fees, so as I’d look good and make excuse after excuse as to why I couldn’t go; it was raining, it was sunny, I was tired, it was cold, it was late, it was early, I had too many important things to do instead like cleaning the toilet…Oh Please!
And so this was my relationship with exercise.
This time I thought I’d try something a little different, I needed another approach. I obviously couldn’t trust myself to do it alone; the little voice in my head was far too strong.
So I asked my friend to work with me.
She had a real passion of exercise and had taught classes at the gym.
I used to think that these gym people were nuts, completely nuts to get up so early to exercise.
Sitting on that bike, with a sore arse, listening to Cindy Lauper’s ‘Girls just wanna have fun’ I knew that I must be nuts too!
One day I caught myself thinking ‘this is FUN’. OMG what did I just say; FUN!
What I realized was that I hadn’t really known how to exercise properly, to workout in a way that really served me. I’d always come from I ‘should’ do it or felt that I ‘had to’ do it.
I didn’t have the explanations to give me the knowing so I could move onto the doing. Until my friend started supporting me and teaching me, I was completely in the dark as to what to do. Every move, every stretch and every breathing technique she had me do, she explained the reason for it along with the effect it had on my body. And when things got tough and I wanted to quit because the little voice in my head was giving me grief, she’d encourage me through it.
On reflection, my heart had made the commitment to be fit and healthy and so every day I’d take a step closer to it. Even on the days that I didn’t train I was still looking after myself as my body rested and regenerated. This too was a whole new experience, to consciously allow myself to take it easy.
What started out as a knowing that I needed to do something around my health and fitness ended with me doing a women’s duathlon; competing in a run/bike race. Who’d have believed it?
While the distances were not that far, it was an incredible feeling to cross the finish line. Of course my friend was with me every single step of the way. We began the race together and finished together.
For once my husband was on the sideline cheering me on! What a thrill.
I felt very proud of myself that day and very grateful to have such a loving, caring friend.
The very next week, the blue line appeared on my pregnancy test and my duathlon days were over, for a short time anyway. A whole new challenge was about to unfold there, but that’s for another day.
5 Comments to “Confronting the exercise monster.”
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Hi Ann-Marie, congrats with no longer just editing our blog but writing posts as well; your very first post on our blog!
I sooo relate to your attittude about exercise. For me I never knew I could learn fitness and being flexible. I thought you either were or you weren’t, so I never even tried.
Until Pilates and I was told you CAN touch your toes for example, but you need to learn!!!!!! So after knowing that, I now can touch my toes for the first time in my life, but it took a year of doing, regularly do-ing the exercises.
It has been so humiliating that I could never touch them during PE when everybody else could. Ha, they should see me now.
I love this. I am excited about checking out the rest of your blog.
Hi Ann-Marie and congrats on your first post too.
I can relate too in what you are saying about exercise. I joined a gym two years ago with Janai and we have been going ever since. People are always inspired and wonder how we keep it up. I find myself always discussing that I am no different to everyone else in the fact that over those two years (particularly in the beginning) I have made excuses and weaselled my way out of it on many occasions. That has since disappeared.
It wasn’t until I started seeing results after being slightly over weight for so long that I wanted to continue making the best of my membership. My health got better, I started putting on muscle and my tummy dropped right down. I remember thinking to myself, “I never want to go back to that again.” So I chose to be fit and healthy instead.
Once we go into that zone it becomes fun to exercise.
Blair.
@ Wilma. Thanks Buddy for your encouragement, appreciate it.
Go you, entering the world of tipping your toes. Just goes to show, small steps get you there, or small stretches in your case ;0)
@ Tara. Hi there Tara, thanks for stopping by our blog and for commenting. Hope to see you again soon.
@ Blair. Hiya, great to hear from you. Thanks a mil for your comment. So delighted to hear about your gym success and it does take time and commitment which I applaud you both for. Loving that you are choosing fitness and health. I think that it’s in the choosing that the FUN has room to show up. Hugs to you and Janai.
Thats a really nice post.
Its motivating to see how you went from someone who wasn’t interested in exercise to a duathlete!
I remember at school, an olympic rower telling us that most people will love sport, if they just take the time to find the sport that suits them! Not all of us will enjoy running, but we might enjoy tennis or swimming. It’s just a matter of sticking with the search for your chosen sport until that “OMG this is fun” moment that you had, arrives!