Well, the world hasn't come to and end yet, so I'm about to head off to the gym. People (I should really say, "people who say they like to exercise at the gym") tell me that after I go work out, I should feel energized and renewed. I don't. They tell me that if I exercise for a couple months, religiously, I should feel energized and invigorated. I don't. They tell me that it's easy to lose weight if I exercise three or four times a week. I can't even begin to comment.
Oddly enough, when I ask which gym they go to or what they do to work out, about half of these people admit that they don't go. Now, if it really DOES feel good to you when you go, why don't you go?
(It doesn't feel good to me or bad, but I promise myself a present if I can get in a little better shape by May, but that's for another blog.)
C&D has great points. I'm essentially an introvert (which is why I love teaching; it forces me on stage). But the solitary thing--works great for me. I won't go on because if I related how I feel about running, I'd be insufferable.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe a workout partner would help you? Or doing things other than the gym? Can you x-country ski? That's lovely exercise... and quite relaxing.
And presents are a great idea!
Back when I could, I ran. Every evening, I ran, about two miles. I could have ran more. I did the running thing for years, and I never found it relaxing. I hated it, did it to keep off unwanted pounds, and never really found it gave me more energy. When I wasn't able to run, after a year of not being able to run, I noticed the difference. I mean, I was tired all the time, gained excessive amounts of weight, and noticed my mood was always foul. I am no longer able to run, but I did start a walking program and while I dreaded the walk, it does make me feel better, mentally that is, I still hate the physical exercise and dread it and feel like it's killing me.
ReplyDeleteIt WOULD help me a lot to have a work out partner, indeed. But I tend not to be good at keeping a schedule for such things, and I like to do my own thing when I can.
ReplyDeleteAnd sports, YES! it would be GREAT to be able to do outdoor sports around here. I do get to bike a fair bit, which is glorious on warm days, or during most of the year, but just nastily cold and unpleasant right now. I have friends who have promised to teach me some cross country skiing if we get enough snow this season. So far, we aren't getting enough. Just cold. (And not cold for midwesterners, just cold for my blood.)
Finally, part of the gym thing has to do with my present to myself. I did my first ever parachute jump last summer. It was terrifying and wonderful, but my whussy upper body strength made is impossible for me to adequately contol the steering and braking mechanism.
So the present, assuming my upper body strength gets where it needs to be, is a couple more jumps, well, maybe four or five, in order to get licensed to do a free fall. After that, we'll see. (My family is less than thrilled with my choice of mid-life crisis responses.)