As a (up until recently) lifelong exercise avoider, I want to hear about your successes! What is the thing that turned you on to moving your body? Here's my story..
My father has been a lifelong proponent of cycling (he even owns a bike shop!) and so, as my form of teenage rebellion I swore off cycling FOREVER!
That was until Dad gave me a really nice bike for my birthday last year and I've just started regularly cycling out to university (it's a 12km round trip- 7.5 miles, I think) and back. I am amazed at how good I feel because of it.
I haven't lost much weight because of it yet, but I feel more agile and springy. And I can feel all these muscles I forgot existed! The other thing that struck me, even though it's common knowledge that exercise is good for mood, is that I feel less stressed, anxious and depressed, which is a big deal for me- I was on anti depressant medication for 3 years in my late teens. I didn't realise how much of a difference it could make, though.
The most awesome thing, though, by a long shot, is that I actually enjoy biking now. It's not a drag. I look forward to it- never before in my life have I felt so keen about physical activity!
Same here! When I'm having a bad and stressful day I enjoy the excercise. It REALLY lifts up my mood and do wonders for the soul. I actually feel more alive!
I agree! I have been enjoying cycling. I love changing up my route and going into nice neighborhoods or riding to a park. I really enjoy cycling now.
The other exercise I've been doing (haven't been able to for a few days because my ankle is bothering UGH!) is circuit training. I feel so strong and accomplished when I finish each round! LOVE it!!
I can see my body toning up and getting slimmer! It makes me feel so good!
It's great to hear that there are others who feel the exact same way!
I have done various forms of exercise, but the only one that has really clicked for me is walking. The problem is that it is low intensity so it takes a long time to get much benefit. I recently cobbled together a "walking desk" (plank on a treadmill -- I am walking right now!). This way, all my computer time can be spent exercising. Love it!!!
Okay, I love this idea! Do you have pictures? I am a walker too and have often said I'd enjoy the treadmill more if I could do the other stuff I do in the mornings while on it. I rarely watch TV so get bored easily. A few years ago someone invented a treadmill with a built-in computer for work stations. Of course they are ridiculously expensive but what a great idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by yoyoma
I have done various forms of exercise, but the only one that has really clicked for me is walking. The problem is that it is low intensity so it takes a long time to get much benefit. I recently cobbled together a "walking desk" (plank on a treadmill -- I am walking right now!). This way, all my computer time can be spent exercising. Love it!!!
I love all exercise but the one I really look forward to is: running. I feel so free and one with nature as I run through my neighborhood at the crack of dawn a few times a week. I recently went away on vacation and was itching to get back home so I could run again, lol. I'm also not one to like to exercise in groups at the gym so running is perfect for me as I can do it independently whenever I want. It also helps me to clear my head of the many cobwebs that seem to inhibit it on a daily basis. It also gives me a much-needed break from my two kids as every mom deserves some 'me-time'. I just can't say enough about running!
For me the elliptical was my saving grace. I hated working out. Had some videos, but they were too easy to just stop them and say enough, I'm bored. If we haden't have purched the elliptical, I know I'd still be 200lbs. Even now, the elliptical is my choice...seeming to give me more bang for my time. I go for long bike rides, 25 miles or so, but I never feel as wiped out as I do on the elliptical. I'd love to run, but for some reason I don't have the mentality to keep me going yet, I'm a little afraid of it. I've ran 3 miles, up to 7 miles a couple weeks ago...but I am still afraid of it.
I love cycling as well! I have been riding for recreation for about five years (have a road tandem and hybrid bike), but kicked it up a notch last year. I have terrible knees and could no longer run. Bicycling has been my life saver. I am averaging 50 miles per week and plan on ramping it up this fall. I am participating in a metric century (65 miles) in March 2012 and a full century (100 miles) in April 2012. I am hoping by early next year I have reached my weight loss goal, and this will be my way of celebrating.
I forgot to add to my earlier post that I've noticed some real gains in my cardiovascular endurance due to running. Came back from Disney a few days ago and one day my younger son ran away from us at one of the parks. I took off at a dead run and caught him in like two seconds flat. My older son was following me and was huffing and puffing. He said, "Mom, I never knew someone your age could run that fast." Also, a few times I had to run to catch either the water taxi or bus and wasn't out of breath like I normally would be. There's a big water slide that my older son and I went on a lot and the middle-aged folks were panting hard because it's a steep staircase to climb but not me, lol. I owe it all to running.
I don't have my "exercise mojo" going on right now but in the past there have been 2 forms of exercise that really enjoyed and stuck with: Jogging and cardio kickboxing.
Jogging is like this status symbol or exclusive club that it feels cool to be a part of. Unfortunately right now I'm too heavy to run (my knees couldn't take it).
My favorite part of cardio kickboxing was kicking the bag. A good way to focus and channel anger, anxiety. And, it just makes you feel stronger and tougher. I used to carry boxing gloves in my car and people would somtimes comment on them.
I have done various forms of exercise, but the only one that has really clicked for me is walking. The problem is that it is low intensity so it takes a long time to get much benefit. I recently cobbled together a "walking desk" (plank on a treadmill -- I am walking right now!). This way, all my computer time can be spent exercising. Love it!!!
Finally--I found someone else who is doing this!! I have had one of these for about two years. I teach online classes, and during the semester, I do almost all of my E-mailing, grading, responding, etc., while walking at a pace of 2.5 mph (elevation 5). When it's busy, I am usually doing this for two hours at a pop.
However, I don't have air conditioning in my house, and it has been too hot for me to walk on my treadmill, so I'm typing this while sitting on my bumm! I'm looking forward to the cooler weather when I can get back to my treadmill walking.
Okay, I love this idea! Do you have pictures? I am a walker too and have often said I'd enjoy the treadmill more if I could do the other stuff I do in the mornings while on it. I rarely watch TV so get bored easily. A few years ago someone invented a treadmill with a built-in computer for work stations. Of course they are ridiculously expensive but what a great idea.
Cyndi, my husband set one up for me. He basically used a plywood board and hooked it to the front bar of my treadmill. That's where I keep my keyboard and mouse. (I use a desktop, so the main part is on the floor near my treadmill). I had to play with the height a bit. I have side bars, and I ended up putting a folded bath mat underneath each bar to increase the height of my board so that I could type without bending my wrists. The main problem was figuring out where to put the monitor so that I can see it. Luckily, I have a tall bookshelf, and I taped my flat-screen monitor to the top of it and moved the bookshelf into my treadmill. I removed the books on the bottom shelf, and moved the bottom of my treadmill into that area. Even so, I enlarge the print on my screen (by pressing the Ctrl key and the + key). I can now see it just fine. As you can imagine, this set-up doesn't look pretty, but it's located in a room that is all mine and that guests don't see anyway.
I don't tell too many people in my "real" life about my treadmill set up because I'm afraid they'll think it's just too weird. In fact, it took some coaxing for my husband to agree to do it. He said it seems like something Kramer (from Seinfeld) would come up with. He even thought that it would be a phase that I would quickly outgrow. But I've been using it on and off for two years now (mainly "on" when I'm working and "off" during the summer when it's too hot to use). I'm a multi-tasker, and I quickly become frustrated with just exercise for exercise's sake. I usually need to get something accomplished along with it.
There's an "office walkers" forum on the internet (Google it). I don't post there, but if you take a look at it, you'll see some pictures people have posted of homemade tread desks.
As a (up until recently) lifelong exercise avoider, I want to hear about your successes! What is the thing that turned you on to moving your body? Here's my story..
My father has been a lifelong proponent of cycling (he even owns a bike shop!) and so, as my form of teenage rebellion I swore off cycling FOREVER!
That was until Dad gave me a really nice bike for my birthday last year and I've just started regularly cycling out to university (it's a 12km round trip- 7.5 miles, I think) and back. I am amazed at how good I feel because of it.
I haven't lost much weight because of it yet, but I feel more agile and springy. And I can feel all these muscles I forgot existed! The other thing that struck me, even though it's common knowledge that exercise is good for mood, is that I feel less stressed, anxious and depressed, which is a big deal for me- I was on anti depressant medication for 3 years in my late teens. I didn't realise how much of a difference it could make, though.
The most awesome thing, though, by a long shot, is that I actually enjoy biking now. It's not a drag. I look forward to it- never before in my life have I felt so keen about physical activity!
I have had a similar epiphany about biking. I usually hate exercising, but this summer, I've started bike riding, and I actually enjoy it. I'm hoping to increase my distance and speed as right now, my maximum seems to be about 7 miles at a time and my pace is slow.
I love the idea of a walking desk, a good way to fit in time for exercise when you're busy busy busy. I'm wiped today and can't get myself to do anything, but usually I love running in the mornings. It's the best way to start my day and I always feel so strong and fit when I do it. It gives my lungs a good stretch in the morning too so I get lots of good oxygen to my brain to start the day. I'm not nearly as tired afterwards either. Yoga makes me feel wonderful too, I love the flexibility it gives me in my spine, shoulders, neck,hips and legs. great feeling.
I'm hoping I can keep my fitness up, I've been going about a month now with my new lifestyle, have lost around ten pounds and am noticing a difference in the way people look at me, but man oh man am I beat today. All I've done is slept, packed a couple boxes for my move and slept some more Maybe because I just worked three ten hour days in a row at a busy restaurant? That would make sense. Anyways, I'm about to move and I want to keep up my good habits!! Here's to getting back on track, exercising five times a week half an hour each set! Let's do it, I really am glad I have support from you guys.
I also thoroughly enjoy running. It has been my salvation against boredom, depression and overeating. The way I feel after a long run is like nothing that I have ever experienced before. Mentally there are many times when I have to talk to myself to keep going. I don't run with a group, it's all on me. So it's also all on me to keep going with the schedule that I have set. I ran my first 5k last year, and since then I have caught the running bug and on my off days, I don't feel quite right. Kind of like if someone told you not to walk at all for the day. I am 47 so I am late to this activity. I am always looking at other people at races who look my age or older and wonder how many years of running I'll have left. I hope it's many. Thanks for starting this thread. Best wishes to all of you who embrace exercise and realize its true benefits.
Finding your exercise mojo!
